"In The Light Reading" A Portrait of Rose N. Muschick by Artist Katherine M. Schneider

A sunny spot and a good book are timeless pleasures. For this portrait, I used contrasting artistic elements to express a quiet, relaxed moment.

Warm red and orange tones in the sitter's face and hair stand out against cool blues and greens in the shadows.

The "hard" edge of the face in profile brings this area into focus as the softer, "lost" edges at the back of the hair cause that area to fade into the background.

The high value of the colors in the light adds drama and interest against the darker, lower values of the shadow tones.

Warm vs. cool colors, hard vs. soft edge treatments, high vs. low values plus the strong diagonal design of light falling across the picture plane are all artistic elements I used to add interest to this portrait of my mother.

"In the Light Reading"
Pastel on prepared panel
20"x17"

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

You brought out a lot of character with the face. She looks like a strong person.

Anonymous said...

Your use of finer definition and lighter colors in the face against the soft background really do highlight the most important aspect of a portrait - the face. I really like the composition and style here.

Katherine Muschick Schneider said...

Hi Paul,
I'm glad her strength and character can be seen in the portrait.
Thanks for your comment.

Kay Schneider

Katherine Muschick Schneider said...

Thanks for your input and positive feedback,Dave. Thanks for stopping by.

Anonymous said...

You have captured Aunt Rose forever!
Linda and Dan

Katherine Muschick Schneider said...

Thanks, Linda and Dan! Hope all is going well up your way.

Kay

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