From the Artist: I put the cut flower into a little bottle that had a gold color metal ring about a half inch below the opening. When I looked at the photo of the setup, I thought it so interesting that not the entire bottle was showing, only the highlights. Also the gold ring reflecting into the top of the bottle looked very unusual.
Flowers have always been a difficult subject for me to paint but it turned out to be doubly challenging trying to paint the highlights only of the bottle. I have a little more confidence now to paint another flower. Thanks for the challenge.
The colors used were Prussian blue, raw umber, yellow ochre, cadmium yellow, white, and rose madder.
From the Painting Guide: You certainly set yourself an interesting challenge, and I think done it beautifully. The very dark background really allows the flower to dominate the composition, and then the reflected highlights in the bottle create visual intrigue below this, pulling your eye down the composition.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Background: Notice how the background isn't a single, solid or flat color, but how the barely visible folds behind the flower enhance the composition. It's like a subtle spotlight onto the focus of the painting, pulling your eye from the top edge down towards the flower.
I've been unable to decide whether I want more of the flower's stem to be visible or not. While it would serve to unify the composition somewhat, your mind does fill in detail your eye doesn't see.
Composition: Comparing the painting and the photo of the still life set-up, the angle of the flower is the same but the angle of the bottle is different. It's been straightened so the flat edge runs more parallel to the bottom of the canvas. (This may of course just be a change that happened between the finishing of the painting and the taking of the photo of the setup.)
Flowers have always been a difficult subject for me to paint but it turned out to be doubly challenging trying to paint the highlights only of the bottle. I have a little more confidence now to paint another flower. Thanks for the challenge.
The colors used were Prussian blue, raw umber, yellow ochre, cadmium yellow, white, and rose madder.
From the Painting Guide: You certainly set yourself an interesting challenge, and I think done it beautifully. The very dark background really allows the flower to dominate the composition, and then the reflected highlights in the bottle create visual intrigue below this, pulling your eye down the composition.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Background: Notice how the background isn't a single, solid or flat color, but how the barely visible folds behind the flower enhance the composition. It's like a subtle spotlight onto the focus of the painting, pulling your eye from the top edge down towards the flower.
I've been unable to decide whether I want more of the flower's stem to be visible or not. While it would serve to unify the composition somewhat, your mind does fill in detail your eye doesn't see.
Composition: Comparing the painting and the photo of the still life set-up, the angle of the flower is the same but the angle of the bottle is different. It's been straightened so the flat edge runs more parallel to the bottom of the canvas. (This may of course just be a change that happened between the finishing of the painting and the taking of the photo of the setup.)
