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temiel — The Mockingbird's Bower
Published: 2010-03-11 04:19:20 +0000 UTC; Views: 4474; Favourites: 145; Downloads: 0
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Description
"The mouth that has been kissed does not lose its savour,indeed it renews itself just as the moon does."
~The Decameron
I'm sure our little Mockingbird has had more than a few portraits painted of her... the trick, I imagine, is getting her to sit still and not make eyes at the artist.
This was a big ol' experiment, so please be gentle.
There's a sketch here, but at this point it's almost all PS and Painter X.
Credit where it's due: this was made with sincerest apologies to Rossetti... this is a complete and total riff on Bocca Baciata [link]
In the process, I referred to =morganagod 's excellent tutorial [link] endlessly, it helped SO much.
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Comments: 138
Seeing this show up in my inbox was a pleasant surprise! It's easily noticeable this is one of your most daring endeavours to step out of your comfort zone, and the result looks great, even if it's an experiment. The influence from the old masters is visible (granted, Rossetti doesn't count as an old master, but he did emulate them e.deviantart.net/emoticons/x/x… " width="15" height="15" alt="
While I did say the painting looks great for being an experiment, there are still things I'd like to point out.
The lighting is well conveyed and I really love how you made blueish tones mix so well with browns and pinks for the flesh. However, I think more volume could have been conveyed if you used more tones "in-between" (in Portuguese we call these tones half-tones or half-tints, not only in printing but in painting as well - I have no idea how you call these in English) the dark shadows and the rosy tones of the lit areas, as well as painting reflexes in the dark areas (such as the shadow cast by her face over her neck): compare with the original "Bocca Baciata" and notice the range of browns, reds and greens for the shadows on her neck, whereas the yellows (the lit parts) are less "obvious". Also, the shadow on the right part of her nose could be lighter and wider to convey more depth.
On the other hand, I love her anatomy, her hands and elongated neck and cleavage look realistic and at the same time retain that stylized anatomy that is so much "your own". Also, I love how her blue eyes stand out among such warm tones, to me that's the icing of the cake for this painting. e.deviantart.net/emoticons/h/h… " width="15" height="13" alt="
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HRF, I'm SO sorry it took me so long to respond to this-- I was away this weekend and didn't have a chance to write as much as I wanted to.
Weirdly enough, when I started this one I didn't really see it as "stepping out of my comfort zone", but in retrospect, I really did. OPAQUE PAINT ON TOP OF A SKETCH INSTEAD OF UNDER?! MULTIPLE GLAZING LAYERS?! WTF IS THAT??!!
What you're saying about the half-tints sounds like what =Cacodaemonia said when she mentioned there's not a lot of gradation (particularly on the skin) between the green shadows and the more rosy areas. I mentioned to her that I kind of rushed this one toward the end, just because I didn't want to have to leave it for a whole day and then come back and hate it the next evening and want to restart it all over (DAY JOOOOB... 
Thanks so much for the really in-depth crit. I always appreciate them, even though I don't usually put the full Crit Request up just because I don't want my watchers to feel obligated to do them if they'd rather not (I usually figure if people see something worth mentioning, they can call me out on it in a plain old comment).
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Don't worry, I didn't feel at all obligated! I just thought that, since I haven't commented for so long, I could write a critique in a piece that I particularly *loved*!
I'm just glad I could help! 
About the reflected lights thing, I usually completely ignore them too. *shideh 's walkthrough made me realise soooo many things I didn't even know were possible. xD
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I like the blending of colors and the color scheme you're using for this. The redness gives her skin a flush that's very believable, and I like how you put the green in, reflecting what looks to be the environment. I think you handled the complementary colors quite well.
The face and hands are really well done, but I think around her shoulders it tends to lose its sense of form a bit. Maybe adding in some highlights and sharpening the edges would help. Or adding some of that green into the shadows a bit.
My advice would be to sort of try balancing hard and soft edges more. The colors and lights and darks are great. I'd just give them some more definite edges to keep them from fading into the background.
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Yes, you're totally right. A couple other people mentioned just those things-- the green in the shadows, and the sharper edges-- and they're certainly things I know I need to work on since I'm so brand-new at this whole... opaque painting thing.
