If you've a background that's competing for attention with the main elements in a painting (in this example, a still life), what are your options? You want to adjust the background so the viewer's eyes are pulled into the main subject, and don't wander around unable to decide what to focus on.
Of the four versions of the painting in the photo above, No.1 is the original. The painting is called Sphere, Cube and Cylinder with Poppies: Learning to Paint in Red and was submitted by Lyn Rasmussen to the Still Life with Red Painting Project Gallery, with a question about how to push the background away.
I think the solution is to lightened the tone of the background, and reduce the detail a little, as shown in No.4. If you make the background brighter, more like a sunny day, (No.2) or reduce the detail and darken the tones a little (No.3), I think the background still fights too much for attention.
By lightening the tone, the red elements in the painting become dominant in tone, as well as in color. This pulls the viewer's eye strongly towards them.
Of the four versions of the painting in the photo above, No.1 is the original. The painting is called Sphere, Cube and Cylinder with Poppies: Learning to Paint in Red and was submitted by Lyn Rasmussen to the Still Life with Red Painting Project Gallery, with a question about how to push the background away.
I think the solution is to lightened the tone of the background, and reduce the detail a little, as shown in No.4. If you make the background brighter, more like a sunny day, (No.2) or reduce the detail and darken the tones a little (No.3), I think the background still fights too much for attention.
By lightening the tone, the red elements in the painting become dominant in tone, as well as in color. This pulls the viewer's eye strongly towards them.