From the Artist: My daughter bought a bunch of apples just I was looking for red
for the project. I put them on the grass in the backyard but they needed something else. My daughter came up with the basket. I made a generic background so as not to detract from the main subject. I am pleased with the way the basket turned out.
From the Painting Guide: You should indeed be pleased with this painting, it's lovely. It feels like a celebration of the bounty of nature, as if you've just picked those apples off a tree rather than a supermarket shelf! The colors are gloriously saturated, and it feels as if the sun is beaming down on the scene.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Composition: Notice how the arrangement of the elements in the painting pulls your eye around the composition. I found myself first looking at the basket (the left-hand side, with the lighter tone), then the three apples lying on the grass alongside it, then circling back to the other red of the apples in the basket. The shape of the grass at the back aids this.
Background: I agree, with a still life the background doesn't want to compete with the main subject, it needs to complement it, provide a setting. It's impossible to judge from the photo, but I'd hope the darkest tone in the background is what I'd call a "complex color" created with several colors, rather than one, flat, single color. So that when you see the painting in real life, it's a visually intriguing dark green, not something you glance at once and move away from.
From the Painting Guide: You should indeed be pleased with this painting, it's lovely. It feels like a celebration of the bounty of nature, as if you've just picked those apples off a tree rather than a supermarket shelf! The colors are gloriously saturated, and it feels as if the sun is beaming down on the scene.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Composition: Notice how the arrangement of the elements in the painting pulls your eye around the composition. I found myself first looking at the basket (the left-hand side, with the lighter tone), then the three apples lying on the grass alongside it, then circling back to the other red of the apples in the basket. The shape of the grass at the back aids this.
Background: I agree, with a still life the background doesn't want to compete with the main subject, it needs to complement it, provide a setting. It's impossible to judge from the photo, but I'd hope the darkest tone in the background is what I'd call a "complex color" created with several colors, rather than one, flat, single color. So that when you see the painting in real life, it's a visually intriguing dark green, not something you glance at once and move away from.