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You're welcome. ^^ So far you're off to a good start.
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I can see you stepping outside of your regular boundaries and that is to be commended. I love your use of deep, rich colors ... especially in the reds and golds. Gold is HARD, and for your success here, you have my awe. The unexpected colors (the pinks, greens and blues in the skin) are vivid and make an amazing impact and makes her skin very touchable. Be wary of losing your dark tones in the figure and the robe, though. Perhaps carrying more of the deep green in the background into some of the deeper creases of her robe. I am sure that in practicing a new technique, the colors were your first concern. The effort has paid off.
The anatomy in her hands is excellent! The little curve in the pinky finger of her left hand is particularly pleasing. It's little details like the finger that make your art stand out. I would watch the anatomy in her neck and the placement of her ear. Though, for what it's worth, stylistically it works. My style wouldn't allow for it. Yours does.
You are to be commended for trying something new. I'd pursue it if I were you!
(P.S. She really reminds me of Satine in Moulin Rouge ... which is a good thing ... because I loved her!)
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I approve of your two stars for originality. I ARE UNCREATIVE. 
Seriously, though, you're totally right about my horrible ears. In the original painting the figure's head was at a different angle, so I didn't really have a proper reference for the ear (well, I could've found one, but I'm lazy
Thanks about the hand positions-- the reason I picked this painting to refer to was totally because of that really delicate hand position, I'm totally in love with it.
Also, thanks for the tip on the darker folds picking up the green-- I'm only JUST getting the hang of proper environmental lighting and how it effects the lights and darks on a figure (I keep telling people, how did I make it through art school with such obvious deficiency in stuff like lighting?!
P.S. re Satine-- I'm actually really glad she reminds you of her, because even though when I came up with Rian I wasn't really thinking of Satine, Rian reminds me a lot of her! When I was making her soundtrack, I put "Sparkling Diamonds" on there, because it's so unabashedly a Rian song to me. :3
Thanks a lot for the helpful crit!
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Very pretty! Something about it reminds me of the Pre-Raphaelites. e.deviantart.net/emoticons/s/s… " width="15" height="15" alt="
There are a few areas that I think could use improvement. Her left eye (on our right) seems a bit too small, or maybe a bit too high up on her face. I like how you used a variety of colors in her skin, but in some spots (like her lower jaw, the base of her neck) the contrast between pink and greenish is a bit jarring. It may just be my monitor, but a little more blending in those areas couldn't hurt. Lastly - and I have so many problems with this - I think you could work on a greater variety of edges. What I mean to say is that almost all the edges in this are very soft and fuzzy. If you sharpened up a few in the focal areas - like her hands and face, it would really attract the eye.
Very nice experiment! e.deviantart.net/emoticons/b/b… " width="15" height="15" alt="
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"Something about" indeed, considering I blatantly snitched the pose and almost all her accoutrements from a Rossetti painting.
The eye thing is probably due to a flaw in the sketch that I didn't catch initially, and then just got exacerbated in the actual painting. You're SO RIGHT about the edges... I'm really, REALLY new to this whole digital painting thing, especially if I'm not relying on lines to do the sharpening for me, so you've totally got a point. Honestly, I only spent about 6 hours on this (I worked on it from the time I got home from work until about... 10:15 at night?), and I was really tired of looking at it. If I were less lazy and complacent I would've let it sit until tomorrow when I could refine it, but I really didn't want to go to work tomorrow knowing I had a whole gorgeous painting I couldn't finish because I was AT WORK. >_< So I sort of rushed the end stages as a result.
I think I see what you mean about the pink/greenish contrast. On the one hand, I don't usually mind blending stuff more, but I wanted to avoid that sort of airbrushy smoothness that my stuff usually has (which works for something that's made of lines, but less so for something painterly). If you have any tips on how to avoid that effect while still making it blended enough not to look like a giant green spot on her chin, I'm all ears.
Thanks so much for the crit!
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Hehe, I know the feeling. Sometimes I'll post stuff at night, then when I look at it again the next day I notice all these errors and things. XD
As for avoiding the airbrush thing... I really don't know. Maybe using some colors that are in between the pink and the green? Just little dabs here and there along the border?
No problem. I hope it was somehow helpful.
