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Jessica Jenney

6 Years Ago

Presidential Portrait

This is not a political post, but we can discuss the new portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama at The National Portrait Gallery

What do you think of the artwork?

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2018/02/obama-official-portrait

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MM Anderson

6 Years Ago

I think his portrait is interesting but I don't really like the cool tones and flat look of her portrait. I feel as if the cool skin tone leeches the life and vibrancy of her personality out that should be present. I also think it would have been nice if the two artists had worked together just a little bit to make the portraits look more coordinated if displayed together. I feel like they clash when side by side, although I don't know how the National Portrait Gallery plans to present the works.

 

Mike Savad

6 Years Ago

i think its weird that he's sort of floating on ivy and how she doesn't match the style of the other one at all.

she's a totally different shade, with a bland background, the scale is different and that dress looks large and strange on her. while barack he just looks weird on that background. its like someone took him from the oval office, and cut him out and glued him into a new background.


---Mike Savad
http://www.MikeSavad.com

 

Phyllis Beiser

6 Years Ago

I am not crazy about either portrait. Not that they are not good artist because they are both very talented. I looked up both artists work and I really like Amy Sherald's work (Michelle's portrait) but in this case, the painting looks nothing like Michelle Obama and the flesh is almost a dead flesh color.

Baracks portrait is very complex and the likeness is perfect, I just do not like the busy, leafy background. I think that although most times a change is a good thing but in this case, they should have shot for a more traditional form of art because of where they will hang. Just my opinion.

 

John Wills

6 Years Ago

Saw these the other day. Obviously the artist worked from different photos, a photo of Barrack and a photo of foliage. The lighting in both photos is completely different and as a result, it looks like Obama has been copied and pasted on to the background. It also doesn't make any sense whatsoever that he's sitting on a chair in greenery, why not the oval office? The artist failed to create a believable scene in that sense.. Michelle's is ok, looks like a WIP that's about half way finished.

 

Don't get his portrait at all. Lacks the stately quality that a President, wearing a suit, would conjure. As for Michelle's... it does her justice.

 

Jessica Jenney

6 Years Ago

They both selected the artists, so they knew what to expect.

 

Diana Angstadt

6 Years Ago

Michele looks nothing like that woman

 

Marlene Burns

6 Years Ago

Clearly, Michelle's is a bomb.....look up the youtube video of Barack thanking the artists...Michelle's look on her face is priceless!!

 

Hans Zimmer

6 Years Ago

As long as they are both happy with it - i would not be.

 

Hard to believe that these will hang in the White House.

 

David Bridburg

6 Years Ago

I like that the portraits are experimental. We as a nation have thousands of governors' portraits done in a very staid manner. Good to move on a bit.

Michelle's face in the portrait looks more like the artist's face, Amy Sherland. I am speaking to the structure of the face.

Dave

 

Jessica Jenney

6 Years Ago

Glenn, they will not hang in the White House. They will hang in The National Portrait Gallery.

 

Kathy Anselmo

6 Years Ago

I like the one of him (should cannabis plants though) and I don't like the one of her... she has a weird expression on her face and looks like high school skill level, maybe even middle-school level.

 

Janice Drew

6 Years Ago

I posed same question on my FB page. I was more surprised by the lack of responses from my artist friends than others.

I watched the unveiling live yesterday. I admit to being surprised by both paintings.

The more I studied President Obama’s portrait and heard the Mr. Wiley’s words of symbolism though, I saw it in a different light and awareness.

I thought he aged him too much. I would have preferred the focus on his smile, but I understand the reason for the seriousness.

I am not a fan of Michelle’s. It’s not the gray skin tone that bothers me. It’s the lack of facial recognition. The only way anyone would recognize her is by her well toned arms. She isn’t every woman. I think the artist missed Michelle’s strengths.



 

See My Photos

6 Years Ago

It's a No for me!

 

Thank you Jessica.

Someone was pointing out earlier that it almost looks like he has an extra finger on his left hand. The foliage in that piece is beautiful.

 

James Barber

6 Years Ago

Fail.

 

Abbie Shores

6 Years Ago

Cannot stand either of them. So many fabulous artists out there,shame they picked these two. Sorry...feeling ultra honest today.

