Friday, December 16, 2011

Bosc Pear

oil on linen on panel / 7x5"/ unframed /sold

How this painting will look framed:

In setting up my still life paintings, I often look for objects that are distinctive. The contrast of brilliant greens and the shimmer of pale red-orange in the brown attracted my eyes. I must have stood in front of the Bosc pear display for about a half hour before I found the right pear (I was wondering what the the other shoppers around me were thinking!). When I found it, I held it like it was a chunk of gold! Whatever I select to paint, must inspire me to want to paint it and to continue to inspire me to want paint it for days when it is a large painting. The colors of this Bosc pear served as such an inspiration.

The challenge was to maintain the same value (degree of lightness/darkness) in the lights while changing the color. Squint your eyes and look at the light (the left side) on the pear-some green and some pale red-orange. The colors are different, but the degree of lightness is still the same. 

In addition, notice the shadow (the right side) of the pear. It maintains its shape to make the pear look three-dimensional. This shape also helps me to see and gauge the size of the light shape on the left. I compare the size of the light/dark shapes as I paint. All this talk sounds very left brain, but looking at the shapes is a right brain function. 

1 comment:

Dillon Masters said...

Quite stunning. Congrats for another little jewel.