Cotton & buttons on an orange background
Wednesday, 2 May 2012
Project 4 - Colour Working with greys and browns
I found painting this still life really quite a challenge - I think mostly because I did not really enjoy the colours i was seeing before me. I followed the technique of many layers built tonally which I am now really enjoying as an approach to painting, and I think suits me as it probably reigns me in from being too "enthusiastic" and sloshing paint everywhere!
I found I did not really understand the "patterns" referred to in the course material, I understand that patterns are a repetition of a colour/image, and I can see how this might apply but feel the link is quite a tenuous one.
I have found that the practice of leaving the dark areas/details to the end of the painting is a very helpful way for me to proceed with the painting, and also the multiple layers give me time to reflect away from the painting and return to it with fresh eyes after the painting is dry, ready to proceed with the next layer.
I like the relationship between the vibrant orange of the satsuma and the pearl grey of the small vase (though the vase was a pain to draw! I am still unhappy with the finished shape of that item).
Project 4 Colour - working with Greys and Browns
This is the preliminary painting in my sketchbook to look at the shades and tones to include in the painting. On reflection i think this painting seems to have more energy and life than the completed piece! Working quickly with paints on dry paper but not allowing them to dry between colours has meant the colours have merged into one another, and I quite like the freshness of the finished sketch. Being a big fan of colour I was really not too keen on painting in such muted tones! In addition looking back at this sketch its interesting to see that the light must have been falling differently when I completed this quick sketch as the reflection in the socket adaptor is absent in the final painting.
Project 4 Colour - Working with greys and browns
Initial sketch for working with greys and browns, I have used this sketch to again shade the tonally darker areas and to decide whether or not I was happy with the composition. I have chosen a cool grey vase, a white multi socket,a brown wooden spoon and a vibrantly coloured satsuma, set against a silver box and a muted worktop.
Project 4 Colour Still Life with colourful objects - reflective notes
- I think the greens and yellows work well against the dark red background, they don't appear to be working against each other, I think because each of the tones are "warm" tones. Despite the warmth of the tones though the vibrant bright yellow seems to add light to the overall finished painting. The mug does not seem to leap off the page in quite the way the fruit does, but perhaps this more muted tone gives balance to the overall painting?
- The shading on the fruit has worked well, as previously mentioned on my logbook notes, I am pleased to see how some darker colours have contributed well to give depth to the rounded shapes of the fruit. I also think the reflected colour of the lemon in the apple and the mug serve to pull the whole painting together.
- I think perhaps I could have included a more vibrantly coloured object instead of the mug, perhaps on blue to give more contrast in the painting and introduce a cooler colour - even if it had been a light blue or pal purple.
- The red fabric together with the shadows was quite difficult to reproduce, and I was hesitant at first to introduce black to the red to really darken the tone however once I had tested this on my scrap watercolour paper I was quite happy with how it looked with the darkest red tones.
- I think the hardest parts of this painting were to keep the colours clean, and to keep the lightest areas of the painting light.
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