Saturday 22 March 2008

Fennel part 3


Doing some more work on the Fennel still life today, starting to add in more detail…needs to dry a little now before I start putting the main shading on the bulbs themselves. Am reasonably pleased with it so far. Hopefully the next phase will really start to bring it to life…

Today I’ve mostly been listening to Shipbuilding by Elvis Costello, while being annoyed by the lack of framerate on the webcam and enjoying the snow falling outside the window…Hope you’ve all managed to find a couple of nice moments in your day too :)

5 comments:

SueC said...

This is such a different piece compared to your portrait. Its very good....but I think there is much more passion in your portrait style. Remember...always be a first rate version of yourself ;-)

Unknown said...

I know what you’re saying Sue…there’s a challenge in seeing if I can paint this well, and the skills learnt could be applied to other more original pieces…but there is a certain amount of safety for me painting this…and sometimes I enjoy working in that comfort zone…The “passionate” pieces are harder in many ways…I guess I’m still looking for a way to balance both those elements in order to find an original style of my own…something that would allow me to be a first rate version of myself as it were :)

MissT said...

I agree with SueC - however, you could always set up and art stall next to the veg stall on Saturdays :-).

Unknown said...

I can’t help but notice you lot are getting cheekier and cheekier with every post ;) just out of curiosity is it the ‘realistic’ style of this picture you’re not keen on…and the ‘expressive’ style in the portrait that you dislike/like…or the subject matter…or both?

Would you prefer to see a ‘realistically’ rendered painting with a more imaginative, allegorical, surreal subject matter, similar to some of the earlier bigger oil paintings…OR…more ‘expressive’ paintings…similar to the more current watercolour landscapes…?

I can look at this still life and see the value in painting it from the perspective of becoming a better ‘technical’ painter…and some ‘other’ people appear to like it ;) and I do think there MAY be some commercial value in mastering this style of painting and subject matter…but I’m well aware of the fact that I’m not going to change the world by painting like this…:)

As always, ALL feedback more than welcome :)

SueC said...

From apersonal point of view, I prefer to look at paintings that exude some sort of emotion....and therefore still life paintings of fruit and vegetables, however expertly executed, will never 'do it' for me. As I say, thats my personal feelings and hey what do I know. In the words of Rufus Wainwright...I know what I stand for and what I cannot stand. ;-) And yes...I suppose we ARE getting cheekier. But you should most definitely take that as a compliment.