| |
Community
Magazines
Book Clubs
Book Stores
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| Artists Network
|
| You are not authorized to post a reply.
|
|
| Author |
Messages |
|
heatherm
Posts:2120
 |
| 01/30/2007 6:56 PM |
 Alert
|
| Finally I am able to work again. I am not happy with this and don't know why. I set this up in my studio and it had a lovely intimate feel to it, but as a painting it seems incomplete somehow. What am I missing? The grapes have more yellow on the top to make them look transparent, and candle flame is same yellow pastel. This color did not photograph well. The objects are sitting on a black glass table. Tell me what you think, thank you. |
|
Heather
http://www.heatherartist.com |
|
rpartin
Posts:430
|
| 01/30/2007 7:22 PM |
Alert
|
| I don't see anything! But I'm looking forward to seeing some of your work. Please try to post it again. |
|
Ron |
|
heatherm
Posts:2120
|
| 01/30/2007 7:24 PM |
Alert
|
| Darn. Didn't realize it didn't post. |
|
Heather
http://www.heatherartist.com |
|
heatherm
Posts:2120
|
| 01/30/2007 7:32 PM |
Alert
|
| I forgot to say this is not finished, first - planning on a small bunch of grapes on left to lead eye back to goblet to give unity to composition. |
|
Heather
http://www.heatherartist.com |
|
rpartin
Posts:430
|
| 01/30/2007 8:10 PM |
Alert
|
| I hesitate to make comments on a piece that isn't finished but I do have some questions. Is the candle the only source of light?
What kind of paper are you using? Does the white arc indicate the back edge of the black glass table? ........I'm looking forward to seeing the finished piece. |
|
Ron |
|
bluiiz
Posts:524
|
| 01/30/2007 8:32 PM |
Alert
|
| Heather, Sooooo happy to see you working again! I also hesitate to make suggestions on your inspiration... but might I suggest that the line of the table go straight on that angle instead of being round and less white only a hint.. I envision cloth in there somewhere, a curtain or scarf? Very engaging so far! I love the stem of the glass! Is the red the glass or wine in the glass? It almost seems to be reflecting a fireplace.... |
|
Anna |
|
heatherm
Posts:2120
|
| 01/30/2007 8:34 PM |
Alert
|
| Yes, candle is only source of light, I put the reflective light in stronger than it is in real, just to add interest. Paper is Wallis, white (in real it is more greenish) arc is edge of table and it has tonal values not shown in photo, I painted as I saw and maybe should have taken more artistic license. |
|
Heather
http://www.heatherartist.com |
|
heatherm
Posts:2120
|
| 01/30/2007 9:01 PM |
Alert
|
Ron,
my post above is the answer to your questions, and thank you for asking them.
Anna,
I wanted a painting of circles and simplicity, even the candle is a circle at the top and stem is also a long cylinder, so table is a circle too. The grapes that I will put in will make a pyramid composition and bring the eye back to the goblet. The photo shows the edge as white, but it isn't, it is gray, bottle green with yellow/white highlights (camera didn't pick up the subtlety). The colors in the goblet glass are the colors you see when light hits it, it is beautiful like this when it catches a warm light, no wine is in it. If I put the candle further away from the goblet it does not pick up enough light. I did have a scarf in the background but it interfered with the focus on the goblet. (You had the same idea for this that I originally did).
Having said all this, I can see that I didn't achieve my goal, and that is why I am not happy with it. Back to the drawing board. I may just turn this one into a surrealistic piece. Sort of wax dripping off the table, a hand appearing out of the darkness lighting the candle, reflection of a face in the table etc. Thank you for your suggestions, I will see what I can do with this. If it comes out acceptable I will repost when done. If it is too weird I will keep it for myself, one of those paintings that only I see. 
|
|
Heather
http://www.heatherartist.com |
|
bluiiz
Posts:524
|
| 01/30/2007 9:21 PM |
Alert
|
| Heather, I absolutely see where you were going! this is why I usually don't like to suggest on someone else's painting, because they really do have a reason for what they did, and as far as "achieve my goal" we still like it very much, I guess we were painting it with you so our thoughts tripped in... You go anyway you want and I am sure it will be wonderful! Again so glad you are painting again! |
|
Anna |
|
Materese
Posts:123
|
| 01/30/2007 9:52 PM |
Alert
|
Hi Heather!
