Monday, March 2, 2009

Carrots


These carrots were laying on the table in front of me, but they look like I painted them looking down at them. I think I'm missing the part of the brain that interprets perspective. I'm stumped. Why don't these look like they are coming towards me? I'm sure it's probably obvious to everyone else...

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

They are lovely as they are. But, what you are wanting is called foreshortening. Any simple book on perspective drawing will help you out. Even carrots on a table have a horizon line behind them somewhere and a center point. That's your beginning. A book from a library will get you going without cost :)

Again, I know you are frustrated but it is a lovely sketch just the same.

winna said...

Owen's right---they would look shorter when they are foreshortened. Just hold your finger pointing sideways up by your face, then turn it right towards your face ---now that's what foreshortening looks like. Your carrots really do look great with beautiful coloring.

Sharon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sharon said...

Ah, yes, foreshortening. Thanks, Winna and Owen. I have a couple of books on perspective, but I tend to avoid them. There's a part of me that thinks my work should be intuitive, but really, I need to buckle down and do some perspective drawing. Not sure why it's so difficult for me. My husband can glance at a drawing and tell me what's off immediately.

Ann said...

I think they are lovely as they are. I have the same problem at times, with perspective and foreshortening. I believe part of the difficulty is when my paper is lying flat where the subject is actually taking up space vertically. I know my support should be at the same angle as my picture plane but am usually too lazy to do that.

Anonymous said...

you need to push your darks darker.....that will help your painting right away....also add some value on the table....I doubt the table is that white.

Jennifer Lawson said...

I think they are lovely as they are! Your work is always so beautiful—soft and light.
I am having trouble with the art exchange. I may have to wait until I get to Bali. Things are getting crazy here. Please forgive. I will post my beautiful treasures tomorrow.

Aarti Harish said...

Wow...they are lovely....fresh and bright....

Anonymous said...

I think you picked an incredibly challenging composition for a start. It's going to be totally counter-intuitive trying to get the perspective right on carrots with the narrow end facing you, because they'll be getting narrower with perspective as the carrot itself gets wider - hard to make them not just look like very short, straight carrots. :-)

Maybe if you set the same composition up again and take a photo of it from where your eyes were, that will give you a better idea of how it should have looked.

I still think it's a lovely drawing anyway - wonderful colour!

Nothing to See said...

This is wonderful. I really like how you rendered this. Very nice work.

laura said...

I like the painting very much, Sharon. You've done the greens beautifully.
I know from drawing architecture sometimes your brain tricks you ... I'll think a line's going up, but it's going down. A remedy I learned from a teacher was to hold my pencil so it was laying on the line, then look at the pencil: what's the angle, up or down? It works for foreshortening too--especially showing you how radical an angle may be when your mind tells you it isn't.
(Is that at at all clear?)

Anonymous said...

I think your painting is very lively. Nice colors. Perspective is something a lot of us struggle with. Especially amongst us self-taught artists.
Jean

Sherry Pierce Thurner said...

Other people have already told you everything you need to know about perspective. I would probably photograph them and figure out the way they are foreshortened that way. But as a bunch of carrots from a bird's-eye perspective, they are fresh, bright and cheerful!

Sherry Pierce Thurner said...

Other people have already told you everything you need to know about perspective. I would probably photograph them and figure out the way they are foreshortened that way. But as a bunch of carrots from a bird's-eye perspective, they are fresh, bright and cheerful!

A Brush with Color said...

I think they're wonderful! I get critical of my own things so I can relate to what you feel, but then I see other peoples' work that's either kind of wonky, or the perspective's off, or whatever, and it's still just delightful to me, so I don't know why we're so hard on ourselves. This is gorgeous, Sharon!

mARTa said...

yes, forshortening...ugh...sometimes you get it, sometimes not. Your colors are fresh and pure so i would chalk this off a success!

JoAnn said...

Just think of them as hanging on a white wall!

To me, they look perfect. The shadows are wonderful and the shapes of the carrots are too.

JoAnn, Sherry's friend

Jane LaFazio said...

Gorgeous and light filled and vibrant. just beautiful!

Eloise said...

What a lovely blog you have! I have not one ounce of artistic ability, so I am in awe of your beautiful creations. Bravo!

Anne Watkins said...

love the carrots - really love the tops - tough to make them so soft and curly!
beautiful.

Jala Pfaff said...

I love it as it is.
But yes, foreshortening is what you're after; get any library art book about perspective.