"Pomegranate and Dove" Oil on 5x7 inch board

sold


This little dove was a decoration I had on the Christmas tree that I never put away... I thought I might add it to a still life sometime.  So, it's been sitting around, along with many other things that have been collecting on my table.  I had pushed a bunch of stuff aside to make room to set something up.  After lots of messing around with possible subjects,  I noticed the dove, pomegranate, leaves and cloth had gotten pushed together off to the side, and it looked better than anything I had been trying to put together!   I tried some different background colors and decided on the green.
I first made this little value sketch on toned paper using a dark pencil and white conte stick.

I started painting on a hardboard panel toned with (dry) gray acrylic paint. 

After I had finished painting, I wondered if the background could be a touch darker... and I took this picture of my painting in black and white on my camera...

... I thought, if it looks good just in black and white, then the values are probably ok the way they are.