 

Joy McKenzie

6 Years Ago

I love the style of Michelle's portrait, but something about her eyes is off. If the eyes aren't right, then the entire painting isn't right. I do love that dress though. If people don't know beforehand about the artist using grayscale purposefully, then the skin tone also may look 'wrong'. Even if the artist worked from a photo, somehow Michelle looks almost upset, rather than serene.

Barack's portrait has more life beaming from it, although I agree about over-aging him. Also, the foliage against the pants leg... there's a weirdness that doesn't seem quite right. But it does look like President Obama, and the colors are beautiful. I just don't think the chair out in the garden situation translates fully, in that the artist's reasoning and use of symbolism leaves me with questions.

I do appreciate the choice of the two up and coming artists, and their use of more modern styles.

 

Dan Turner

6 Years Ago

These are not just portraits, they are art. I didn't expect either of these, they were a surprise. How do artists surprise their audience with something as important as presidential portraits while still hitting lofty, traditional expectations?

I think both artists hit the mark. These take presidential portraits to the next level. I would like Michelle's better if she weren't that chalky, dull color but...it will be fine.


Dan Turner
Dan Turner's Seven Keys to Selling Art Online

 

Ronald Walker

6 Years Ago

I appreciate that they both went for a more modern feel. I feel both works don't go far enough in that direction. It is kind of like the hold over from previous portraits is preventing either of these works from being successful .

 

Jim Hughes

6 Years Ago

I like them. They aren't just more boring oil paintings that make them look like they ran a Baptist college in the 1950s. They're modern, light, surprising and interesting. I'd call the one of Michelle very flattering.

 

Marlene Burns

6 Years Ago

Google a close up of these portraits.
Technically, Obama has a real problem with his left hand and foot.
Madame Tussaud did great with Michelle and failed with Barack.
Crap shoot.

 

Dan Turner

6 Years Ago

When people remarked that Gertrude Stein did not look like her portrait, Picasso simply said "She will."

Give these a little time. In a decade or two these will be quintessential and probably much imitated.


Dan Turner
Dan Turner's Seven Keys to Selling Art Online

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Mark Blauhoefer

6 Years Ago

I like the idea of going 'modern' for modern portraits, but are they 'modern' enough? Both look like they came from the 'experimental' seventies. Michelle's looks 'unfinished'. Barack's is at least a bit colourful.

Should have had then sit together in a third portrait.

 

Marlene Burns

6 Years Ago

J L,
I had to look at other views of the statue because in the one posted, her right thumb seems to be missing. An awkward angle or bad photoshopping. What I discovered, when looking at the back of the statue is that the hand in question is gloved, while the other is not. Is that what you're referring too?

 

Jessica Jenney

6 Years Ago

Interview with Michelle Obama's portraitist Amy Sherald:

.

 

Bob Galka

6 Years Ago

I do not like Barack's portrait.. I do like Michelle's, but I do not like the skin tone.. I know that is something that the artist does on purpose so Michelle knew what she would be getting.. she [ the artist ] is making a statement.. but I think it is a mistake.

 

Joy McKenzie

6 Years Ago

Marlene, I looked at a few different views of Lucy, and I don't see the glove you speak of.

 

Dan Turner

6 Years Ago

Jessica, thanks for posting the video. Looking at Michelle's portrait in HD on a large screen changes things for me -- her skin is beautiful! That part of the portrait really comes alive. You can feel the paint and texture; it's not chalky at all. And the likeness is wonderful, too. I love it!


Dan Turner
Dan Turner's Seven Keys to Selling Art Online

 

Marlene Burns

6 Years Ago

No her skin color isn't chalky...it's gray. The artist uses Payne's Gray. She so stated.
And nope, still doesn't look like Michelle, sorry.
Her experience is in portraits of unknown people....which is very different than portraits that must be spot on because they are famous.
Ask any portrait artist how easy it is to paint a portrait and paint one that looks like the subject.

 

J L Meadows

6 Years Ago

You're close, Marlene. Look at the hand resting on Lucy's hip. The fingers are all the same length. That's anatomically incorrect.

 

Dan Turner

6 Years Ago

There are a lot of pictures on the net of Michelle's portrait, taken in bad lighting and processed with the color filter du jour -- which gives her wildly varying skin tone.

