From the Artist: This lantern was a birthday gift from my daughter. One night I put a candle in it and turned off the lights. Looking at the gorgeous red glow and reflections on the table I knew I would have to try and paint it someday. Thanks to About.com's September Painting Project, I finally did.
From the Painting Guide: How wonderful to hear that this painting project provided the impetus to move from studying the light and reflections (and I can find candlelight quite mesmerizing!) to actually painting them. Now you've got something to remind you of the beauty during the daytime too!
I'm partial to paintings where the subject or main interest emerges from a dark background, and I think this is a beautiful example. The reds and oranges of the lamp really glow against the background, but also throw color onto the background.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Hard and Soft Edges: Look at how the edges of the lamp and its reflection are treated, now the one has a much harder or sharper edge than the other. This gives the lamp a strong sense of form, and makes it dominate its reflection.
Composition: It's likely just the way the photo was cropped, but I think the top of the lantern is too close to the top edge, especially if the painting were framed which covers up a little bit of the actual painting.
From the Painting Guide: How wonderful to hear that this painting project provided the impetus to move from studying the light and reflections (and I can find candlelight quite mesmerizing!) to actually painting them. Now you've got something to remind you of the beauty during the daytime too!
I'm partial to paintings where the subject or main interest emerges from a dark background, and I think this is a beautiful example. The reds and oranges of the lamp really glow against the background, but also throw color onto the background.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Hard and Soft Edges: Look at how the edges of the lamp and its reflection are treated, now the one has a much harder or sharper edge than the other. This gives the lamp a strong sense of form, and makes it dominate its reflection.
Composition: It's likely just the way the photo was cropped, but I think the top of the lantern is too close to the top edge, especially if the painting were framed which covers up a little bit of the actual painting.