Seascape Reviews?

i'm not a painter, but i can tell the water is far too smooth and the rest of it should be more varigated and less blue. the shore line could use more foam and water draped over it. the horizons are usually pretty smooth because the waves aren't often that large.

photographically speaking


this won't print because of the glare and the horizon is oddly crooked.


and i don't know what's going on with the border, but it's crooked and bowed. hard to say if they would allow it to be printed


you have to watch for glare and crop issues, this is also not that sharp and probably wouldn't print.

if i were doing water i would probably build it up in layers with different shades of darker blues followed by a bit of white to add reflection. it may be easier to just find ocean waves and overlay it on the painting and see if you can mimic that look.

---Mike Savad

Thank you for your feedback Mike.
I tried to take new pictures of the canvas, but the only one I could fix is the old tree. As a photographer any tips on how I can get a better looking image so no glares and it looks crisp. However I do really like the twisted tree picture, I think that slight glare adds to the picture but if you think it wont sell like that I will continue trying to take better pictures.
Also, take another look at the old tree I think I fixed it. The silver band looks crooked because its angled, the ends are curving.
Thank you again!
-Yolanda

You'll probably find it way easier to scan, or take it to a place like Staples or something to scan it for you.

There are links in this discussion with tutorials on how to photograph your work.
http://fineartamerica.com/showmessages.php?messageid=432109

for the smaller things - a scanner is your best choice. there is a guideline of how to shoot things floating in here, it might be under help. abbie has the list. i don't shoot them myself but if i did i would hang it flat on a wall - no frame, i guess lean it then. tripod, a tent made of sheet over it to diffuse light. add lights on both sides and try that. or experiment with a flash shooting it from the side to highlight detail if there is any. but diffusing that without hot spots is always a pain. which is why the scanner is best.

the tree either needs a better camera, or for you to zoom into it, take many images, and stitch them.

glare will never make an image sell, and anyone who buys things - they don't want glare built into the piece. it's not that it won't sell - they won't print it. they will make you do it again or you'll lose the sale. you have like a 2 day window to fix it if you get the dreaded letter.

for a painting they should look like the original. they shouldn't look dark, distorted, have glare, shouldn't look crooked, can't have crop marks, need to be sharp, can't be noisy or blocky.


this won't print it's blurry with motion blur it's also dark on the edges


it's hard to say if this will print or not, the left looks like glare to me, and it will probably be flagged, yet it could be sunlight. it doesn't look sharp, but up close i can see faint canvas. either way i think you'll be challenged on it.


this should print, though your name is a touch close to the edge (if your name is cut off they won't print it, but i think this is right on the line of being ok).


---Mike Savad

Thank you. Yea I tried scanning but my scanner is way to small.
Does Staples charge? I don't have very much money.
Awesome! I will take a look at that.
Thank you so much Heather.

Mike,
Thank you for being so helpful. I have a very good camera in my opinion, I have a Nikon D5100 so it does take very sharp images but once I crop it so that they can print it, its like the picture dulls. I will keep trying thank you so much for the help!
That quiet morning one is one of my favorites, i'm glad that one would print.
-Yolanda

Yolanda.. if you aren't already you NEED to use a tripod ;O) If you only have the flash that is attached to the camera.. don't use it. You need indirect lighting to avoid the glare. Filtered lighting would be preferable. Outside on a cloudy day would work well too. And you have to have to camera perpendicular to the painting.. meaning it has be straight on.. no angles. Also realize that the closer to the painting the camera is the more distortion you will get [ fisheye ] This can be corrected in something like Photoshop automatically because it can read the information from the camera and knows how to "unbend" the image based on the lens used.

bob

Thank you to all of your ideas, I decided to go with bobs idea since it was cloudy and went outside and feel I really fixed these 4 paintings.
Slenderman, tropical beach, wish upon, and the old tree.
What do you think now?
-Yolanda

wish upon looks good now
old tree ok

slenderman looks the same to me, still motion blurred

and tropical beach didn't want to load right for me.

---Mike Savad

Awesome!
Yea that one is hard because my lines in the painting are kind of off, my tape leaked.

Those two aren't changing. Slenderman never updated.

Don't know if your scanner came with any software or if there is a free stitching program online or if you have PS or some other program to edit in that will stitch images, but you can scan a painting in sections then stitch those sections together.

You'll probably have to hit F5 or clear your browser's cache to see any updated images you replaced.

Yolanda...visit my website www.enver.net

I am an impressionist painter and translate the earth for a living. Any questions you may have can be conducted via FAA. Good Luck with your work. It is a tough road but a path that only the noble dare to tread. Monet said..."paint exactly what you see in front of you"....don't be afraid because you are guided by spirits that would never let you stumble or fall"

Look at the work of Anders Zorn (Swedish) ZORN

I think I fixed the two that were not changing :) let me know thank you again!
-Yolanda

Water is one of the most complicated things to paint and needs to be studied. It is largely made up of two things happening, and this leads on to two colours that are seen to our eyes when looking at the sea/water. The water acts like a mirror so the surface will show the environment around it, the sky for instance or ships on it. The wind however is always breaking up the surface of the water, creating waves. These waves, or dents in the mirror like surface of the water, are not reflecting the environment but show the colour of the water itself, a darker tone relative to the reflective surface.
So when painting water you have to be thinking about what nature is doing to it, and this makes it (slightly) easier to paint.

You have a wonderful, "innocent", unique style!

You are clearly not a realist... so don't try to make them more real.

There are thousands of photographers on this site churning out millions of photos of real waves... there are also loads of painters doing the same.. do you really want to join them?

your style is unique!.. have confidence in it!.... embrace it!....develop it for sure, but don't lose it by trying to be like the rest!

Contact Enver. As an impressionist his methods would probably suit your style best.

I think your paintings are great!

Good Luck!