My Paintings

[Pennywise]

House portrait...

In my opinion, this picture has a more decent use of color than your other works. I like the color scheme, which is pretty much a tetrad of blue, orange, yellow, and purple.

You made a somewhat boring scene/ subject look more interesting through your use of color.

Still, the edges of the building could be much more defined, and the perspective could be improved, particularly on the right side.
​

Like I said goddess Ashtara, post some of your work so that I might respect your opinion more or go to the flame board.

No offense, but I do not require you to respect my opinion in order for me to post it here.

I'm being real with you. Straight up. You don't have to like me or even respect me in order to learn something from my criticism about how you might improve your work.
​

If you were to share some of your own work, it might very well be that your comments are better received. In regards to your crits, it's not just what you say, it's how you say it. Are you here to offer real critical help? or just here to spot off for your own jollies?

 

[Luddly Neddite]

I've posted before that I taught watercolor and oil for several years. Not saying that makes me a pro or qualified to judge yours or anyone else's work but I'm going to weigh in ... There's no doubt that having your work critiqued can be just gut wrenching in ways that non-artists really can't understand. And yes, Ash was more harsh than she needed to be.

Having said that, I do agree with some of what she said. Now you, pbel, have to decide whether or not you agree.

Take her words and others away with you and think about them. Look at your paintings in the light of those critiques and ask yourself honestly what you agree with and what you think is hogwash. Be brave but be kind to yourself as well because only you know how hard it is to get an idea or effect from your brain, through your arm and out the bristles of your brush.

Ask yourself if what you want is for people to just say ooh and ahh and never offer any other thoughts. If that's truly what you want, show your work to your mommy and to no one else. If you want to hear other people's opinions, be ready to hear things you might not like.

The mirror is a good idea. Another trick is to place the painting in a room where you will have to see it, first thing, when you walk in or pass by. Or look at it upside down.

I remember taking a commissioned painting to be framed and glancing down at it on the counter, upside down and being jarred by some detail that I only just then saw. I had to decide whether to take it home and "fix" it or leave it to be framed. Taking it home would have meant an 80 mile round trip drive and I left it - mostly because I decided no one else would see what I did.

I also remember reading that Cezanne, when asked how he felt about a portrait he had been working on for something like 15 years. I read that his response was, 'I'm not entirely unhappy with the tie'.

IOW, you can also overwork a painting. Give yourself permission to be an artist -- NOT a camera.

From what I've seen, your paintings do have an unfinished feel to them. But, maybe that's the style you're going for. Look at true folk art - its imperfect and unprofessional and that's its true charm.

Look at the work you admire and ask yourself what it is you like. Is it the artist's use of color? The confidence in the brush strokes? What pleases your eye? And what appeals to something inside you that you can't quite name? What do you want other artists to think about your paintings?

And, more than anything else, remember that you are painting first and foremost for yourself.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

View attachment 28543

I just saw this -

Very nice.

I'd say you have the same problem that I still sometimes wrestle with - darks not dark enough, lights not light enough.

And, possibly, experiment with grisaille. Try underpainting lights and darks and then glazing with color, as the old masters did. Pigment was very expensive for them so many used that technique extensively.

You can use acrylics for the underpainting or use a drier so you can get to the glazing sooner. I couldn't paint without Liquin.

 

[pbel]

I've posted before that I taught watercolor and oil for several years. Not saying that makes me a pro or qualified to judge yours or anyone else's work but I'm going to weigh in ... There's no doubt that having your work critiqued can be just gut wrenching in ways that non-artists really can't understand. And yes, Ash was more harsh than she needed to be.

Having said that, I do agree with some of what she said. Now you, pbel, have to decide whether or not you agree.

Take her words and others away with you and think about them. Look at your paintings in the light of those critiques and ask yourself honestly what you agree with and what you think is hogwash. Be brave but be kind to yourself as well because only you know how hard it is to get an idea or effect from your brain, through your arm and out the bristles of your brush.

Ask yourself if what you want is for people to just say ooh and ahh and never offer any other thoughts. If that's truly what you want, show your work to your mommy and to no one else. If you want to hear other people's opinions, be ready to hear things you might not like.

The mirror is a good idea. Another trick is to place the painting in a room where you will have to see it, first thing, when you walk in or pass by. Or look at it upside down.

