Still life

[ommc]

This is a still life done few years ago, when I wanted to try to paint grapes and a glas. I have always been thinking that painting a glas is a huge challenge and almost impossible to realize. But somehow I accomplished it. Also, I found difficult to reproduce the rag's folds, but it was fun at the end to make it.

About composition, I am not sure that it's correct. I just put everything together as I felt. I need to learn more about rules used in composition.

Any suggestion to improve in the future is very welcome.

Ampersand: 40cm x 50cm
Oil Pastels: mungyo as base, neopastels and senneliers on top

 

[Donna T]

I think this turned out really well! The glass looks transparent and it's so well drawn. I like the color changes that happen in the cloth and think the grapes look very good too. I like your composition and hope you don't worry too much about rules. Did you paint this from life? I like the way you lit your arrangement.

 

[Queen Bee]

The folds may have been difficult, but they turned out successful. Great lighting. As for composition, the wine glass could be moved to the left near the vase. It is a lovely painting.

 

[JessieNebulous]

I love the colors and detail in this! Very beautiful.

 

[ommc]

Dear DonnaT, I am very happy that you like it. I am not stress with the composition's rules, but I wish I know more about it someday. I painted it after a photo of mine. I don't feel so confortable to make a plein air with such a complicated topic.

Queen Bee, thank you for your kind words and suggestion. I will certainly use it in the future, but could you please tell me why the glass would sit better near the vase?

Jessie, thanks for your appreciation.

 

[Queen Bee]

The two being apart divides the eyes attention. Together the eye would be drawn to the one place. For composition you might want to read about the "rule of thirds". It is applied to photography, but also works for art. That being said, there are no hard fast rules and rules sometimes need to be broken. Experiment and use your own judgement and instincts. Good luck on your journey for improvement.

 

[snoball]

Very nice.

 

[Donna T]

This might be just me but I find it much easier to do still lifes if I work from life. Photos distort shapes and the colors are never the same. I like to put my objects in a cardboard box in which I’ve cut a hole in the side. I put my lamp by the hole and get some great sidelight on the objects in the box. Usually I use only non-perishable objects so I don’t feel rushed!

 

[Artyczar]

Very well done!

 

[ommc]

The two being apart divides the eyes attention. Together the eye would be drawn to the one place. For composition you might want to read about the "rule of thirds". It is applied to photography, but also works for art. That being said, there are no hard fast rules and rules sometimes need to be broken. Experiment and use your own judgement and instincts. Good luck on your journey for improvement.

Thank you so much for this clarification. So that, the fact is that the eye to have one central focal point. I'll follow your advise to experiment and develop my instincts.

 

[ommc]

Sobald and Artyczar, I appreciate your kind words.

Donna, what you said makes sense, but I find it very courageous to paint lively. Maybe, I am not too much experienced in order to be confident with my skills. Definintely I must try your setup in order to overcome my "fear". Is your box big? What type of light do you use?

 

[Donna T]

I use whatever box I can find but it’s usually not too big. As long as there’s room inside for the objects. Sometimes I tape colored paper or fabric to the back wall of the box to influence the color of the objects. I have a floor lamp that works well and sometimes I take the shade off to get stronger light. You would be surprised at how much better the simplest set-up looks when it’s lit like this. The forms of the objects show up so well when the light isn’t coming from all over. If you really want to have fun try this with a few hard boiled eggs. I mark mine so no one eats them and keep them in the fridge between sessions. Eggs will reflect all the colors around them and I always learn so much.

 

[ColorEnthusiast]

All materials are rendered very convincingly and the colors are well chosen.
As for the composition, I think similar to Queen Bee that moving the wine glass to the vase would work better.
You would get a triangular then, which is a good pattern for a still life.
But overall it is a pleasing painting.

 

[Terri]

You did a wonderful job with this! I think the folds turned out nicely, with lovely soft curves. I love your OP buildup too - you moved from the Mungyos, the hardest OP of the three, up to the Sennelier, the softest. Your layers look great and well blended.

I agree with the need for creating that triangle shape, however subtle it may be. With the current grouping, you do have a couple of choices. As Deborah said, moving the wine glass to the left solves it easily. But you could also have moved the tall vase over to the right and centered it, as the tallest element in your composition (and the tall "point" of your triangle). Then the viewer would also see more of the vase, which looks very interesting. Great job on the wine glass and those reflections!

 

[ommc]

I am so glad to receive feedback from you! It is a grea privilege to learn for me.

Donna, thank you very much for your description. You made me curious and I'll certainly build something similar to what you have and try to paint from life. And the idea to use some boiled eggs is wonderful. Firstly, I must arrange a small room for me in order to protect everything from my kids who are very curious and always in movement. But I feel already excited about that.

Esther, thanks for stopping by here. So, as Deborah said, the wine glas should be moved to the left and I think that you two are right .

Terry, I feel so good reading what you wrote! Thank you. I learnt a lot from you, Deborah and Esther about how to make a better composition, especially the why behind this triangle principle. I am happy and grateful for that.

I will make that improvement and re-post the work here.

