From the Artist:
This project required a great deal of patience, and whatever little skill I possessed but I was determined to finish it. It was interesting to discover just how many different shades could be obtained by mixing such a limited number of colors.
The various elements of the composition, the blue and white striped cloth, and the cactus plant in particular, presented quite a problem, but the battered old watering can was a lovely subject to paint. It seemed to me that the onions and the lemons were a bit of a cliché but I thought that the bright yellow lemons and the reddish brown tone of the onion provided a lively contrast to the dominant bluish-gray and darker brown tones in the rest of the picture.
The pale gray fence in the background also looked a bit bland so I decided to include a few rows of small shells that had been strung up along one side of the porch at the back of the house where the still life was set up. I enjoyed doing this project and am looking forward with great interest to the next assignment.
From the Painting Guide: I'm delighted to hear you enjoyed the project and the color mixing. And anyone who can paint striped fabric like this has without a doubt skill. I like the onion and lemons for the extra color they add, the way they alignment echoes the fold in the fabric, and the fact they pull my eye in towards the watering can.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Composition: I think I would've simplified the strong verticals in the background. At the moment it's too busy for me and distracts my eye from the focus of the painting, the watering can, cactus, and lemons.
The watering can is very centrally placed in the composition, but its shape and the strong lines of the cloth plus the splash of color from the onion and lemons, prevent it from being a "fried egg" composition (where your eye is pulled straight into the center of the composition without seeing what else is going on).
However, the dividing line between light and tone tone on the side of the can is too hard an edge. Together with the handle of the watering can, this divides the composition in half vertically. I would blend the two tones to get a soft transition.
The various elements of the composition, the blue and white striped cloth, and the cactus plant in particular, presented quite a problem, but the battered old watering can was a lovely subject to paint. It seemed to me that the onions and the lemons were a bit of a cliché but I thought that the bright yellow lemons and the reddish brown tone of the onion provided a lively contrast to the dominant bluish-gray and darker brown tones in the rest of the picture.
The pale gray fence in the background also looked a bit bland so I decided to include a few rows of small shells that had been strung up along one side of the porch at the back of the house where the still life was set up. I enjoyed doing this project and am looking forward with great interest to the next assignment.
From the Painting Guide: I'm delighted to hear you enjoyed the project and the color mixing. And anyone who can paint striped fabric like this has without a doubt skill. I like the onion and lemons for the extra color they add, the way they alignment echoes the fold in the fabric, and the fact they pull my eye in towards the watering can.
Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Composition: I think I would've simplified the strong verticals in the background. At the moment it's too busy for me and distracts my eye from the focus of the painting, the watering can, cactus, and lemons.
The watering can is very centrally placed in the composition, but its shape and the strong lines of the cloth plus the splash of color from the onion and lemons, prevent it from being a "fried egg" composition (where your eye is pulled straight into the center of the composition without seeing what else is going on).
However, the dividing line between light and tone tone on the side of the can is too hard an edge. Together with the handle of the watering can, this divides the composition in half vertically. I would blend the two tones to get a soft transition.