6 x 6"oil painting on panel
This is not just the same orange pepper that I posted on Monday, it's the same painting of the same orange pepper. After I posted it on Monday, I looked at it awhile and thought this thing looks like it's about to go up in flames. It was all the same color temperature. I had painted what I saw, but did not take care when setting up to have either color or temperature contrasts. To be unoriginal, painting is like herding cats, so many things to think of simultaneously. Value, edges, composition, color, color temperature, focal point. Have I left anything out? Yes, drawing. Anyway, it seems too easy to lose one of those cats. Oops, there goes the edges cat. Or, in this case, the temperature cat.
So, since the piece was largely dry, I decided to simply paint over just about the whole thing using a near complement for the background. Now the pepper actually looks orange. I'm leaving the orginal up for comparison. It will keep me humble. The original looks really dull and dreary sitting there. There are very few darks on the pepper itself when the light comes from the side. It's translucent and glows from within. Maybe someday I will be able to paint that.
That's all the painting I'm going to do today, as I really have to straighten and organize my studio. Then I'm going to run across town and put down a deposit on a June workshop being taught by M Kathryn Massey. I should be able to learn something about still life painting from her. Check out her website at http://www.masseyfineart.com/
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