I remember taking a commissioned painting to be framed and glancing down at it on the counter, upside down and being jarred by some detail that I only just then saw. I had to decide whether to take it home and "fix" it or leave it to be framed. Taking it home would have meant an 80 mile round trip drive and I left it - mostly because I decided no one else would see what I did.

I also remember reading that Cezanne, when asked how he felt about a portrait he had been working on for something like 15 years. I read that his response was, 'I'm not entirely unhappy with the tie'.

IOW, you can also overwork a painting. Give yourself permission to be an artist -- NOT a camera.

From what I've seen, your paintings do have an unfinished feel to them. But, maybe that's the style you're going for. Look at true folk art - its imperfect and unprofessional and that's its true charm.

Look at the work you admire and ask yourself what it is you like. Is it the artist's use of color? The confidence in the brush strokes? What pleases your eye? And what appeals to something inside you that you can't quite name? What do you want other artists to think about your paintings?

And, more than anything else, remember that you are painting first and foremost for yourself.

Your right about un-finished in one sense, I can't slave more than 3-5 hours...

A flaw perhaps, I bore easily...I appreciate criticism I had a few on this thread prior to G. As, and learned...But giving text book advice does not make one a critic especially in 18 or so repetitious posts is a bit much...

 

[Luddly Neddite]

View attachment 28543

You might try going darker above the eyes and lighter underneath, perhaps a stronger suggestion of eyelashes and less eyebrow. The whites of the eyes need some shading and a shadow across the top of the eye would sink them into her face. Soften the hair a bit and suggest it on the left side of the face as well. Perhaps just a few wisps there and across her forehead. Upper right hand corner is confusing. Maybe make that hair?

Go for less detail on the hand, hide it in the hair and make the forearm stronger/thicker and a less harsh line under the nose. Just a shadow under the nose.

The mouth is excellent and I like the shading of the face. The necklace is very nicely suggested with little detail. That's good because you want to eye to go to her face, her eyes. I would probably darken her throat just a bit and choose a different look to the background. Different color and probably much darker to pop the figure forward.

I hope you don't mind that I've dissected your painting. I don't usually want to do that here but since the conversation has turned to critiques, I thought I'd add my two cents. FWIW

 

[Pennywise]

I've posted before that I taught watercolor and oil for several years. Not saying that makes me a pro or qualified to judge yours or anyone else's work but I'm going to weigh in ... There's no doubt that having your work critiqued can be just gut wrenching in ways that non-artists really can't understand. And yes, Ash was more harsh than she needed to be.

Having said that, I do agree with some of what she said. Now you, pbel, have to decide whether or not you agree.

Take her words and others away with you and think about them. Look at your paintings in the light of those critiques and ask yourself honestly what you agree with and what you think is hogwash. Be brave but be kind to yourself as well because only you know how hard it is to get an idea or effect from your brain, through your arm and out the bristles of your brush.

Ask yourself if what you want is for people to just say ooh and ahh and never offer any other thoughts. If that's truly what you want, show your work to your mommy and to no one else. If you want to hear other people's opinions, be ready to hear things you might not like.

The mirror is a good idea. Another trick is to place the painting in a room where you will have to see it, first thing, when you walk in or pass by. Or look at it upside down.

I remember taking a commissioned painting to be framed and glancing down at it on the counter, upside down and being jarred by some detail that I only just then saw. I had to decide whether to take it home and "fix" it or leave it to be framed. Taking it home would have meant an 80 mile round trip drive and I left it - mostly because I decided no one else would see what I did.

I also remember reading that Cezanne, when asked how he felt about a portrait he had been working on for something like 15 years. I read that his response was, 'I'm not entirely unhappy with the tie'.

IOW, you can also overwork a painting. Give yourself permission to be an artist -- NOT a camera.

From what I've seen, your paintings do have an unfinished feel to them. But, maybe that's the style you're going for. Look at true folk art - its imperfect and unprofessional and that's its true charm.

Look at the work you admire and ask yourself what it is you like. Is it the artist's use of color? The confidence in the brush strokes? What pleases your eye? And what appeals to something inside you that you can't quite name? What do you want other artists to think about your paintings?

