Lemon Coven

This is the 12 x 16 I was struggling with when I took a breather and
tried an oil sketch. Might be a good idea to do a sketch before attempting
a larger painting? It was still helpful to have a time out midway. The
difficulties I have are related to the way I see the paint I've put down.
I persist in thinking I could do it better so I hone in on the objects and
forget the rest of the surface. I feel I'm doing less of that and thinking
more in terms of light, texture, composition . . . how to make the surface
sing. I did the green background first and had lovely drips. Then painted
them out. I wasn't brave enough. Baby steps . . .

Cornered (altered) (Sold)

This is a redo of a painting posted on May 13th. Each time I looked
at it, I felt dissatisfied. I'm becoming aware that my quest for painterly
effects sometimes overwhelms the subject. If I want to continue
painting figuratively (and I do), I'm going to have to find a better balance.
I'm happier with this version.

While playing around with cropping in photoshop it occurred to me
that I don't exploit composition enough. Taking a portion of a setup
would be a good thing for a 6 x 6.

The Journey Sold

I thought this was finished a few days ago but every time I looked at
it, it seemed too tidy and neat, no excitement factor. I think I need
my heart rate to accelerate while painting so it feels like I'm taking
a risk and any moment, I could ruin the good parts. Loads of paint later . . .
finally beginning to understand the beauty of not defining the boundaries.

Cornered

It's so exciting to see different ways to work with the same subject
and the infinite ways there are to use paint!

Rift Sold

These past few days painting these pears has been pure joy . . .

Arnolfini and His Wife Sold

Closer still . . .
I've been enjoying the process but still have to constantly remind myself
that I'm not painting pears but concerned with the entire picture. Thinking
pictorially has been hard to regain while I've tried to learn form. Still have
to ask myself if the color, mark, value I'm about to put down will add
excitement or interest, make the surface come alive. It requires stopping
and deciding which strokes to not cover so thin initial strokes show, it's
about looking for texture and effects, color interactions and choosing
which tool: brushes or knife in specific areas. This is a very informal way
to work and not for everyone but it suits me. The same rules apply---still
need to pay attention to value and grays and space in order to convey the
subject/idea. The title is from the cover of an art history textbook: a Flemish
painting of a nobleman and his very pregnant wife.

Pears (rear view)

I spent my painting time over the past 3 days trying to paint peaches 
and had a devil of a time! Jean Townsend mentioned the difficulty of 
including color and value changes in the same 2 inches in her current 
post . . . I also find it very difficult. Over the days of trying, however, 
I did notice a brain shift (caused by sheer frustration!) ---I stopped being 
conscious of the object and, instead, began to zero in on shapes of color 
and value and how they related to each other. I wasn't able to rescue 
the dang peaches, but then found it effortless to cram in color and value 
in these pears, but they don't have the extreme dimples and cleavage 
that peaches do. It's funny, but as I painted these pears, I thought I was 
seeing their backs as though they were in a "time-out." :-)