[craigmullins]

Hi Josseline,If you concentrate more on the basic spherical nature of the fruits, it might be helpful.  Maybe put some spheres there in stead of fruit, at least in the beginning.  All that complexity hides their more basic nature.

So break it down this way, what local color is the fruit?  Say it to yourself, as an HSB idea.  The base color of the left fruit is a medium value, pretty intense yellow green.  OK, in a neutral environment, which this is (no real strong environmental color casts) lets take that basic local color and shift it 2 steps lighter, and then 2 steps darker.  That is your lit and shaded side.  At the same time, change the hue a little bit of both lit and shaded side.  Doesn’t matter which way you go, just make it so the lit and shaded side are not exactly the same hue.

So now look at the top and bottom of your object.  If you look at mine, you see the top surfaces go a bit cooler.  The bottom surfaces go a bit warmer.  This correct for this environment, but you could reverse it and still have light and color.It is so important to look at the value, hue and saturation as separate things.  Analyse and decide on them independently of each other.So now you have a variety of hues and values all derived from the first, most basic local color/value.When you apply these to your shapes, RESIST the urge to blend them.  If they are the RIGHT values, they can exist as flat shapes just fine.  Look at the fruit in mine that is in the back.  If you zoom out, it does read (I hope).  Years ago people learned to paint with gouache first, before oils, to prevent blending.  This placed more emphasis on the correct shape, value and hue, in that order.Of course if any of this contradicts what your teachers of said, please follow their instruction!

 

 

 

 

[craigmullins]

Not sure if this is helpful, but I bet it’s amusing:)  I think you need to keep pushing your style, but try to inform that push with real principles of drawing and form.  Once you learn that, then the challenge will be to not let that water down your style.

 

 

[craigmullins]

 

Hi Liza,  what you wrote reminded me of when i was a kid and I finally painted some thing recognizable.  I ran around the room jumping and hollering!

I don’t have your reference, so this is a good as I could do, but I think the principles are there.

Think of your shapes, whether they be light or dark, as blobs of mercury.  They want to puddle together.  Break them apart only when you are sure, as its hard to do and makes your drawing weaker if not done well.

Look really hard at the eyelids.  Try and find any excuse you can to NOT make them lines.  Even if they are lines as you see them, are they soft on one side?  Is the upper and lower different?

Keep having fun!

 

 

 

 

[craigmullins]

Original text clipped on posting for some reason.

 

Hi Raphael,  I tried, but try to paint and group your values by structure more than local values.  Her eyes and makeup and lips are REALLY dark, and her skin is REALLY light.  You have to ignore that, look for the structure underneath.  Also, watch overstating the halftones in the lit front of her face.  Gouache is fun, i think I will go try some.

[craigmullins]

[craigmullins]

Thanks for offering this!  I appreciate it.  It’s funny but I went through a bunch of images and if I was honest with myself, there was always something that I saw that I could fix.  Never looked at them before from the standpoint of being critiqued.  This one still has problems for me though.

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