And, more than anything else, remember that you are painting first and foremost for yourself.

Your right about un-finished in one sense, I can't slave more than 3-5 hours...

A flaw perhaps, I bore easily...I appreciate criticism I had a few on this thread prior to G. As, and learned...But giving text book advice does not make one a critic especially in 18 or so repetitious posts is a bit much...

If you get bored, then you are done at that point. All that matters beyond that is did you achieve what you set out to achieve with the painting or not? If not, then work past the boredom until you get what you seek from your efforts. If your goal is simply to have fun for 3 to 5 hours at a time and move on, that's fine as well.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

I've posted before that I taught watercolor and oil for several years. Not saying that makes me a pro or qualified to judge yours or anyone else's work but I'm going to weigh in ... There's no doubt that having your work critiqued can be just gut wrenching in ways that non-artists really can't understand. And yes, Ash was more harsh than she needed to be.

Having said that, I do agree with some of what she said. Now you, pbel, have to decide whether or not you agree.

Take her words and others away with you and think about them. Look at your paintings in the light of those critiques and ask yourself honestly what you agree with and what you think is hogwash. Be brave but be kind to yourself as well because only you know how hard it is to get an idea or effect from your brain, through your arm and out the bristles of your brush.

Ask yourself if what you want is for people to just say ooh and ahh and never offer any other thoughts. If that's truly what you want, show your work to your mommy and to no one else. If you want to hear other people's opinions, be ready to hear things you might not like.

The mirror is a good idea. Another trick is to place the painting in a room where you will have to see it, first thing, when you walk in or pass by. Or look at it upside down.

I remember taking a commissioned painting to be framed and glancing down at it on the counter, upside down and being jarred by some detail that I only just then saw. I had to decide whether to take it home and "fix" it or leave it to be framed. Taking it home would have meant an 80 mile round trip drive and I left it - mostly because I decided no one else would see what I did.

I also remember reading that Cezanne, when asked how he felt about a portrait he had been working on for something like 15 years. I read that his response was, 'I'm not entirely unhappy with the tie'.

IOW, you can also overwork a painting. Give yourself permission to be an artist -- NOT a camera.

From what I've seen, your paintings do have an unfinished feel to them. But, maybe that's the style you're going for. Look at true folk art - its imperfect and unprofessional and that's its true charm.

Look at the work you admire and ask yourself what it is you like. Is it the artist's use of color? The confidence in the brush strokes? What pleases your eye? And what appeals to something inside you that you can't quite name? What do you want other artists to think about your paintings?

And, more than anything else, remember that you are painting first and foremost for yourself.

Your right about un-finished in one sense, I can't slave more than 3-5 hours...

A flaw perhaps, I bore easily...I appreciate criticism I had a few on this thread prior to G. As, and learned...But giving text book advice does not make one a critic especially in 18 or so repetitious posts is a bit much...

Know when to quit and when to go back to it.

I really only posted 3 or so and didn't think they were repetitious. Sorry you felt that way. I won't post anymore but did want to say that I remember two of your paintings from some time back - one, a little girl, turned to look back, holding something in her hand. The other was a building from above with a sunflower in the foreground. I really liked both of them.

Okay, that's it from me.

 

[Pennywise]

I've posted before that I taught watercolor and oil for several years. Not saying that makes me a pro or qualified to judge yours or anyone else's work but I'm going to weigh in ... There's no doubt that having your work critiqued can be just gut wrenching in ways that non-artists really can't understand. And yes, Ash was more harsh than she needed to be.

Having said that, I do agree with some of what she said. Now you, pbel, have to decide whether or not you agree.

Take her words and others away with you and think about them. Look at your paintings in the light of those critiques and ask yourself honestly what you agree with and what you think is hogwash. Be brave but be kind to yourself as well because only you know how hard it is to get an idea or effect from your brain, through your arm and out the bristles of your brush.

Ask yourself if what you want is for people to just say ooh and ahh and never offer any other thoughts. If that's truly what you want, show your work to your mommy and to no one else. If you want to hear other people's opinions, be ready to hear things you might not like.

The mirror is a good idea. Another trick is to place the painting in a room where you will have to see it, first thing, when you walk in or pass by. Or look at it upside down.

