Melon, Grapes and Plums with Shadows

Original Watercolor on Paper
10"x 18"

All done. I've erased most of the pencil marks in this one to keep the high chroma from looking dingy.

What is a Finished Painting?
My personal take on the amount of "finish" in any particular painting is to bring back the experience of being in the presence of the subject. That means using the human visual experience: where we focus on an area of the subject and leave it for a moment, choosing a few other places to look, then return to our main interest. Everything else is incidental, non-focused and merely remembered in the context of the whole experience.

I understand and appreciate work that is "super real", in other words, beyond realism. It just so happens not to be my way of interpreting what I see.

Melon, etc. Stage 5

Here is how it looks so far.

Now for the bunch of grapes

I begin to develop the large bunch of green grapes now.

Third Plum

After the group of 3 grapes, I painted the third and final plum with its shadow.

3 more grapes

Painting in progress


Three more grapes during the painting process in the composition of "Melon, Grapes and Plums with Shadows."

Still Life set up with Melon and Plums

This is a reference photo, at a slightly different angle from the real life viewpoint from which I painted today. My composition is based on tertiary colors; red-orange, blue-violet and yellow green.

One more session and I'll be done, I think.

The Grape that started it all

From the sketchbook

This was the grape that started the whole adventure with color and light today. I am still working on this painting, hoping for some more beautiful light tomorrow morning, so I won't erase any pencil marks until I'm done.

Juicy Melon

From the sketchbook

Here, I just exaggerated the colors I saw in the Tuscan Melon. They really are more flavorful!

Plums

From the sketchbook

I used analogous colors to tie the plums together. It's repetition with variation, one of the principles of design.

Picnic with Cezanne

From the Sketchbook

"Painting from nature is not copying the object, it is realizing one's sensations." -Paul Cezanne

I have Cezanne to thank for permission to attempt an expression of color, line and shape with nothing but my paints, paper and brushes.

I set up this still life and painted it at home in anticipation of a trip to France. When we got there, I realized that the light is completely different there. I thought it would be, but, still, I was amazed!

The Red Pot

From the sketchbook

A little inspiration for those who look for "exciting" color, not just what the camera would report.

Plum tomatoes and shadows

From the sketchbook

A split compememtary color scheme.

Cooking up a little color

From the sketchbook

One of our color schemes from class this week......Orange, blue and green.

Analogous

From the sketchbook

Analogous-similar or equivalent in some respects, though otherwise dissimilar.
That definition refers in this case to the subject matter as well as the color.

Snow Tree Variation 1

4"x10"
Original Watercolor on Paper

Here is an elongated version of my snowy trees motif.

I use Picasa for most of my image work, including uploading to this blog. If you're interested, just click the little square icon that looks like a color wheel.

Snow Tree Variation 2

10"x8"
Original Watercolor on Paper

A vertical composition based on the snowy treescapes.

Snow Tree Variation 3

8"x10"
Original Watercolor on Paper

Another variation on our theme from last post.

Which one is your favorite? Variation 1, 2 or 3?

Watercolor Snow

15"x22
Original Watercolor

This is the example for my watercolor classes this week. We played with wet in wet, a secret technique to make it look like it was snowing, practicing trees and using a limited palette. Fun!