Thursday, March 24, 2011

"Jump" 20" x 20" oil on linen


I was not going to post this painting because there are so many things wrong with it, but I guess this blog is supposed to help me get over that  "only show the best' syndrome. Sometimes I get so excited about getting that brush in my hand and making my first marks, I breeze over the set up phase. I talked about this in a recent post. I love the jar of eggs and the napkin, but there is an area that has nothing going on and your eyes just get stuck in that big blue area. A painting should have a lot of passages and bridges to move your eyes around and this one just does not have it. I wiped out the dial on the scale several times....just could not get the cylindrical shape correct. I thought of adding a canister of some sort on the right behind the jar, but I think, your eyes get stuck on the other side of the scale, as well. It's just a bad set up and that's what I really need to work on. Perhaps to spent hours rearranging with executing some value sketches would be beneficial. One instructor jokingly told me, "if all else fails, crop.

5 comments:

LindaHunt said...

Personally, I think there is so much more RIGHT with this painting! I am so drawn to the exciting red detail in the towel.

narangkar said...

I think the big blue area is great. I feel the Tea Towel and egg teetering on the edge of the scale are problematic, but also lend to an uneasy feeling - as if that egg is really unstable. Composition-wise, the egg is positioned just above the jar, the tea towel's stripes share a similar contour to the edge of the scale, and doesn't quite 'look' like it is draping over. Putting shadow where the towel sits flat could help - or a line that follows the perspective of the scale bed - and can add a triangular kind of language that functions as a pathway for the eye. The shape of the scale is fine to me - it feels a little visually "off", plane-wise, but adds some movement or restlessness to the picture too.

I'm not sure about the advice to crop when in doubt. I say - leave those edges funky and raw!

Kathryn, I've been using scrapers, squeegies and those metal ruler thingies you buy in the paint department at the hardware store. so much fun, I recommend it!

Julia said...

If you say so, but I am no critique. I like the painting just the way it is.
I can't find anything wrong with this painting. I'm just hoping that the egg at the top of the scale doesn't roll off and break.

I love how your jar of egg looks and that's where my eyes are drawn most and I go, Wow! JB

martinealison said...

Je ne vois rien de gênant dans votre peinture... Il y a une belle harmonie de couleurs et son équilibre est bon... Cessez de vouloir vous mettre sur le plateau de la balance!!! (sourire) tout est ok...
Je l'aime beaucoup et vos couleurs me font pensez à certaines toiles de Van Gogh...
Gros bisous

Julie Whitmore Pottery said...

I've been meaning to tell you I think this painting is a huge winner.
All those cool greens and blues, then the warm red stripe and yellow yolk. If the egg rolls off then so be it, I think a break an extra egg somewhere everytime I bake.
It makes me think of being home, keeping chickens, baking bread and pies. Even hanging clothes on the line!
xx
julie