I remember taking a commissioned painting to be framed and glancing down at it on the counter, upside down and being jarred by some detail that I only just then saw. I had to decide whether to take it home and "fix" it or leave it to be framed. Taking it home would have meant an 80 mile round trip drive and I left it - mostly because I decided no one else would see what I did.

I also remember reading that Cezanne, when asked how he felt about a portrait he had been working on for something like 15 years. I read that his response was, 'I'm not entirely unhappy with the tie'.

IOW, you can also overwork a painting. Give yourself permission to be an artist -- NOT a camera.

From what I've seen, your paintings do have an unfinished feel to them. But, maybe that's the style you're going for. Look at true folk art - its imperfect and unprofessional and that's its true charm.

Look at the work you admire and ask yourself what it is you like. Is it the artist's use of color? The confidence in the brush strokes? What pleases your eye? And what appeals to something inside you that you can't quite name? What do you want other artists to think about your paintings?

And, more than anything else, remember that you are painting first and foremost for yourself.

Your right about un-finished in one sense, I can't slave more than 3-5 hours...

A flaw perhaps, I bore easily...I appreciate criticism I had a few on this thread prior to G. As, and learned...But giving text book advice does not make one a critic especially in 18 or so repetitious posts is a bit much...

Know when to quit and when to go back to it.

I really only posted 3 or so and didn't think they were repetitious. Sorry you felt that way. I won't post anymore but did want to say that I remember two of your paintings from some time back - one, a little girl, turned to look back, holding something in her hand. The other was a building from above with a sunflower in the foreground. I really liked both of them.

Okay, that's it from me.

Pbel was referring to Ash, I believe, in regards to repeated crits.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

I've posted before that I taught watercolor and oil for several years. Not saying that makes me a pro or qualified to judge yours or anyone else's work but I'm going to weigh in ... There's no doubt that having your work critiqued can be just gut wrenching in ways that non-artists really can't understand. And yes, Ash was more harsh than she needed to be.

Having said that, I do agree with some of what she said. Now you, pbel, have to decide whether or not you agree.

Take her words and others away with you and think about them. Look at your paintings in the light of those critiques and ask yourself honestly what you agree with and what you think is hogwash. Be brave but be kind to yourself as well because only you know how hard it is to get an idea or effect from your brain, through your arm and out the bristles of your brush.

Ask yourself if what you want is for people to just say ooh and ahh and never offer any other thoughts. If that's truly what you want, show your work to your mommy and to no one else. If you want to hear other people's opinions, be ready to hear things you might not like.

The mirror is a good idea. Another trick is to place the painting in a room where you will have to see it, first thing, when you walk in or pass by. Or look at it upside down.

I remember taking a commissioned painting to be framed and glancing down at it on the counter, upside down and being jarred by some detail that I only just then saw. I had to decide whether to take it home and "fix" it or leave it to be framed. Taking it home would have meant an 80 mile round trip drive and I left it - mostly because I decided no one else would see what I did.

I also remember reading that Cezanne, when asked how he felt about a portrait he had been working on for something like 15 years. I read that his response was, 'I'm not entirely unhappy with the tie'.

IOW, you can also overwork a painting. Give yourself permission to be an artist -- NOT a camera.

From what I've seen, your paintings do have an unfinished feel to them. But, maybe that's the style you're going for. Look at true folk art - its imperfect and unprofessional and that's its true charm.

Look at the work you admire and ask yourself what it is you like. Is it the artist's use of color? The confidence in the brush strokes? What pleases your eye? And what appeals to something inside you that you can't quite name? What do you want other artists to think about your paintings?

And, more than anything else, remember that you are painting first and foremost for yourself.

Your right about un-finished in one sense, I can't slave more than 3-5 hours...

A flaw perhaps, I bore easily...I appreciate criticism I had a few on this thread prior to G. As, and learned...But giving text book advice does not make one a critic especially in 18 or so repetitious posts is a bit much...

Know when to quit and when to go back to it.

I really only posted 3 or so and didn't think they were repetitious. Sorry you felt that way. I won't post anymore but did want to say that I remember two of your paintings from some time back - one, a little girl, turned to look back, holding something in her hand. The other was a building from above with a sunflower in the foreground. I really liked both of them.

Okay, that's it from me.

