Who wants to buy a painting i made?

[sefb222]

your foreground is in the same focus as background... i think if you soften the stuff furthest away from the front, and sharpen the closest stuff, it will help separate the layers we're after with a piece like this... even consider some solid black silhouetted leaves/branches in the VERY front.


what youre lacking most is contrast.

from across the room, this will look like a big purple and brown blob. paintings should be readable from 10 feet away. dont be afraid to use some black.

[iamsam]

Ha. I just read the ebay listing and you can leave out the part about the "no frame necessary". Just put down that it's on canvas. I don't do a lot of canvas paintings but i'm pretty sure they are usually stretched over a wood frame.

No matter what people say KEEP PAINTING! It doesn't have to be good. As long as you enjoi it others will.

actually there are many canvases where the canvas is stapled to the side of the frame rather than the back, which means you would need an exterior frame to cover the staples.

But thanks for your kind words! i will keep painting! (when i have the time).

[iamsam]

your foreground is in the same focus as background... i think if you soften the stuff furthest away from the front, and sharpen the closest stuff, it will help separate the layers we're after with a piece like this... even consider some solid black silhouetted leaves/branches in the VERY front.


what youre lacking most is contrast.

from across the room, this will look like a big purple and brown blob. paintings should be readable from 10 feet away. dont be afraid to use some black.

thanks for the input! Yeah i do need more black, especially in the background. I actually added the black last, after painting all the brown and green, and after seeing how "blob-like" it all looked.

[RickSloan]

. dont be afraid to use some black.

never ever use black, in fact go throw your black paint away! If you want black, mix it from other colors that are found in the pallet you're using. Black itself will create a hole. But what was said about contrast is a good idea. But what it really would be is atmospheric prospective.

[sefb222]

never ever use black, in fact go throw your black paint away! If you want black, mix it from other colors that are found in the pallet you're using. Black itself will create a hole. But what was said about contrast is a good idea. But what it really would be is atmospheric prospective.

yeah, i kinda agree.. im used to approaching my paintings from a tattooer's perspective. tattoos need a good bit of black to hold up over time, and to contrast against skin. if you use a "black" thats mixed from other colors, the least lightfast colors will fade out and leave the stronger ones behind. i end up using straight indian ink in my watercolor paintings where i need black. its just about the only thing that will get the job done.

with acrylics or even oils, a "black" mixed from other darks might be a bit more believable.

[iamsam]

So why is it better to get a black mixed from other colors on the palette?

[RickSloan]

cause there is no true black in real life, shadows are made of the colors that are in them. Black creates holes. Using colors from your palet relates the "blacks" to the rest of the piece.

[sefb222]

So why is it better to get a black mixed from other colors on the palette?

with acrylics or even oils, a "black" mixed from other darks might be a bit more believable.

basically the same thing that rick said.


check out some carvaggio (sp?)

he used a shit ton of "black", but seeing them in person you realize that it's just super dark browns mostly.

[iamsam]

gotcha, i will give that a try. And thanks again for all the feedback! it really helps.

[NOMAD]

not crapping on it, but a bit of constructive critique from a graphic design major (but I can't paint so mad props)

Next time try to use the "rule of thirds" more. You created a perspective that starts dead center bottom and ends dead center canvas. You've essentially created a "bullseye" where everything is symmetrical. Symmetry is "boring" to the eye.
Try this: split your canvas into thirds horizontally and vertically, basically like a tic tac toe board. The rule of thirds says that any pic looks better when subjects appear in "hot spots", where the lines are, or where the lines intersect. You also want to add movement to draw the eye down a path to your subject, often the real subject is the third thing you notice in a painting.

Note where horizons appear, eyes of portrait subjects and various items in art appear.

I created notes, hope you don't mind:
1. Center subject "feels" rather basic

2. Horizon moved up to line and it makes the end path the subject

3. Horizon moved and it makes you think the trees are the subject

4. Focus moved to an even better "hot spot" where the lines interesct and it "feels better" (to me).


An improvement would be to lead the viewer's eyes down the path leading from the bottom left the upper right. The eye looks at the lighter colors first and sees it as the initial subject "the path", then can't help but follow it as the trees close in to the dark distance: "where is this path leading me? Is it a good place or a bad place?"

:pimp:

[e34john]

I think it looks cool, I didn't analyze the entire thing or anything but it reminds me of Munch for some reason.

[iamsam]

NOMAD: you are totally not crapping on my thread. Your feedback is exactly the type i need, your feedback has taught me the most so far, and that is good. As i am a Mechanical Engineering major, and have had absolutely zero formal art training, these concepts ("thirds", etc) are completely unheard-of to me, and learning these things will greatly help me i think.

As was mentioned before, this painting actually lacks a subject, it seems, and needs one. I have not gotten around to my paintings for a while because i have been so busy with things (not least of which is my E30 ;)) but when it gets updated, i will post it here.

[iamsam]

I think it looks cool, I didn't analyze the entire thing or anything but it reminds me of Munch for some reason.

thanks! and sorry to sound ignorant but what the heck is "Munch"?

[NOMAD]

Glad to be of help.
You'll find a ton of info if you just google "rule of thirds".
This single rule can get you 75% of the way to a good composition.

check out this page and only look a the images in relation to the rule of thirds, you'll suddenly realize it

http://www.nga.gov/education/american/landscape-i.shtm

[e34john]

thanks! and sorry to sound ignorant but what the heck is "Munch"?

Like I said, don't know why but this artist jumped into my head when I saw your painting.