Hello all! Attached is a work-in-progress (please ignore the messy clouds, the face, etc--I'm in the midst of a lot of deleting and starting again!). I'm particularly stuck regarding...
1) the background color behind the figure (it's an ultramarine blue lightened with a tiny bit of gray). I changed so many colors since I first started this piece that I'm not sure it makes sense with all of the jewel tones in the rocks. I do think it makes a nice contrast to the orange garment, but open to other color suggestions. For reference, the colors used in the rocks are brilliant green, turquoise blue, prussian blue & burnt umber.
2) fine rendering for the rocks. As you all can see, I went quite dark on the tapai phase for the rocks. Now I'm wondering if fine rendering has its place over these
dark rock shards? Would those fine lines be lost over the dark forms? Would I use the fine rendering to delineate some larger rock forms (instead of each individual rock shard?) And if fine rendering is indeed appropriate, which color(s) to use for the fine rendering?
And naturally open to other suggestions too! Thanks so much.
1) Background colour - I think the colour is fine. The application is an opaque one - looks like you are able to do a nice opaque colour fill now! - Maybe what you're really asking is - does the opaqueness of the sky go well with the mi-rang half colour of the rocks? They are 2 different styles and traditionally generally not mixed. Hence my idea above to do 2 different paintings - same image but 2 paintings, but of course is up to you.
The colour is fine and actually looks a lot like the sky in original miniatures. I personally preferred it before... sounds harsher written down, doesn't it?! This new sky does go very well with the bright orange though, you are right.
I think the issue is that it is such a contrast between 50% of the painting being opaque (sky and clothes) and 50% being half colour (rocks). Before, it was just the figure and clothes that were opaque, and therefore more in keeping with miniatures we are used to seeing.
This is a great painting and just needs work and to be finished. I don't mean to sound harsh or overly critical online as written is different to spoken, and if I told you in person it would sound a lot softer and I would use loads of hand gestures, haha! Please call me out if tone is too harsh etc. I do want what's best for your work but I also know the path of an artist and how it is to receive criticism on something you've spent absolutely ages on. These are called 'tutorials' at the Slade, wonder what they are called in US art schools...