Pbel was referring to Ash, I believe, in regards to repeated crits.

I see that now. Sorry pbel, I misunderstood.

I haven't read all of Ash's posts and probably won't. Ash, your work better be damn good ...

Here's something I used to include in my class handouts:

German poet RAINER MARIA RILKE wrote to a young poet who ask Rilke to give his opinion of the young man's poetry:

"Your letter only reached me a few days ago. I should like to thank you for its great and touching confidence. I can do little more. I cannot go into the nature of your verses, for any intention to criticise is too foreign to me. Nothing can touch a work of art so little as words of criticism: they always result in more or less happy misunderstandings. Things are not all so easy to grasp and to express as most people would have us believe; most events are inexpressible, and take place in a sphere that no word has ever entered. Most inexpressible of all are works of art, existences full of secrets whose life continues alongside ours, whilst ours is transitory."

The complete text of "Letters To A Young Poet" is posted here:
Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

Paint for yourself and you'll get the result you want.

IMO

 

[pbel]

This is my first years lesson on oil portraits, someday I'm going to buy oils again...36X48

 

[September]

This is my first years lesson on oil portraits, someday I'm going to buy oils again...36X48

That blue buttplug on the bottom right is very distracting...

:-D
​

 

[September]

In all seriousness...

The face looks decent but the shadows on the sweater don't look very good.

There is lots of open space in the background, which is also distracting. It could be improved by going around the perimeter with some black, and "blending" it into the blue as you get closer to the body, and leaving a sort of "aura" of blue around the body.

And you should cover up that blue... object... on the bottom right. Its the most dominant thing in the entire picture, and it really shouldn't be.

The color scheme is good. Since this was done in oils, you should experiment with using layers to achieve compound colors. I bet if you went over the entire piece with a very transparent layer of orange, it would unify the entire piece, and look really good with the blue showing through!

Just some suggestions.
​

 

[pbel]

I'll say it again, aside from your being nutty in becoming a forum art critic, three of us posters recently requested that you post something to show that you have talent to earn validity and my respect...

I don't speak for the others, and,

I will be the first to acknowledge your talent if you have any.

 

[September]

I'll say it again, aside from your being nutty in becoming a forum art critic, three of us posters recently requested that you post something to show that you have talent to earn validity and our respect...

One needn't consider themselves a "critic" in order to discuss how others might improve their art.

A good artist would be able to visualize "the validity" of my advice in their head and determine whether or not they think they would like that alteration to their painting. You must have poor visualization skills. It would explain a lot.

​

 

[pbel]

I'll say it again, aside from your being nutty in becoming a forum art critic, three of us posters recently requested that you post something to show that you have talent to earn validity and our respect...

One needn't consider themselves a "critic" in order to discuss how others might improve their art.

A good artist would be able to visualize "the validity" of my advice in their head and determine whether or not they think they would like that alteration to their painting. You must have poor visualization skills. It would explain a lot.

​

Blah, blah, the usual bullshit of a narcissistic personality disorder...

Thank you for your nuttiness.

 

[September]

Being an artist is alot like working out at the gym.

We all got our own goals and reasons for being there. Some are focused on strength training, and some are focused on bodybuilding. Some want to be stronger, some wanna be faster, some want better endurance, some just wanna look good. Some want to get better so they can compete better in a sport or some other event. Some just like the Euphoria of working out, or just do it to relax or as a form of "meditation".

For some of us its all of those things.

Some only hit the weights, some only do cardio, some of us do both. Many of us adjust our diets, some don't. Some of us workout nearly everyday, some people workout only a few times a week. Some of us find a lot of inspiration in music, some are distracted by it.

There are many ways to get to where you wanna be. Most people who know what they are doing, walked a Path that helped them get the results they wanted, that may or may not be similar to your own Path. Sometimes these people offer advice to others to help them understand things that could help them improve, based on personal experience, but their goals may be different than yours. Maybe your focus is bodybuilding and their advice is more related to strength training. It might be very beneficial advice but not quite in tune with your goals or Focus.

But if we see someone at the Squat rack fucking leaning all the way forward and destroying their back, we might feel obligated to help the person see what the fuck they are doing wrong. If someone is doing curls and they are swinging their arms like chimpanzees and using momentum to cheat themselves while grunting like King Kong, someone might point out that they aren't really working out shit. If someone is bench pressing and they they had too much weight and can't get the bar off their chest, struggling to breath and looking around for aid, I'll help them get that shit on the rack.

