Saturday, November 14, 2009

"Cut Orange"


Oil on 5"x7" hardboard panel
I started this painting earlier in the week, and never got back to finish it until today. The orange I had cut up was still sitting on display, starting to mold. I'm glad I waited to finish it, because I never was quite happy with the background color, but I didn't know why. Today, seeing it again after a few days had gone by, I could see why. The background color was too warm, too similar to the oranges, I thought mixing up a color with more blue in it might look better. I spread a bit of the new color on with a palette knife, and liked the color and also, it seemed to make the orange look brighter. I found that the texture the knife left in the paint was interesting, too, as it left the color underneath showing through here and there. I brushed it out a touch, and had to struggle to make myself leave it alone! I just have a habit of "petting" the paint with the brush, and sometimes too much of that makes for a boring surface.

6 comments:

  1. It looks great! Sometimes it's good to step away for a few days and then you can see the problem. I love how you handled the half-orange.

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  2. That sounds just like me; putting a nice fruit composition out, then having to leave it for days. I come back and the fruit is getting shriveled; then it's hard to get that plump, juicy feeling going again!
    Beautiful work, and I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts during the process; it helps me develop my own analysis.

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  3. Lovely gentle painting, Debbie. We all seem to walk away from our fruity 'models'.I once had pumpkins which were cut open and they were deteriorating in the studio.

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  4. Thanks for all of the great comments, it's so fun to hear about your painting experiences!

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  5. Beautiful! They look so daggone edible, Debbie. Really lovely.

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