Sve's Book (April 03 2008, Baroque, digitals, life studies)

[masterpug]

You are scary good. Just FYI.

[blacky]

Damn...I'm having troubles with the computer I'm replieing from. Just wrote a 20 minute reply and when I tried to post it, the server wanted me to log in although I had definetely done so before. Of course all the text was gone. ghmph....

I was so glad to be writing to you again after I came back from my trip. Haven't done so partialy because I haven't been to work for a while (I post from here). Now I ran out of time and motivation.

Short version of what I had writen is, that you're awesome

Till in 2 days....

Edit:
lol, you made false hopes to Haldor, extra to reply to my litle comment.

I was actually going to tell you what and how much I liked about your update. But since you want me to crit you, I'll try doing so.
Leg is choped off at 40min pose. Your charcoalportraits might need some greyish BG (I'd say) to make white spots within face appear different from white of BG. (Did same mistake recently too though.)
The fact that right eye of b/w asian girl is visible although hair covers it, disturbs me slightly. Same as her lips.
looks like she's floating in mid air.
Concirning new digi: Eather the figure or BG might have been done darker to make figure pop out more. More contrasts in light could've added some more impact to the picture. I'm a Rembrand fan. Hiding things into shadow makes em more interesting to me.
His left eye has different expression from right one. Some parts lack volume I'd say. Like lower part of his cloth (area between legs).
I might be wrong, but perspectife of Bg and Figure, are different. Line where floor meets wall, should be lower. But I'm not an expert in Perspective.
That would be all I'd say.
So long...

[sve]

Blacky, happy to have you back, you are more awesome . Don't worry about the lost post. It's OK, unless you wanted to give some crits, in this case go back and write again. . please.

[D.Labruyere]

darn, thought you had updated don't tease me like that!!!!!

[Monny]

followed the link in your signature here from a coment on another thread and what can i say, wonderful sketchbook, really is nice to see the progression of your work from the first page to now, had a pleasant time dawdling through the images.
many thanks for sharing your time with us here!

[Infinitum]

Your doing great Sve. I really like your latest digital paintings. They have the look of the old masters paintings. Well done. How exactly do you do them?

Your moving forward at a great speed, keep it up!

[Quicksilver]

Your doing great Sve. I really like your latest digital paintings. They have the look of the old masters paintings. Well done. How exactly do you do them?

Your moving forward at a great speed, keep it up!

I was just thinking that! Beautiful work, Sve, and it's so cool that you're keeping up with both ends of the traditional/digital worlds - that's what I'm trying to do. Your lines are increasingly confident and precise. Show moooooorreee!

Thank you! I already have that certain pic framed in your honor (just need to find a nail to hammer into the wall now, lol).

[ArcoNL]

Hello sve,
love your sketchbook, especially the charcoal pieces...

Cheers,
Arco

[guggemmaneuver]

i bet you have some mind-blowing over the top inspiring butt-kicking update that you are about to drop on us. I know i need to see one, gotta get through the week somehow.

cheers buddy, hope all is well!

j

[Lake]

DAYUM, you got some badass digipainting skillz yo.

represent!

[MattGamer]

wow amazing digitals!! i can't believe my eyes.. they seem like they should be in some art museum of some sorts, they're that good! and your studies are very sweet as well. tell Christie she's on the verdge of a bright artistic future - and to never give up even when nothing seems to fall in the right places at times. very nice art!

haha, i make you shy! gosh you make me embarassed because of your indepth and inciteful comments - my dab into the CA forums could never be recognized as much as your influence has impacted literally hundreds of artists (including mine). keep up the amazing art and kind personality. both rare, rare indeed.

[VeSeljak]

Sveta I really like your master studies, who is your favorite artists,who do you like the most?

[sve]

Hello, dear friends! Thank you so much for coming to my thread.

Haldor , hey, buddy. Where are you these days? Thanks, all your words are sweet, And thanks for the critique, I'm always glad when I got one, How strange that yoy like mixed media portrait more, the other one at least have some face expression, kind of dreamy one. Glad to hear from you, Wish you produce new relaxed lanscape, I'm always glad to see them.

Hello, arya , thank you so much for the compliments. So the last one looks flat, hmm, thanks for telling me, I wonder what could be done to fix it. It's probably in the chest area. Sweet words for my daughter's artwork, thank you very much.

