Onion study

[Donna T]

The sprouts on this onion kept growing while I was working on it so I'm glad I had my original sketch to go by. I wanted to see if I could mix those onion-y colors, especially on the shadowed side. It was more fun once I looked for color relationships instead of trying to mix exact colors. 8x10 oil on gessoed paper.

 

[Enyaw]

Wow. Awesome job. I tried one similar to yours last week and it went boom before it went bing bang. What a mess. This is really well done. You should be extremely proud. Your grays alone are stunning.

 

[Grapes]

Beautiful, Donna!
Thanks for your thoughts and observations of the process.

 

[Donna T]

Thanks Wayne. Onions are a challenge for sure and I nearly scraped this one off. If only there was a tube of paint called Shadowed Onion, haha. My brother-in-law said it brought a tear to his eye.

Grapes, thank you. It means a lot to get comments from you and Wayne because I’m not very experienced with oils. I got frustrated trying to make the “right” colors and finally just tried to make them work together. I hope you’re out plein airing this summer!

 

[Jo Castillo]

Donna, you evidently did just the right thing getting the colors to work together. This is soooooo lovely. I'm smiling.

 

[Bongo]

Oh my this is so good. You' put the life in still life. There is an energy "liveliness" about it that really makes it sing

 

[Jade]

I agree with Bongo, Donna.. there's something really alive about this painting. Really appealing and soft too.

 

[Bartc]

Good one, Donna!

 

[joe1It]

Wonderful

 

[Donna T]

Hi Jo, I’m glad this looks good to you. Onions make me cry, not smile. Thanks.

Bongo, your comment helps me feel I’m on the right track. There has to be a way to make everyday things get noticed for their innate beauty. Thank you.

Thanks Jade. I appreciate it.

Thank you Bart and Joe. Nice to hear from you.

 

[Enyaw]

Trying to make the “right” colors and finally just tried to make them work together.

That’s the better way to do it. Come as close as you can but make sure they fit your color scheme.

 

[bethany]

I love these seemingly simple studies, Donna! You are making the simple beautiful for sure!

 

[snoball]

Hey, that looks just like an onion! VERY well done.

 

[Donna T]

Thanks Bethany, my models grow sprouts but they hold poses longer than your models.

Thank you Sno - If you said it looked like a carrot I'd start over!

 

[TK H-H]

Lovely work! You did a great job capturing all those subtle colors and the paper-like texture of the onion.

 

[Donna T]

Thanks TK. I was hoping to get some of the thin, translucent quality of the onion skin.

 

[Sanlynn]

Beautiful work! It’s so well observed.

 

[Joy]

The delicate, dry, crackling skin is so perfectly rendered. Looks just like the onions I let sit too long in our cupboard! The lighting is so natural looking. Having never painted in oils, it seems very difficult to rendered the delicate transparent skin so expertly.

I have been away for several weeks on holiday and am way behind on forums, painting and commenting. (Plus I am rather overwhelmed and exhausted. Perhaps another holiday to “recuperate” ?) There are many things that need my attention at home, and I hope to participate more in September.

 

[Donna T]

Thanks Sandra. I feel a little sorry for those who only see an onion and not all the interesting light effects.

Hi Joy - Thanks for the nice comment. I had to tell my husband that the onion was off limits until it was finished being a model. I am eyeing a sweet potato that is getting a little long in the tooth now. I'm glad to hear you've had some time off and understand that it takes some time to get back to your usual routines. It will be great to see what inspires you when you get back to painting!