Anyway

Obviously you are more likely to trust the workout advice of someone who as revealed proof that they are indeed strong, healthy, and athletic. But just because they haven't uploaded a photo or video of themselves, perhaps to maintain the discretion of their identity, doesn't mean that their advice is irrelevant. A good athlete or bodybuilder can contemplate and visualize the effects of their advice and would know whether or not it would be a good idea to integrate that into their workouts. They may even experiment with it the next time they are at the gym. If it works, great. If not, oh well. Everybody is different, and maybe your goals for working out are completely different than theirs, and thus your training should be.

I've given advice but it is by no means absolute. It has worked for me personally, and for other artists who use similar methods of creating their Art, who shared similar goals.

I have absorbed good advice from artists and discarded good advice from artists, depending on how well that advice resonated with me, my artwork, and my goals. You Will to do the same. As you should.

​

 

[pbel]

Being an artist is alot like working out at the gym.

We all got our own goals and reasons for being there. Some are focused on strength training, and some are focused on bodybuilding. Some want to be stronger, some wanna be faster, some want better endurance, some just wanna look good. Some want to get better so they can compete better in a sport or some other event. Some just like the Euphoria of working out, or just do it to relax or as a form of "meditation".

For some of us its all of those things.

Some only hit the weights, some only do cardio, some of us do both. Many of us adjust our diets, some don't. Some of us workout nearly everyday, some people workout only a few times a week. Some of us find a lot of inspiration in music, some are distracted by it.

There are many ways to get to where you wanna be. Most people who know what they are doing, walked a Path that helped them get the results they wanted, that may or may not be similar to your own Path. Sometimes these people offer advice to others to help them understand things that could help them improve, based on personal experience, but their goals may be different than yours. Maybe your focus is bodybuilding and their advice is more related to strength training. It might be very beneficial advice but not quite in tune with your goals or Focus.

But if we see someone at the Squat rack fucking leaning all the way forward and destroying their back, we might feel obligated to help the person see what the fuck they are doing wrong. If someone is doing curls and they are swinging their arms like chimpanzees and using momentum to cheat themselves while grunting like King Kong, someone might point out that they aren't really working out shit. If someone is bench pressing and they they had too much weight and can't get the bar off their chest, struggling to breath and looking around for aid, I'll help them get that shit on the rack.

Anyway

Obviously you are more likely to trust the workout advice of someone who as revealed proof that they are indeed strong, healthy, and athletic. But just because they haven't uploaded a photo or video of themselves, perhaps to maintain the discretion of their identity, doesn't mean that their advice is irrelevant. A good athlete or bodybuilder can contemplate and visualize the effects of their advice and would know whether or not it would be a good idea to integrate that into their workouts. They may even experiment with it the next time they are at the gym. If it works, great. If not, oh well. Everybody is different, and maybe your goals for working out are completely different than theirs, and thus your training should be.

I've given advice but it is by no means absolute. It has worked for me personally, and for other artists who use similar methods of creating their Art, who shared similar goals.

I have absorbed good advice from artists and discarded good advice from artists, depending on how well that advice resonated with me, my artwork, and my goals. You Will to do the same. As you should.

​

All well and good...However, giving a repetitious sophomoric critique in 18 or so posts of one person's work is an affirmation of your lack of discretion and sanity...

Get help, and I understand why you keep your identity hidden...

 

[September]

I have never claimed to be "sane", lol.

I can be sociopathic, misanthropic, sadistic, malignantly narcissistic, machiavellianistic, masochistic, nefarious, and insidiously seditious...

But I can be nice too.


​

 

[Luddly Neddite]

I have never claimed to be "sane", lol.

I can be sociopathic, misanthropic, sadistic, malignantly narcissistic, machiavellianistic, masochistic, nefarious, and insidiously seditious...

But I can be nice too.


​

Now might be a good time to do that.







Just saying.

 

[LoneLaugher]

I'm pretty sure that 99% of the USMB members who happen upon this thread would have nothing but positive things to say about Pbel's work.

Good stuff.