Hey, Edite , thank for coming and leaving such kind words. Christie was happy to read your words. Thanks.

Hello,Julien, hahah. Well tell me who you are if not the Silver Laughter. I just can see you entering into my thread with fast steps, like a little swirl. I can feel the wave of light feelings coming from you almost every time I meet you on the forum. Do you dance? You should dance very well. I can't see you not capable to do good dancing move. Yeah, I know you will destroy everything after my words. Anyways you should . Christie always laughs when she reads your messages.

Hey, Alcian, You are way too kind, thanks you so much. I'm grateful for everyone being on this board, everyone. The variety is beautiful thing. Thanks.

Chip , I'm so glad that you are my friend. Just when you have more spare time again I will climb into your home page and will talk to you until one of us cry for help. I miss you calmness and kind atmosphere around you. I learnt already some things from you, about life and art. Thanks. Thank you so much for detailed comment. You are right, I just hope that someday I will be in control enough to express life in my paintings. Right now it's a school. Thank you so much for telling me that you see something in my drawings, I wish I could see it too. I hope you are alright.

Hello, bdfoster , That's a great, very informative, very much needed comment from you, I'm happy that you took your time and wrote it, that's generous. I agree with every words. I'm just learning to paint, it's studies. I will try to fix the Emir paining, just don't know how. Don't' worry, it will be soon, this time of your son drawing with you.

Lukavi , thank you so much, but, please, don't' loose your fire when you are writing to me. I love your manner to talk and tease. You are the one and only who can do this on this forum. But the thing is you are not simple in everything. I like it that we are friends. When you have nothing to say about my updates let's talk about something else, any theme. Who knows where we will be tomorrow. I want to know you and talk to you when I have a chance. And see your new art, hopefully soon. I love people like you.

Hey, Ben , thank you so much, your comments are very useful to me. I will go back to emir, just got tired a bit from fixing him. You know your illustration Saint of seven plagues keep popping up in my mind. It is really great technically and story wise drawing, I'm very glad i saw it. I think it and its story will live in my mind always.


Heheh, pennington, you are funny and very cool. thanks you so much. Awesome, awesome notes. Let me hug you. I'm a the best hugger in the world, btw. I will remember about lips and using big brush. You are right, that's what i need and needed long time ago. After reading your golden words ended up staring at all lips I meet. Progress will not come in one day though, so please forgive me for doing the same mistakes again .


Gun!!!! Where is your gorgeous body right now, in France or Germany?, hahaha. Thank you so much. I always listen to you. you know. I know you notice a lot. Thanks. Nudes drawing in the last update are from life. Christie did her painting herself in school, the theme was offered by teachers. She read your comments, she is happy. Thank you for that. I like the first portrait too. The girl is living in Europe, btw and member of CA.

Hey, tensai, I still want to see your face, I wanted it this winter actually. May I? you saw mine. Thank you for all the kindness you generously gave to me. And to my daughter. she is so-o-o happy. I have to say that you art is very unusual and I'm kind of wondering if the fact that you soaked up many cultures in you played some role in it.

Hello, masterpug, you are so funny, every time you write to me. thank you so much. No one considers me scary in anything in real life, btw .

Hey, Blacky!!!! You know you surprise me every time I run into you, Your notes are pure gold. Wonderful crits. You are right, the eye should be hidden. the perspective in the Emir is wrong and I didn't see it when i was painting it. The door should be deeper, so i need to move the line of where the grounds begins forward.
About the figure of the Emir. I will come back to him, when I have my interest to him back, right now I can't look at him. Too much time I was fixing him, he is nor flight of creativity for sure. .

Haldor, may I say that I love you. Just for the fact you exist .

Hello, Monny . And I even knew from which book you came to my thread, but lost this interesting knowledge, whose friend you are. Oh well. I need to update more often. Thank you so much, you are very kind.


Hey, Ian. I hope you are doing great. Thank you for coming. The digitalis, The Kurdish woman was from photo in some geographic book, and I changed the woman a lot, She was a very young girl in that photo, I make her much older.
The rest are from Internet photo (Emir) and from painting on the Internet.


Hey, Quicksilver , You are very sweet. Thank you so much for letting me try to depict your beautiful face. Hope to draw it again in future.

Hello, ArcoNL . Many thanks, I'm grateful.