There is one more general question to you from my side. I wish I paint a landscape. Is there any special thing to take into account for creating a better view? If I should open another thread for this purpose (maybe there are other novices like me who want to understand and deepen their knowledge in this direction), please let me know.

PS: Yesterday I received my new Van Gogh oil pastels. I feel as a child and can't wait to play with them.

 

[Terri]

There is one more general question to you from my side. I wish I paint a landscape. Is there any special thing to take into account for creating a better view? If I should open another thread for this purpose (maybe there are other novices like me who want to understand and deepen their knowledge in this direction), please let me know.

Since it sounds like you want to discuss landscape composition, probably the landscape forum would be the place to open a new thread. We have so many talented artists here who do landscapes, in oils, watercolors, pastels, so the question seems more about the subject matter (landscape) than the media used. You will probably get great feedback!

 

[amo]

This is a still life done few years ago, when I wanted to try to paint grapes and a glas. I have always been thinking that painting a glas is a huge challenge and almost impossible to realize. But somehow I accomplished it. Also, I found difficult to reproduce the rag's folds, but it was fun at the end to make it.

About composition, I am not sure that it's correct. I just put everything together as I felt. I need to learn more about rules used in composition.

Any suggestion to improve in the future is very welcome.

Ampersand: 40cm x 50cm
Oil Pastels: mungyo as base, neopastels and senneliers on top

I hope you don't mind my downloading your picture to point to exactly what I see, but I see a quick fix to improve this. The fabric shading around the wine glass follows the contour of the wine glass instead of the contours of the fabric. I think darkening this area just a bit would make a big difference. Well, my circle isn't very precise, but look around the edges of the wine glass and stem and make sure the fabric looks right.

There are many ways to arrive at a good composition. I wouldn't move the wine glass. I might darken the very right side of the image. You don't want the lines of the fabric or the light to move the viewer's gaze off the canvas.

Hope that helps. Take what you can use and discard the rest

Edited to add: I forgot to say how much I liked this. It's very good as is; I wouldn't be nitpicking if it weren't.

 

[ommc]

Since it sounds like you want to discuss landscape composition, probably the landscape forum would be the place to open a new thread. We have so many talented artists here who do landscapes, in oils, watercolors, pastels, so the question seems more about the subject matter (landscape) than the media used. You will probably get great feedback!

Super Terri. Thank you for directing me to Landscape forum. I go there for opening a new thread about landscape composition.

 

[ommc]

I hope you don't mind my downloading your picture to point to exactly what I see, but I see a quick fix to improve this. The fabric shading around the wine glass follows the contour of the wine glass instead of the contours of the fabric. I think darkening this area just a bit would make a big difference. Well, my circle isn't very precise, but look around the edges of the wine glass and stem and make sure the fabric looks right.
View attachment 14345
There are many ways to arrive at a good composition. I wouldn't move the wine glass. I might darken the very right side of the image. You don't want the lines of the fabric or the light to move the viewer's gaze off the canvas.

Hope that helps. Take what you can use and discard the rest

Edited to add: I forgot to say how much I liked this. It's very good as is; I wouldn't be nitpicking if it weren't.

Ams, I don't mind that you downloaded my picture to show me better what you see. I understood what you meant and I'll fix this. Thank you. I also appreciate the advice to improve the composition, by proposing another alternative than moving the glass to the left.

Every suggestion helps me to put in practice different ideas and then to make my on judge and understanding. Thanks a lot for taking your time to provide me a constructive feedback.

 

[ColorEnthusiast]

I am so glad to receive feedback from you! It is a grea privilege to learn for me.

Donna, thank you very much for your description. You made me curious and I'll certainly build something similar to what you have and try to paint from life. And the idea to use some boiled eggs is wonderful. Firstly, I must arrange a small room for me in order to protect everything from my kids who are very curious and always in movement. But I feel already excited about that.

Esther, thanks for stopping by here. So, as Deborah said, the wine glas should be moved to the left and I think that you two are right .

Terry, I feel so good reading what you wrote! Thank you. I learnt a lot from you, Deborah and Esther about how to make a better composition, especially the why behind this triangle principle. I am happy and grateful for that.

I will make that improvement and re-post the work here.

There is one more general question to you from my side. I wish I paint a landscape. Is there any special thing to take into account for creating a better view? If I should open another thread for this purpose (maybe there are other novices like me who want to understand and deepen their knowledge in this direction), please let me know.

PS: Yesterday I received my new Van Gogh oil pastels. I feel as a child and can't wait to play with them.

About landscape painting. In my opinion this needs the most thinking about composition. There are some basics one should consider, first to have a center of interest (coi), a point of special interest in your painting. This could be either a person or animal or special tree, house, a spot of light, etc. When you consider your sheet or board as divided into three sections horizontally and vertically you get four crossing points. Each of these crossing points is a good choice for locating a point of interest. You can also create a path into/in your painting for the eyes of the observer. You can guide the eyes, by lines, contrasts etc. along this path into/in your painting (and normally to the coi). Good is also to know first what your painting shall be about and to emphasize this.
There are lots of books about composition and it can get really complex, but for the beginning it is best to concentrate onto some basic rules or it can get overwhelming. And it is also good to try several composition ideas is small value sketches (black, grey white) to see if your idea works.