NEW YEAR PAINTINGS NOT SO GREAT

I found my Shirley Trevena book and thumbed through it, reading it again and looking at her paintings.  She has some pretty set-ups inside and I thought I'd try one.

Here is the photo inside the book.

Here is my painting started of some of the things in the set-up.

As she says, you just put objects in your paintings however you want - you coordinate them by colors you like, shapes you like, etc; and don't just think of still lifes as flowers in a vase :)  Her photo shows that off well - objects put together for a future painting for herself with notes and even value studies or small thumbnail sketches.  I took the main subjects of the round bowl and the tulips and her little wooden container and then created the other things from the rest of the things she had in the photo.

Since this is a copy of her set-up, I wouldn't do anything with this painting but use it for a study - no selling it, no putting it in a show (of course, it isn't turning out well enough for that, anyway).  Know when you are doing a study that a study is all it is, a way to work out something for yourself and learn - not an opportunity for a finished and saleable painting. 




Here is the next stage.

I don't like those boxes floating like that so need to make them seem like they are holes in the fabric - somehow they will need to be pushed back and made heavier.

And I intend to put a very dark blue-black or purple where the white is now, cutting around the shapes.  We'll see how it goes.

For me, wanting to paint looser, this doesn't cut it; but I'll try again something looser, trying to incorporate both looser and tighter within one painting, knowing when to use either technique and style.  That's my goal, anyway.