Hey, Joel, thank you so much for being always so kind to me. I'm sorry i didn't answer you, but I was not able to, my daughter was hurt, she was limping and I was in the hospital and very tired afterwards. I hope you forgive me for that.


Hello, panda. thanks for coming to me, I was joking though, you shouldn't force yourself to write comments when you don't feel like it. Your lines are fluent, but when you are too conscious about your drawing they are frozen and the whole figure too. And no, I prefer your lines running and hopping. Answering your question after my comment, buddy. You have a beautiful drawings.

Thank you, MattGamer, You are sweet. Kiss from me and Christie. I hope you are OK with it. I'm grateful.

Hey, VeSeljak, thank you , ti's great to hear from you, i admire your skills. My favorite, Buddy. I'm falling in love all over again with new artist when I see them, I have too many and I easily can be charmed. I'll think a little more about it. I really love all kind of styles and very glad that there is so many different of them.
************************************************** ***88

U*P*D*A*T*E


The face of Jennifer lopes. She tolerated a lot from me

Charcoal, digital drawing, digital painting, study

Three portraits. Pencils, charcoal and mixed media

Ink pen, from ref .

Digitals, 5-10 min, from ref., but not copying, at least.

The last from Christie

[guggemmaneuver]

sve,
Don't sweat it, it didn't bother me to not get a response --> things are like that sometimes and I know that you are busy, so of course i didn't mind! Of course, it wasn't the kind of message that needed a response... i just wanted to give you a heads up ---> I saw the story and the pageantry / landscapes / etc. reminded me of some of the figures + images you like to reference & work with. Sorry to hear that your daughter was hurt! Yikes i hope she is ok!!!

The charcoal state on this turned out really impressive, though i think the ear may be a little bit too small. This area of the face, the intersection of the face, skull, ear, and hairline is always tricky for me to draw--so much action going on and forms intersecting, it's truly a challenge. What with it being j-lo she probably had million-dollar plastic surgery to shrink it down + got it insured. Of all of the digital versions, the first turned out the nicest i think... It works out on this saturated orange color in this image, but not as well in the following two, where i think the chosen texture with which you rendered was somewhat problematic and rough. I do like how in the drawing of the child the background is suggested... Having it in kind of an oval shape like this is really effective and gives your drawings a nice graphic effect. BAD BROWNIE you did there! Thanks for the update friend! ha ha crazy planting a flag in someone's sketchbook but seeing your update really got me all pumped up and inspired! not necessary to say, but, impressive set of work as always. I'm loving to see the kinds of things that you do with ink nowadays!

Hey Christie! I really like how the chameleon has striped legs and round green feet! I think even a STRONG WIND wouldn't blow him off of his branch! is he grabbing the smaller lower branch? I would guess that he is about to have a meal!

joel

[arya]

nice update..... I really like the smiling kid.........and those flowing lines of the couple (last one).......All r very nice though.....

[GunTrouver]

Salut sveta My georgeous body is back from Paris. I had a good time
Great to see some new drawings from you. The Portrait is very good. I recognize Jennifer Lopes so it has to be good I like the charcoal one the most, it has the most similarity I think but I don't know realy why.
The other portraits are nice two but I'm not so content with the colored hair in the third one, I think it looks a bit too rough but that's a question of personal taste. The ink pen stuff is great, you start directly with ink? Or do you do a pencil sketch first? Bacuse I know how hard it is when you can't correct mistakes.
The digitals show good lineflow I like the especialy the second one.

And Chrisstie's picture is also much fun Nice colors and good chameleon, did she used ref? She'll become a great artist.

[Alcian]

Lovely digital studies, they have such a great looseness to them. They look like they have been done in pen, thats pretty cool. Im learning a lot from those portraits, I got to do some now, lol. Do you go museum/gallery sketching. I do occasionally, its lot of fun. Take care.

[kropek]

Great stuff. I love your master copies the best. I'd like to do some but don't have the patience for it. I'm fond of the personality in your lines too. Post more!

[Quicksilver]

You're way too kind, Sve! Feel free to draw me whenever you like - if it helps you than I'd be more than happy to supply you with photos, dahrl.

The latest portraits are looking beautiful. Lopez's chin looks a little small/sharp but this goes throughout the 3 pieces so I'm assuming it's just her. I really like how your lines are both expressive and accurate. Will you be painting anything traditionally in the future? I think it would be pretty interesting for you.

Take care, hun!

