Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Oranges


The shadows link the oranges together, but the vase is just out there alone. It needs to connect to the oranges somehow. Maybe by adding a bit of orange to the vase? I don't know. I'll try it again tomorrow. Suggestions are welcome.

13 comments:

Laura Frankstone said...

This is lovely. But here's a thought: you could use a warm color in the vase. It doesn't have to be orange--in fact, red or yellow would work better, because they wouldn't be so formulaic. Just a brave washy splash of warm on the front of the vase would help. Some blues and reds in the oranges to make the values truer, too? The actual, local colors of the objects are not as important as tones and values and light. Easy to say, hard to do, as I well know ;D.

Sharon said...

I appreciate your taking the time to leave these very helpful suggestions, Laura! I'm going to give it another try in a day or two...

Unknown said...

if its a design issue for you, why not try a different angle? perhaps sketching it in charcoal at a few different angles might help before plunging in to the final. I like the warm/cool tension between oranges and vase.

Tess Kincaid said...

I like it as it is. The colors of the oranges are rich and wonderful. And I like the contrast of the vase being just blue and white. Lovely.

Angie in AZ said...

I think maybe a small amount of reflective color on the vase might make you stop squirming when you look at it. I think it's really beautiful though. Very calming to look at.

Unknown said...

I quite like the composition - the oranges really lead your eye into the painting and up to the vase, but I agree with Laura - a little warmth in the vase and a little coolness in the oranges would tie the whole painting together...

That being said - I think the oranges are really smashing - the shadows are VERY lovely!

Dana S. Whitney said...

Everybody's a critic, right? I really like the colors "as is" and love the linking shadow. What looks worth tinkering with to me is the apparent equidistance between all four of the objects. It's almost as if the oranges and vase are "anti-magnetic." Maybe this set up is worth doing again, but maybe you learned what you learned and you can move on to something that is newly exciting for you.

Sharon said...

Thank you all for your suggestions and kind comments! I really appreciate it.

Jenny said...

It's a lovely composition. I agree with all of the above, but I have a problem with the directions and sizes of the shadows.

- The vase shadow needs to be longer, relative to the length of the shadows of the oranges.
- The vase shadow needs to start with the base, similar to those of the oranges.
- All of the shadows are going in different directions. Choose one direction.

There is so much right about your painting! The colors are wonderful, and I really like your shading. The colors in the shadows beneath the oranges are beautiful.

If you try this one again, please think of it as making minor adjustments.

Virginia said...

To me it's just a question of the shadow of the vase, and where it begins. My mind tells me there should be a narrow line of shadow along the base, but then, I'm not looking at the real life set up. I agree with the others who love the oranges, their color and juiciness and shadow colors...worth doing again, I'd say.

Ann said...

I think it's lovely. I like the color and the arc of the placement of the oranges. The only thought I had was as I was following the composition from the oranges sweeping up to the vase, then the vase takes me off the page. Maybe along the top a suggested horizontal or slightly diagonal edge of the table going across to bring me back in? So many good suggestions here! Enough for 10 more paintings :)

Yellow said...

I love the coloured shadows the oranges cast onto the white table cloth. I agree that the vase leads the eye out of the painting, but I actually quite like that. I agree on looking again that the vase shadow is wrong. I want the vase either to cast a partial shadow across an orange, or for an orange to be intersecting the line of the vase. There's a lot of mileage in this arrangement of objects. Good choice.

Anonymous said...

Spectacular! I love those glowing oranges and the contrast with the blue.