[Vera Coberley]

Day 1. Used one of the Jennifer reference photos. First focus on gesture resulted in a torso that was too long. The legs and lower torso were rather easy, but the head and shoulders with shortened upper arm gave me some trouble. I think the head is too big. Initially I didn’t want to add any shadows, but without them, the legs seemed rather two dimensional. Off to watch some more lectures!

[Vera Coberley]

So much to like! The overall harmony of color, value and movement; the gradation of the sky, both vertically and horizontally;  the color and shape of the shadows, the texture of the grassland, the subtle loss of detail as things are receding into the distance … very nice! I’m impressed!

[Vera Coberley]

I think this one has a nice overall value composition – my eyes are drawn to the center of the painting. The rocks on the left could do with a little less internal contrast. Given the diffused, frontal light effect, it doesn’t seem conceivable that the middle section would be that light.  The clouds seem a bit choppy (too many separate pieces, too harshly delineated). I like the subtle use of color in this monochromatic scheme.

[Vera Coberley]

You’re getting the basics of atmospheric perspective – the further away away something is, the lighter it is. That being said, it would help if each group of trees in the background was more smoothly colored – it looks like maybe you didn’t mix enough paint to paint a given section in one go (I’ve been known to do that, as well :-)) I would also delineate the outer shapes a bit more sharply and more refined so that they say “group of trees” (I once heard the quote “it doesn’t have to be realistic, it just has to be believable”). The trees in the foreground (right hand side) should be darker. What did you intend as the focal point of the picture  – the lone tree on the right-hand side? If so, focus your attention to detail here. It should be darker, as well. The foreground could maybe use some hints at detail – a log, a rock, etc.

[Vera Coberley]

I had to think about this, as well. The following is not exactly an answer, but my personal attempt to better understand the mechanics of atmospheric perspective.

1. Due to shorter wave length, blue light scatters more easily than other colors, thus making objects that are further away appear bluer and lighter
2. The further things are away, the more refracted the reflected light becomes (due to particles in the atmosphere), thus “blending” all colors and desaturating them

Below is a photo from a recent hike of mine. You can see that the blue effect is stronger the further away the objects are, but the middle ground is already showing some desaturation – the pine trees look slightly more brown than the pines in the foreground, and the aspens look more orange than yellow (although, when I used a color picker, the “orange” color was actually registered as a desaturated yellow). There are some interesting articles on human color perception of yellow: 1)  we tend to equate “yellow” with bright, saturated yellow 2) blue light dampens neurons that react to yellow light, and vice versa, so perhaps, by eliminating yellow, we trick the eye to perceive more blue.

In short, it seems that a slight desaturation of color in the middle ground can signal distance, and that from a painterly perspective, you’d want to reserve your stronger blue slant for the far distance. Perhaps the use of purple vs red desaturation/yellow cancellation depends on your artistic goals and the local color of the object.

[Vera Coberley]

I’ve been pondering the dark-light sketches versus the 3 value sketches (the same is done in the last lesson of the course, landscape drawing). I’m missing the bridge between these two approaches. How do you translate the two-value thumbnail into a 3 value thumbnail? I know you can just start from scratch and think about 3 values instead of 2, but that seems to defeat the purpose of the notan exercise. Do you pick one of the sections and partition off a mid-tone range, or do you draw from both sides, ensuring that the overall rhythm of dark/light is still in tact?

[Vera Coberley]

I’m just a beginning art student, but for what it’s worth, both portraits look “life-like” to me. I like how you’re able to express the disposition of your subjects. You use just enough detail to express the essential. I think it’s great how the first portrait illustrates a darker skin complexion, while still rendering highlights. And I really like the moodiness of the soft and lost edges of the last portrait. I would like to learn portrait drawing, as well. Is there a course you would recommend for a beginner?

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