Harvest Medley by Deborah Graham
From the Artist: I thoroughly enjoyed painting this picture. I am going through a still life phase right now and I was intrigued by the way the light jumped off the grapes and how the purple of the grapes was captured by the wine glass.
From the Painting Guide: Glass is a great element to have in a painting because of the way it picks up colors from whats around it, how this gets distorted, and how things behind it appear.
I like the way you've arranged the elements in your still life, pulling me eye into and across the painting.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Light Direction: I wonder about the positions of the highlights on the bottle and the glass. The former is central and the latter towards the right. If you can, I'd set up these elements again and check this. Also whether there's a highlight on the glass around the candle in a similar position. Also have another look at the ellipse at the bottom of the bottle, which seems very straight.
Perspective: Compare the angles of the grouting line above the black section in the wall and the topmost row of bricks. The former seems to be at more of an angle, whereas you'd expect them to be the same. You'd also expect them to be horizontal to the ground, like the shelf. In this particular instance, the problem is created by the way the photo is taken (I don't have a magical way of knowing this, it came up in an email with Deborah). If a canvas isn't absolutely square-on to the camera, you can get distortion in the photo towards the sides.
This can be solved by standing further away when you take the photo, or by a photo editing program (I use "distort" in Photoshop Elements).
Background: Do you think the busy background distracts from the focus of the painting, or adds to it? Do you think the pepper grinder on the right disappears too much into the background? Personally, I would make the pepper grinder a slightly lighter tone so it's a little more visible, but think the background gives a sense of context to the still life objects (even if it's difficult to pinpoint exactly what this might be).
What you might consider doing is painting another still life with the same objects (either the same arrangement or rearranged) with a plain background. Then compare the two and decide which you prefer. Then perhaps a third version with the wall (and grouting) a darker tone overall, so it's more like a subtle suggestion of a wall in the dark background rather than a definite thing.
From the Painting Guide: Glass is a great element to have in a painting because of the way it picks up colors from whats around it, how this gets distorted, and how things behind it appear.
I like the way you've arranged the elements in your still life, pulling me eye into and across the painting.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Light Direction: I wonder about the positions of the highlights on the bottle and the glass. The former is central and the latter towards the right. If you can, I'd set up these elements again and check this. Also whether there's a highlight on the glass around the candle in a similar position. Also have another look at the ellipse at the bottom of the bottle, which seems very straight.
Perspective: Compare the angles of the grouting line above the black section in the wall and the topmost row of bricks. The former seems to be at more of an angle, whereas you'd expect them to be the same. You'd also expect them to be horizontal to the ground, like the shelf. In this particular instance, the problem is created by the way the photo is taken (I don't have a magical way of knowing this, it came up in an email with Deborah). If a canvas isn't absolutely square-on to the camera, you can get distortion in the photo towards the sides.
This can be solved by standing further away when you take the photo, or by a photo editing program (I use "distort" in Photoshop Elements).
Background: Do you think the busy background distracts from the focus of the painting, or adds to it? Do you think the pepper grinder on the right disappears too much into the background? Personally, I would make the pepper grinder a slightly lighter tone so it's a little more visible, but think the background gives a sense of context to the still life objects (even if it's difficult to pinpoint exactly what this might be).
What you might consider doing is painting another still life with the same objects (either the same arrangement or rearranged) with a plain background. Then compare the two and decide which you prefer. Then perhaps a third version with the wall (and grouting) a darker tone overall, so it's more like a subtle suggestion of a wall in the dark background rather than a definite thing.
