still life - grapes

It's time to stop painting this one. I did find it quite a challenge to describe the translucent quality of the grapes. Don't think I quite nailed it, but I enjoyed the exercise.

still life - grapes day 2

I've painted the background. Next I want to go back and bring up the highlights on the grapes. I'm thinking it might help the composition to add a stray grape on the right.

Grapes

Grapes are an interesting subject for a still life, as they are translucent there are all kinds of interesting colours and reflections. I read somewhere that artists like Titian and Rembrant painted them as a way to test their mastery of chiaroscuro.

Apple Still Life - fin.

I think I'll leave it here. My daughter asked if I was going to paint something beside fruit - fair point - so the next one may be a portrait.

Still life apple continued.

The apple still life is slowly coming together. Starting to get a sense of light and warmth. I like the palette creeping into shot there. I'd happily go to an exhibition which only showed the paint splattered palettes of famous artists. I'm weird like that.

Still life in close up. Better to see all the wet paint and brush strokes. 

Apple still life

I'd forgotten just how much fun painting is. The smell of turps, paint in your finger nails, a gamut of colours pre-mixed on an easel. It's great. Anyway, here's where I am with the apple still-life.

Enjoying working within a restricted palette and trying out a variety of brush sizes.

Still life - apple

I took a step back and realised the composition made no sense. This picture of an apple should obviously be 'portrait' rather than 'landscape'. So this evening, I turned the canvas I'd been working on round the other way and started again. Unsurprisingly, the composition works much better now.

Still life: Apple

Another day, another still life. The reds, yellows and oranges are already working for me. There's a table lamp out of shot, which is providing the rim light on top of the apple. I'm digging the long shadow it's casting too.

Still Life: Passion Fruit, Yellow Knife, now with blue stripy tea-towel (4th evening)

I was unhappy with all of that negative space, so brought in a blue stripy tea-towel to give some visual interest.

Third evening - still life Passion Fruit, Yellow Knife

I'm very ambivalent about this painting. Too much space around the paint which I'm trying to disguise with expressionistic brushwork.

Still Life: Passion Fruit, Yellow Knife.

Third evening. The brush work has gone a little crazy on the right side of the picture. I've put more texture into the plate. Also added some highlights and shadows to the knife and passion fruit.