From the Artist: I had intended to paint a picture of the house on its own. It was from a photo I had taken in southern Turkey. I added the olive tree to add a sense of history to this tranquil area. For some strange reason I looked at this tree as a 'grand old lady' with a lot of stories to tell.
From the Painting Guide: I think the house and tree together make an intriguing subject, both old with stories to tell but one from nature and one man-made. I particularly like the way you've used small strokes of color to convey a sense of the stones or bricks in the house's walls, and the longer strokes giving texture to the tree's trunk and the ground between the two.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Composition: Notice how the branches and vegetation poking in on the left-hand edge give a sense of the scene continuing beyond the edges. Same with the tree on the right, where the viewer mentally fills in the rest of the tree, thereby engaging them with the painting.
I find the gap between the house and the tree a little small. The edge of the roof and the bottom of the steps almost touch the tree. And with the very dark tone on the tree and that side of the house it creates a strange negative space between the two that I find distracting. I would've used artistic license to make the gap a little bigger.
I imagine there's likely more variation in the sky than shows up in the photo, but at the moment it's too empty or not in contrast to the rest of the painting for me.
From the Painting Guide: I think the house and tree together make an intriguing subject, both old with stories to tell but one from nature and one man-made. I particularly like the way you've used small strokes of color to convey a sense of the stones or bricks in the house's walls, and the longer strokes giving texture to the tree's trunk and the ground between the two.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Composition: Notice how the branches and vegetation poking in on the left-hand edge give a sense of the scene continuing beyond the edges. Same with the tree on the right, where the viewer mentally fills in the rest of the tree, thereby engaging them with the painting.
I find the gap between the house and the tree a little small. The edge of the roof and the bottom of the steps almost touch the tree. And with the very dark tone on the tree and that side of the house it creates a strange negative space between the two that I find distracting. I would've used artistic license to make the gap a little bigger.
I imagine there's likely more variation in the sky than shows up in the photo, but at the moment it's too empty or not in contrast to the rest of the painting for me.