You're off to a great start on this - a nice intimate still life , good compostion, nice balance of warms and cools. If I may make a few suggestions: you may want to look at cropping this in closer, there is a lot of space where not much is going on and cropping it in closer will empasize the intimacy. Your single light source is coming from the left, all objects will have shadows on the right - except for the candle, you will be surprised how the shadows work in a candle in life - doubtful that the photo will pick it up. The drama of this work is the light, push those values in the objects from the darkest dark to the lightest light. great work - keep it up! |
|
Materese
http://www.ghostwoodstudio.com
|
|
troyatlarge
Posts:76
|
| 01/30/2007 10:18 PM |
Alert
|
Don't know if this is worth much or not, but will toss it out there ..... a technical matter about elliptical curves.
Take a drinking glass, hold it at arms length, and make the top of the glass line up perfectly with the horizon line. In that position, the circular top of the glass is seen by the eye as a perfectly straight line.
If we start to lower the glass, slowly, the straight line gives way to a very long by narrow ellipse. As the glass is lowered more, the ellipse retains the same length, but its width increases always becoming more circular. In this way, because the eye sees that way, if we take a perfect cylinder and place on the table in front of us, slightly below the the horizon line, the eye can see that the elliptical curve on top of the cylinder is not as round as that on the bottom of the cylinder.
These matters of seeing apply with respect to the life objects of your composition. If, for example, the table is circular, its perspective curve may not be all that different than the curve on the bottom of the glass which sits in the same plane as the table top. In a similar way, the narrow aspect of the goblets top may not give way to such a wide elliptical curve for its base unless your nose is really getting close to the object.
Certainly it can be a comfort to the viewer to have curve properties followed like in nature, because it is like how we see daily (even if we don't pay attention to it). However, that does not mean the artist must follow it ...... to name one, the artist can convey tension by careful control over distortion of exactly such an aspect. The breath of other moods or tones can also be handled in such a way.
I toss that out there, simply for thought ...... although in your case I'm guessing you might well have already been there done that!
Troy
|
|
|
|
Jim
Posts:2355
|
| 01/30/2007 10:30 PM |
Alert
|
Heather,
Remember what you did to my beach scene? Think of this as that beach scene before you
made it into the beautiful piece that you sent back to me. This is very nice, but with your talent
you can make it great. I've seen you do it.
Jim
www.paintingsbyjim.com |
|
All the best,
Jim
www.paintingsbyjim.com |
|
heatherm
Posts:2120
|
| 01/30/2007 11:30 PM |
Alert
|
Hi all,
Anna, I really appreciate your comments. I want to be clear that I was not rationalizing or justifying my work, just explaining my motivation so all would know where I was coming from and make suggestions/give opinions on how they thought I could get there. I know it is not my best work, and something isn't working, so all comments and opinions are truly welcome (that is why I put it up here).
Troy, thank you for your observations on the eliipses, to tell the truth I hadn't focused on them yet as they are the least of the problem I am having, but you are absolutely correct and not having ellipses consistent is an easy mistake to make by anyone, I am guilty of concentrating on color at this point and I do agree the table does have too high a curve on it, the top of the glass is off also, I noticed that after I posted, I had fiddled around with it too much. I did want some distortion of the ellipses top create dynamic tension, I'm afraid I overdid it. That is what I call the "tweaking" part, usually at the beginning of a painting, but this time I am having other difficulties so it must wait.
Jim, thank you for your vote of confidence and the lovely compliment. That is why I am so frustrated with this, I see it in my head but it is not translating into what I see for some reason. I spoke with my daughter this afternoon (great sounding board) and I suggested that the darks were not dark enough on the subject matter, but she didn't have anything to say, I guess I didn't express to her what I was trying to achieve.