Seek out a high quality image. Her skin isn't gray, it's a nice velvety chocolate. Also, Michelle has many looks. This is one of them and it works for me :-)


Dan Turner
Dan Turner's Seven Keys to Selling Art Online

 

Abbie Shores

6 Years Ago

It's grey. It's awful. I much prefer the traditional styles in the white house. These are awful.

 

Joy McKenzie

6 Years Ago

JL, each finger is a different length, so definitely not seeing what you're seeing.

 

Jessica Jenney

6 Years Ago

I agree with Marlene. Her other portraits are of unknown people. We have an expectation that a portrait of the First Lady should be a good likeness. Her portraits
do nothing for me personally, not my cup of tea, but she was Michelle Obama's choice.

 

Marlene Burns

6 Years Ago

Dan, I love you but listen to the interview...she states she paints skin tones in gray and WHY. In another interview I read, she said how she came upon doing that. She was starting with payne's gray for a tone....then added yellows or reds to warm them up...one day she decided she liked the gray and left it that way. It has now become her signature.
Any portrait artist will tell you that payne's gray is not a color for skin.

Lemme find the other views of Lucy
https://www.cnn.com/2016/08/06/us/lucille-ball-new-statue/index.html

I don't know, maybe its the lighting.

 

Marlene Burns

6 Years Ago

J L , I see differnet lengths, though subtle...

Meanwhile Scary Lucille is a giant fail...even the sculptor admitted it!!
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/lucille-balls-hometown-finally-replaced-160322258.html

Ya see, guys, sometimes an artist that is ill equipped, will accept a commission because their egos get in the way. Make sure you have the skill set!!

 

Dan Turner

6 Years Ago

Sherald doesn't say anything about what paint she uses in the video Jessica posted. I think y'all need your monitors calibrated.

"Any portrait artist will tell you that payne's gray is not a color for skin."

Since Amy's getting the big bucks for portraits, I bet it is now!


Dan Turner
Dan Turner's Seven Keys to Selling Art Online

 

Marlene Burns

6 Years Ago

Check in at about 2:30...the question is why do you paint black skin in gray scale....and then she goes on to explain why.

 

Dan Turner

6 Years Ago

I just pulled the portrait into Photoshop and overlaid it with a graduated grayscale. Then I duped the layer and actually made it grayscale.

She put warmth in Michelle's skin, especially the highlights. BUT not as much as you'd think. The subtlety is amazing and the illusion of more color than is actually there is amazing. That's skill, that's discipline.

This woman is a genius.


Dan Turner
Dan Turner's Seven Keys to Selling Art Online

 

Marlene Burns

6 Years Ago

but Dan,aren't you just adjusting an image that's online?

 

Dan Turner

6 Years Ago

One adjusted, one not. l just made a grayscale to pop back and forth for comparison. The New Yorker has the best repo I've found so far, but I'm sure there are others.


Dan Turner
Dan Turner's Seven Keys to Selling Art Online

 

Marlene Burns

6 Years Ago

But, it is still a repo...you have not seen the original and the repo could have already been adjusted.
That's the wild card, hon. Just listen to her own words....

 

Dan Turner

6 Years Ago

Sorry, I've lost interest in gray or not gray. Whatever it is, I like it.


Dan Turner
Dan Turner's Seven Keys to Selling Art Online

 

Marlene Burns

6 Years Ago

Just happy we agree on most other things ;)

IMO, gray in skin tones= dead.

 

Dan Turner

6 Years Ago

Remember "Flesh" in the crayola box? Apparently nobody was ever that color!


Dan Turner
Dan Turner's Seven Keys to Selling Art Online

 

Marlene Burns

6 Years Ago

and Crayolas are for kids.
Don't make me smack you.

 

Lisa Kaiser

6 Years Ago

Neither speak to me so much.

 

J L Meadows

6 Years Ago

Hm, looked at the Lucy image on my desktop and the hand looks more normal. Guess my tablet distorted the image, my bad.

 

Jessica Jenney

6 Years Ago

Michelle Obama's Portrait Is So Popular the Smithsonian Had to Move It

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/michelle-obama-apos-portrait-popular-185019365.html

 

Dan Turner

6 Years Ago

Fabulous! Everyone connected with that painting has to be beaming.


Dan Turner
Dan Turner's Seven Keys to Selling Art Online

 

This discussion is closed.