Friday, January 23, 2009

january VSD

(5x7)
First, abandoned (alas, not soon enough) attempt. I like the lighter ground in this one, but really struggled with the inside of the peels! I kept changing my mind about what color they were! The one in the back is dark in value but warm ... I was stumped.

Second try: Friday morning--



--and afternoon.


Still having trouble with that background peel. I should have left it light, regardless of its being so dark in the reference photo.
I think I've learned too that it's best not to mess with orange, the color. A fresh, untouched wash looks best.
I think I can improve this with a few darks around the base of the fruit and some white pencil scribbles to suggest pith.
Can't wait to see how the other participants in the VSD dealt with the peels and pith!

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20 comments:

Teresa said...

There's something I like about each one, but I like the second one the best. Or the third? No, the second.... :-)

Anonymous said...

I like the third attempt best. It has more light. I agree about the white pencil addition. You work always looks so fresh.
Jean

cathyswatercolors said...

Hi Laura, each paintig is really well done and interesting. I think I like the one at the top. Your abandoned attempt,the whites are great in that one,I also like the colors in that. As usual your colors are luminous and the drawings great. I couldn't figure out how to save the whites on the rind.(I was too involved with orange and purple to control myself) White pen for the pith is a great idea. Don't you love that word pith:)

Suzanne McDermott said...

I love the 5 x 7 on top.

Laure Ferlita said...

Love your colors in the top one - the lavenders playing off the oranges are wonderful! There's something different to like in all of them, but I really do think there's something about that first one that speaks out!

Desiree's Designs said...

This is a wonderful study, I love them all! Whats not to like? I agree that it is easy to overwork, leaving it light and clean is good. I find I have to remember not to rework the whole piece, just the dark areas.

A Brush with Color said...

Oh--they're all wonderful! I love them. You could group them all together in a frame and hang them! I have really enjoyed seeing what people come up with for this one. Excellent! It doesn't show that you struggled at all.s

Jeanette Jobson said...

Beautiful colours all three. The contrasts are wonderful. I think my first is the favourite, but all of them have appeal in different ways.

Ramana KV said...

I see everyone picking a different painting as their favorite.. That clearly tells that all the good.. :)

I love the second one the most..

Carol Feldman said...

Laura, I feel your pain. :-)
I agreed with the "frame them together" approach, as all have something special about them.

Nothing to See said...

This was definitely not as easy as first appeared!

Nonetheless, I think you did an excellent job. I like the middle one the best, but they are all good.

Art with Liz said...

Gosh you're hard on yourself. I absolutely love the first one. And the second one. And the third one. No, it's the first one!

Gail Bartel said...

Hey laura,
I love the second,(not to say the other two are bad)but the second has the right color value to me. Love your looseness, I was too tight and overworked.
Thanks again for the inspiration!

Nithya Swaminathan said...

I like the 1st one best, atleast with respect to the background peel. That had me struggling too!

Gwen Buchanan said...

Laura I enjoyed seeing the progression in this painting... it's like watching you think...

love the slide show of your nudes on the side panel ... just wonderful!! Thank you for sharing them...

Nancy Eaton said...

I, too, love them all! Fabulous and loose -- simply beautiful!

Judybec said...

o, I love your paintings! especially the way you use various colors for shadows. I think you're so right when you wrote about a "fresh, untouched wash looks best". But, gosh, I find that so difficult to do!

"JeanneG" said...

I had trouble with this one too. I wasn't about to do it more than once. Once was hard enough and I just did an abbreviated version. I had trouble with the inside of the peel too and the pithy part on the orange segments. Good job. Love those purples in there.

Cathy Gatland said...

Gee - I completely missed this VSD challenge. I love your fresh clementines (we call them naartjies - pronounced nar-cheese here!) I agree orange is best left as clean as possible, which yours is. I think I like the third one most with the stronger blue background making the orange sing.

Jennifer Lawson said...

They're all wonderful. It's hard to choose, but I think I like the second one. All have such great color and light. As usua,l so well done.