So I am going to reread and reread what everyone has said and see how I can apply the knowledge to this boring piece of work and somehow make it live. I will do it even if I have to resort to the melting wax dripping off the table Thank you for your help - I will be back! |
|
Heather
http://www.heatherartist.com |
|
heatherm
Posts:2120
|
| 01/30/2007 11:36 PM |
Alert
|
Hi Materese,
I was starting to write a book in last post. In response to your suggestions, I agree about the candlelight. I studied it in the correct lighting (as in dark room with one candle lit) turned on the lights so I could paint, and repeated the process. I was having trouble getting the grapes dark enough because in bright light they looked too dark, that's what happens when I can't "see" my work anymore, so I lightened them. Also has scarf as Anna had thought of then tried some black velvet so I could have folds in the black. I tried lots of things before posting. I will wait until tomorrow and will post again here on this post Thursday or Friday with completed, and can get everyone's opinion again. Thank you. |
|
Heather
http://www.heatherartist.com |
|
gene
Posts:1246
|
| 01/31/2007 6:17 AM |
Alert
|
| Hi Heather..........What a nice painting. I have a lap top computer and when I first saw the image on my screen, I had my screen almost straight up. I wasn't picking up all of the great color subtleties in the piece. Then I lowered my screen backwards, and oh my, I saw the colors in a totally different light! I think you handled the glass very well! I think you are right about adding something on the left side of the table, maybe even running off the side edge, depending on what you use. At first I was going to suggest you make the background a different color than the table, but changed my mind about that. I do think you should check your arc (the edge of the table). My eye says that right behind the grapes on the left, it is a little bit off, in relation to where it picks up again behind the grapes on the right. I'd say just a fraction of an inch too low. I usually use a compass whenever I have a big arc like that. Your reflections of the grapes and the stem showing in the glass is just perfect.........Don't stop working on this painting. I really like it. You are very talented..........I'm glad you are back to painting. Thanks for sharing this.................Gene |
|
|
|
heatherm
Posts:2120
|
| 01/31/2007 9:46 AM |
Alert
|
Hi everyone,
Thank you so much for all your comments/suggestions! Today I am looking at it with fresh eyes. Unfortunately I can't work on it today as I have a family gathering tonight. I only work on this at night so I can get the right ambiance. I have decided I do need to punch up the highlights and darken the shadows. Also I need to change the curve of the table, it looked correct when I did it, but now I agree the curve is too steep. It would be easier to have a straight table, but I really like the round one I am working with. Tomorrow night I will work on this, probably all evening, and see if I can breathe some life into this painting. I have never done a night painting before so this is a first for me. Challenges exercise the mind I am told, and my mind can use all the exercise it can get! Let's hope the grapes don't rot before I am done. This is a 9x12 but will be matted as an 8x10 so it will be cropped a little. Gene, I don't have a compass, will have to get one for future use. Also, I still have to finish the reflections on the table, will do that when I am satisfied with the composition. The good thing is my health has improved greatly, thanks to my doctors, so I am off and forward into working in the "zone" again. Any more suggestions will be greatly appreciated. You have all made me feel better about this painting. It is not a lost cause. |
|
Heather
http://www.heatherartist.com |
|
troyatlarge
Posts:76
|
| 01/31/2007 10:43 AM |
Alert
|
I'll just toss this out here for fun ......
I once saw a painting of a still life on a table, a square table with the front corner pointing directly at the viewer. The perspective on the table was all wrong. It was drawn such that the front of the table looked like it wasn't level, but instead was falling towards the floor. In addition, the artist had a green table cloth on the table, and placed a bright red apple up front on the tables corner. The red was a handle ling of complementary colors in such a way as to thrust the apple out at the viewer to a degree that was completely unnatural.
The cool thing was that the perspective of the table, which made it look like it was falling aways from the viewer, and the hyper complement of the red apple that pushed out at the viewer, balanced each other out such that it looked OK to the eye ..... it was one really classy handle ling that gave rise to harmonious resolution of poly-visual anomalies.
I guess when I looked at your curves I wondered to myself, this such a thought in mind, if one might not be able to change their curve without touching the curve itself ....... might change your picture pretty steep ...... but, like I said, just tossing it out there for fun!
Troy |
|
|
|
Elaine
Posts:195
|
| 02/01/2007 7:08 PM |
Alert
|
Hi Heather,
I finally had a moment to see your new work. It sounds like you've got a lot of good advice here. I, too, look forward to seeing what you do to it. I will say how much I like the grapes...the lighting is wonderful. You even have reflective light...all very nicely done. I also really like the stem and base of the goblet. Your colors in the glass itself are very pleasing, and give a refreshing balance to the coolness of the other objects. Be encouraged and repost if you change it. |
|
Elaine
jpwatercolors.com |
|
heatherm
Posts:2120
|
| 02/01/2007 9:48 PM |
Alert
|
| I have put the revised goblet here. Comments please. |
|
Heather
http://www.heatherartist.com |
|
Jim
Posts:2355
|
| 02/02/2007 12:15 AM |
Alert
|
I like this one much better Heather. You can tell the lighting
is from the flame of the candle. The reflection of the flame in
the glass is perfect. The shading on the grapes looks great. Very
suttle on the grapes farther away. You've done it Heather.
An excellent job! Thanks for reposting this.
Jim
www.paintingsbyjim.com
|
|
All the best,
Jim
www.paintingsbyjim.com |
|
|
| You are not authorized to post a reply. |
|
|
|
ActiveForums 3.6
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|