Gesture Portrait- First Attempt
2mo
Jason Arizona
Hello again Proko Community!
Last night I found out about Jeff Watts' Gesture Portraits - like gesture drawing, except instead of two minutes to capture a pose, you have 40 minutes to capture a portrait. This is my first attempt at a 40-minute "gesture" portrait, and I'd love critique. The funny thing for me is that 40 minutes was a bit too long for me -- to the point where, near the end, I was fidgeting and futzing just to fill time. I don't know if that's efficiency or sheer hubris.
Hey Jason! This is a really nice portrait. You really finished this in less than 40 minutes?? Dang. Jeff's gesture paintings are some of my favorites of his, too. I have the demo on the Watts YouTube channel bookmarked. So fantastic. He's just something else.
If I were to offer my unprofessional critique, I would start by saying that I love it. The confidence and the simplicity is great. Your color is awesome, and I love how you rendered the hair.
Some things that could improve. To me the eyes feel way too big. And the ears... The left one is too high and the right one is too low. In fact the entire right side feels quite unfinished compared to the rest, so maybe you didn't have too much time? That and I don't really get what the twinkles are floating in front blocking half the portrait.
So maybe spend a little more time getting your proportions accurate and your perspective figured out before diving in. That should help you fill out those 40 minutes and turn out an even better painting.
This is fantastic, keep it up! Hope this helps you out!
Thank you for the critique! The sparkles are actually part of the original reference. He was holding a flower in front of his face.
