On becoming a Novelist

[Alexandra van Cruyningen]

Have been painting a becoming Novelist. Please give me your comments.

The portrait is Egg Tempera with oilglazings.

With Regards,

Alexandra

http://www.alexandravancruyningen.nl/Gegevens%20tijdelijke%20Alexandra/forum/Rosie.2forum.jpg[/url]

close-up of the face
http://www.alexandravancruyningen.nl/Gegevens%20tijdelijke%20Alexandra/forum/Rosie.2closeupforum.jpg[/url]

[RobM]

Hi Alexandra.................from the size of the painting I cannot fault it.........my only problem is the relativity with the frame.......this does seem to dominate the work.........the work is nice and simply executed but the frame is extremely busy and causes an apparent discourse..........maybe you should have just shown the painting without the frame..........my eye is drawn too much to the frame.......
R

[Salamander]

I agree.... nice work..... needs a simpler frame.

[Dennis H]

Alexandra,
It looks nice. I'd be interested in seeing a closer view of it. Could you post a detail of the face?
The width and relief carving on the frame don't bother me, but perhaps with the painted frame-like border in the image there are too many extra concentric stripes in the frame.
As for the painting's composition, I see a bit of a distraction in the small golden triangle in the lower left corner. I can't tell if that's the background behind the figure. If so, the sitter seems to have no torso beneath her proper right arm. Even if it is a logical element, the strong contrast between it and the dark of the adjacent garment pulls my attention away from the central focus of the picture a bit too harshly. When I cover that spot with my finger, the painting seems to work much better. A triangle in a corner of a composition is often an awkward, eye-stopping moment. That corner actually has several, very regularly aligned and repeating triangles. The angle of the arm and the pleats in the sleeve fabric reiterate and emphasize the little gold triangle. It might be a good idea to disrupt that sequence of parallel lines a little more than you have already.
Otherwise, I love the composition. And the expression on the sitter's face is very engaging.
Thanks for sharing the picture with us.
Dennis

[Alexandra van Cruyningen]

Thank you so far, for the comments. Rob, you are right. It's my love for busy frames, ornament and stuff like that, to become the better judge. I will replace the frame as soon as have an other one made. Sometimes I like the opposite; a simple painting and a busy frame, have to change that...
Dennis, thanks so much for your advice. You are right, I have to admit that immediately. Will do something about it. I will try to post a close-up of the face and also show her without frame. But...give me time. I am terrible with computer stuff.
greetings, Alex.

[RobM]

"Sometimes I like the opposite; a simple painting and a busy frame, have to change that..."

My maxim would also be the opposite........simple painting......much simpler frame!!!! It is the work you are showing to its best...........:smile:

[mona]

Hi Alexandra,

A very compelling face!...the eyes and the illumination from below are
enchanting. I differ in opinion from several posts here in that I am not bothered by the
black frame. I agree with Dennis that you forgot that little gold spot...(I've done things
like one in a while, which to my distress I've not noticed until it is in my client's hands!
I think we get so caught up in working up specific areas that our eye completes the blank
spot.

I do think the black at the bottom cuts off the arms at an awkward spot, hitting right on
the rim of her black sweater cuff and cutting near the other shoulder. But I like that the
book reaches out into the gilding.

It's a joyful piece. It might be a personal thing, but I would have also made the sweater
blacker for contrast, and also so that the black of the frame is not darker by competition.

Since we are discussing frames, I too love ornate frames sometimes, and see nothing
wrong in a frame being more elaborate than the work, as long as it sets the right tone.
I was looking at a unique painting on line by a great egg tempera artist, Madeline von
Foerster called, "La Femme Grave Se Grave" that combines surrealistically the image of
a woman and a tree, and the wooden frame has tree twig branches 'growing' out of it.
Very fetching!

[jpohl]

I love the freshness in this portrait... the way the hair is rendered. Not sure how I feel about the framing device. Sometimes the things that bother us at first turn out to be the thing that makes a work more interesting if we give it time. I've always said the perfection is in the imperfection. To be truthful, I need more sleep before I trust myself to give a valid opinion, but the freshness and simplicity are wonderful.

[Dimitris C. Milionis]

re-evaluate your light structure as the light off the book is to strong, you can also increase your dark areas.... but then who am I to know