Fruitful August, 11x14" oil/linen panel, ©Diane Mannion
Painting from Life
Set this still life up by a north window and was too eager to start. Should have worked a design... a thumbnail sketch first. Kept adding and subtracting objects to get it to work.
By the time I was ready to paint the flowers, they had wilted and dropped a few leaves. The flowers had to be painted from photo reference and memory. But the leaves added the perfect transition. Moved the leaf in front to guide the eye into the painting. The leaf on the right side of the jar dropped into the perfect spot... painted it in right away!
Here's how the painting looked at the start. Easy to see the changes! Main subject is the play of light on the objects, and how the color works throughout. A struggle with fruitful results. I'll give myself a pat on the back for this one.
It's a shock going from a daily painting to a weekly one! Wish I could paint faster... but slow is fine, too.
2 comments:
The glass jar adds "something extra" to this painting. (You did it so well!) I'm not sure if it's the liquid, the light, the contents...or all three. I like its beautiful jumble in contrast to the comparative neatness of the rest of the scene. And The bowl of nuts is a very nice touch.
Susan, thank you for being so alert! The glass jar was the reason I was excited to paint this... loved the crock stripes showing through. But it was the only place in the painting that painted itself. I worried about everything except the jar, even left scratches where my finger rested while painting... because it worked.
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