From the Artist: Lemons are not happy in blue. I feel the background detracts too much from the fruit, which I was quite happy with. I think I got too carried away with trying to put complementary colors into the shadows and one purple led to another, then one blue led to another.
From the Painting Guide: I don't know that your background dominates too much, but rather I wonder if there's just a bit much of it. If you compare the area taken up by the lemons to that of the background and foreground, the way the composition is doesn't allow for the lemons to dominate the painting. But if you were to crop off part of the foreground and background (and I would be quite severe, as in this photo), so that the lemons and the color yellow dominates the painting, then I think the blues and purples work just fine.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Format of a Painting: Be careful that you don't let the format of a canvas or sheet of paper determine your composition. Or, put more bluntly, don't "fill up" the canvas with background just because the space is there. With a sheet of paper, you've the option of cutting off the excess. This is harder to do with a canvas (or canvas board), so if you find yourself in this situation you either need to start again on a new, more suitably proportioned canvas, or adapt the composition.
From the Painting Guide: I don't know that your background dominates too much, but rather I wonder if there's just a bit much of it. If you compare the area taken up by the lemons to that of the background and foreground, the way the composition is doesn't allow for the lemons to dominate the painting. But if you were to crop off part of the foreground and background (and I would be quite severe, as in this photo), so that the lemons and the color yellow dominates the painting, then I think the blues and purples work just fine.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Format of a Painting: Be careful that you don't let the format of a canvas or sheet of paper determine your composition. Or, put more bluntly, don't "fill up" the canvas with background just because the space is there. With a sheet of paper, you've the option of cutting off the excess. This is harder to do with a canvas (or canvas board), so if you find yourself in this situation you either need to start again on a new, more suitably proportioned canvas, or adapt the composition.