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Don't worry, it was indeed helpful. I haven't quite got the hang of this yet, so I need all the help I can get. 
Come to think of it, I could probably stand to have built up those undertones more, which would've avoided the abrupt shift in color. The method I was using works sort of like oil glazing, so it's likely I didn't take enough care with the undercoat before slapping the topcoat on.
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Huh, interesting. I've never used oils, but I think I kind of know about the method you're talking about. Seems like it would take a long time with traditional media.
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I love Rossetti ^-^
Do not apologize, it is beautiful and you made it your own
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Oh, me too!!
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She looks elegant and soft at the same time. I like the painting style on this one.
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Thanks so much!
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She came out really incredible, because of the way how you did her hair flowing down her body and the clothing that she's wearing.
I even love how you did her facial features!
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Thanks so much! I had fun bringing a little more "realism" and dimension to her features this time around, since I'm usually so linear.
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You're welcome! It's so much fun doing this painting of her!
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I very much like her fleshy eyes! And the warm colours. And the pretty hands <3
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Oh, thanks so much!
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Damn, sorry! I somehow missed what you wrote about Rossetti on the description. Little letters, hahah... >_<
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Wow, beautiful! This reminds me of the paintings by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, maybe you took some inspiration on those? I love the golden-red waves on her hair... and her hands are so elegant! Great job!
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Lol, yes! 
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Thank you!
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It is really rich looking. I agree.
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Thanks so much! I was really proud of this one, so I'm very glad you like it.
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So how did you feel about working without lines? It's pretty awesome to see the image take shape with just contrast and colors. Nice job!
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There was a line drawing originally, it's just buried under layer upon layer of opaque paint so now you can't see it anymore!
But I'm glad you like it, it was certainly a fun experiment!
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Ah, thank you!
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temiel
Never try to copy any of Rossettis hands, he was known for not being very good at painting them!
*solfieri "(granted, Rossetti doesn't count as an old master, but he did emulate them but I digress)"
Sorry had to mention here that i think you will find Rossetti (even though he wasn't good at hands!) along with the other Pre-Raphaelites are now considered by Art Scholars to be Old Masters as well.
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See, I knew if I tried to do a Rossetti-style painting there'd be someone talking about the hands.
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lol, sorry couldn't resist. But i do like your reasoning and it's fair enough reasoning so i will let you off.
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I've seen "A Sea-Spell" at the Fogg Museum at Harvard, but I haven't been fortunate enough to see any others. (Though I do think the MFA has the one I modeled this after, at least sometimes... I haven't seen it on display, though, I think they put it in storage occasionally.) I was amazed by how large it was. Seeing pictures of it, I always envisioned it being much smaller. I'll have to go to the Fogg again before I move away and see everything again, they have an amazing collection of medieval through Romantic-era art.
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Ah thats good that you have seen that. That was something that struck me upon seeing his paintings, the scale of them. I live in the UK near Manchester where they have a collection of Pre Raphaelite works including Rossettis and J W Waterhouse and then other side in Liverpool more Pre-Raphaelites. To the south in Birmingham is the best collection but then London you have the Tate where i saw J E Millais Ophelia and the V&A which was another Rossetti although the title of the painting escapes me.
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Oh, I'd LOVE to see any of the originals in person (especially the Millais Ophelia). Someday I absolutely have to go around Europe on an art-viewing quest.
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Thank you so much!
How are you doing, by the way? 
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Yeah, I've been on hiatus for a while and now it's finals week. I will get to it eventually. Maybe on the spring break
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AFFF, finals!! 
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Wow Molly, your coloring is his is superb. The warm palette really draws in the eyes. I swear I could stare at her lips for minutes. She looks gorgeous! are you planning on making another piece like this with Farael to pair them up?
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Thank you so much! I had a lot of fun using these really rich colors, since normally I skew toward the lighter side of things. I am actually planning to do something like this with Farael-- I'm using this painting as a model for it: [link]
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OH MAN this is was cool! Your painting technique is awesome, it looks just like something I'd see in an art exposition.
AND I GOTTA SAY, I'M LOVING THOSE COLOURS. and her expression! c:
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Thank you!!
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Hmmm did Desperate Romantics play a hand in this?
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