Friday, January 25, 2008

Pinch Deux-5x5- oil on c.b.

Click here to bid. starts at $29

Having a lot of fun painting these peppers. the clothes pin is very fun because every side has a different color and temperature and changes color and temperature from front to back. for instance the side of the clothes pin in shadow facing us is dark and orange closer to the pepper and as it goes away it cools. its picking up the color from the blue cloth everythings setting on. the orange glow thru the pepper is casting its light on the bottom shadowed part of the clothes pin.

i'm really jazzed about the way doing these little paintings of ordinary things makes you look at (and paint) these subtleties.
usually i'm painting a marina scene or a row of buildings and the grand subject matter can carry the painting. these little still lifes MAKE you look and train your eye to see reflected light, cast shadow colors (see the bit of orange in the dark blue in the peppers cast shadow?) . its so subtle that 99% of us dont see it but the eyes (and brain) do, registering it as realistic.
try doing a few of these 5x5, 5x7, or 6x8 with something really mundane and commonplace. i think you''ll be amazed at how our painting will improve if we do it regularly.

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