~~Naomi

[Zulle]

hi sveta long time no see,
beautiful updates - your color stuff is so impressive - very beautifull
from that latest batch i especially dig the inks and the child in charcoal - so full of life.

your stuff is art sveta.

[Alday.J]

Hello,Julien, hahah. (...) Do you dance? You should dance very well. I can't see you not capable to do good dancing move.

Er... Well, in fact, no ! No, I don't dance, I have no sense of rythm, lol ! You know, for me, all I want is singing some ol' crooner-song, with a microphone, a red carpet, a Big-band orchestra and a chorus of beautyful women... Frank Sinatra is cool AND he don't dance !

Yeah, I know you will destroy everything after my words. Anyways you should .

Hahahaha ! Not to that point, not to that point.

@ Christie: Did you know that chameleons use their camo skills for be invisible ? Right ? The lack of background let me wonder that creature is living in some 70's dancefloor !

Cheers, Sveta and Christie !
J.

[pennington]

salut! beautiful portraits! very consistent. i like the charcoal the best. and i can tell that christie has improved! she has put a lot more thought into overlapping forms and consistency of thought (like the colors of the chameleon) and more time in her coloring. byebye. thanks for the hugs btw. :hugs back:

[Dutton]

Sveta,

Ah, I finally have a chance to sit and write about your wonderful sketchbook.

I had so many thoughts as I went through each page, looking at your pieces and reading other comments. I wish I wrote them down as I went along, because I'm sure I will miss something as I type this.

First off, I really like what Masque had to say about your issues with anatomy that people tend to comment on. It really does look more like you are concerned with creating art, a mood, and an emotional connection, and not so much recording a scene or getting everything just right. I love that you capture a mood even in short gesture studies. There's such a lively feeling in your sketches of the musicians from a few pages earlier, as well as working from live models, whereas most people (myself included) are often more concerned with anatomy, using reference points on the body, and breaking it all down to a science, rather than following our natural impulses.... more about this later. When you do slow down, such as in your Boucher study, or working off references like the Kurdish woman, or Bukhara Emir, people should notice that you don't have a problem with anatomy at all! And these pieces are beautiful in their own right as well. The last two, specifically, strike me as being influenced by the Russian Itinerants (which I mentioned on your Kurdish woman thread). There's a strong resemblance specifically to Ilya Repin, and in the same way. I don't think you're similar just in technique, but in the kind of people you choose to observe as well. The Kurdish woman has a very "commoner" look that makes her feel so alive and real, something Repin focused his career on. The Boucher study looks less so, of course, because you're studying his art, which was rigid high society, and it looks more like an exercise in painting costumes and colors. I feel Emir is much closer to the Kurdish woman in style. Even though the costume and details are highly rendered, there's so much life in his face and that blank expression he's wearing. Was the "All you need is love" in the reference as well? If this was your own idea, I really love that touch!

Back to what I mentioned on following impulses... one of the things I love is that you share your daughter's artwork here as well. Christie is actually an amazing artist for her age, but what I love is the quality of looseness and uninhibited linework that in most cases, only a child can do. As adults who have studied art for years, we tend to tighten up, and juggle so many rules, that it eventually kills the impulse to enjoy art the way we did as children. In your sketches, I see that you have somehow retained that looseness, and I love that it's still there in something as finished as the Kurdish woman. I think this is a powerful tool in what seems to be something you enjoy the most, which is capturing the human spirit.

That can sound really arty when in reality, the human spirit doesn't come from the pencils or paints we use. It's a viewer's reaction to a series of forms, lines, hues, values, shapes and edges on paper. Somehow you've found that balance: You have the technical knowledge and are able to edit or break the rules enough to create the kind of art you want.

Thanks again for being so supportive on my sketchbook. I hope I've been able to do the same for you!

[johnny78]

those 2 min poses look very vivid. Your lines have a strong feeling to it. Just take care not to overdo it and try to avoid for example Hogarth´s style, stay with your own. Well, this is just my opinion

Oh, and the last charcoal pic from the little boy looks very vivid as well. No way that it looks stiff or something. There just might be some issues with Jennifer lopez, but I know how hard it is to nail someone elses face.

[VeSeljak]

Just name a few......

[MattGamer]

yes, i am ok with kisses. thank you. astounding updates.... thank you for sharing them with us!
wow.. if i had time i'd talk about each one. even Christies (which is very good, in fact)! your strokes are so well thought out and i love how you keep everything so simple. many kudos to you.

[armando]

Knock knock knock.http://home.comcast.net/~elazutkin/Images/Madam.jpg Beautiful study. Figured I'd comment on this too since it got two paintovers http://home.comcast.net/~elazutkin/I...Underwater.jpg. I think the main thing that makes this such a compelling composition, besides the fact it's a hot topless chick, is the sense of the movement of the water. The main cause of this effect is this S line that moves through the whole figure, starting with the back of the hair, going around under the jaw, then along the shoulder, then being picked up and emphasized by the folds of the sleeve. What I think Mr.Blonde improved in his paint over is the color harmony, there's the green of the background, yellow in the hair, then some touches of red in the skin to complement the green. Adding bubbles only complicates the larger shapes and covers up the excellent handling of the material of the dress. What probably would have helped more would have been to put some complementary lines in the back ground to emphasize that S, like the sleeve. I like your pen and ink work, the texture for the squirrel's fur is very well done, I can almost pet the thing. Once again there's that repetition of line http://home.comcast.net/~elazutkin/Images/Animal3.jpg, this time it's the pattern on it's back, that repetion of line is like a harmonized melody and really gives some of these drawings great power like an orchestra. My advice would be to really take advantage of that device since it's suits your style so well, for example http://home.comcast.net/~elazutkin/Images/Min2c.jpg on the back of the middle drawing you've got that sort of thing kind of happening but since the line is broken and not so parallel it loses it's power.

[bengonzalez]

Sveta there is a lot of work in that last update. yours daughters chameleon is very well done. She shows a lot of control with her coloring and very nice imagination.

From yours the Jennifer Lopes study shows a definite difference in the command you have over the mediums the charcoal came out the best. There seemed to have been a struggle with the digital work. I know how hard it can be from trying it a few times now. you're definitely getting better.

The rest of your work looks very solid and the portrait of the small child is my favorite in this batch. it captures a lot of character in it.

[masque]

hi, Sve! such an enjoyable update, full of interesting folk beautifully portrayed. the J-Lo series is very interesting; i think the first digital drawing is the most lively of the bunch, more so than the charcoal, which is beautifully done, but i like the spare, clean, concise qualities of the digital version, and it delivers as much personality. the paintings seem to show you are still discovering digital painting to a certain degree, but the study shows a lot of character, different than the drawings but still having depth. btw, whether or not they resemble Ms. Lopez isn't that important to me, she's not nearly as interesting as what i see in your images

The B. Brownie drawings are wonderful, the two more contemporary portraits showing slightly different character aspects to my eyes, one a bit more formal, one a bit warmer in terms of mood, both very interesting people. and the young child is a beautiful evocation of the mischieviousnes of that age, lots of curiosity, a little daring, a little devilishness, too. how you get such depth of character from photo refs is magic to me. i think that's where i see you as a person (not just a skilled draftsman) becoming part of the drawings.

your pen and ink and digital drawing techniques are starting to converge well, i think -- that's not a trivial task. i'm seeing much the same freshness of line and confidence in the renderings in both media. of those posted, 'Sorrow' and 'Conversation' appeal to me most, though they are opposite ends of the "finshed" spectrum for these new drawings. the pathos of Sorrow is very accessible, but not maudlin, and the ambiguity of the linework in Conversation (supported by a strong composition) draws me in and makes me wonder what's "on the table" so to speak. i want to eavesdrop!

and tell Christie i enjoy seeing her pictures very much -- as others have said, she is quite good, already showing a strong eye for composition in the work you've posted for her.

[blacky]

Hi sve,
wonderfull update. Like how you used orange background for that portrait. The colours on't and on previous one really add someth. to it. Am not sure bout that on first orange version though. Left part of her hair (the more distant one) might be too dark I'd say, or at least volume and merging into background could be done smother, but I love those charcoals of yours nevertheless. Like how you added clour and bg on this paintover of't. Perhaps a touchup of white or some bright colour spots on frontside of hair might have given the piece yet more volume and had make her pop out more. Just an idea. The charcoal child drawing is absolutely wondefull. Love it. specially the scuinted eyes, grin and lef hand.
Like your recet refed works. Glad to hear you aint copying no more.
Specially like last of em, very quirky


ooooh no I have to stop, cuz I'm posting from London and the Internetcafe is about to close!!
Sorry
Later