Studying paintings finished

[palob]

Hello, maybe you remember my flemmish style postings in WOYEs. Here they are finished. Four months after start I was finally able to try paint lemon texture, what was my secondary objective (primary one was to get better in flemmish style). Well, it did not go easy as I expected. Texture of the first cut lemon was repainted 3 times and still it is not as I hoped. But I learned a lot, so next time... Also I found, I should buy lemons which are more rough. That one I used today and yesterday was quite smooth and only with dark dots.

Photos are not very good. Because I wanted to avoid glare I took them in room and not turned to window (time of exposition 1 second!). Also they are bit too saturated.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/15-Aug-2004/21156-stvorec1_6_final_small.jpg

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/15-Aug-2004/21156-stvorec2_6_finish_small.jpg

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/15-Aug-2004/21156-stvorec3_6_final_small.jpg

All three have size 20x20cm. Critique and comment is welcome.

Pavol

[LarrySeiler]

nicely done Pavol!!!

these certainly will lead the eye to better observational skills...to see more subtleties...!

Larry

[palob]

Thanks Larry.

I still owe you my opinion about your book, but before my holiday I didn't have any time, now I have a lot of work in my job and during evenings plus this weekend I reinstall new computer as well as I am processing holiday photos. And of course I progressed on 4 paintings this weekend! It seems I doubled my personal record :D.

Pavol

[Jaysen]

Pav, I don't have any critiques, these are very nice. The only observation that I have is that the water droplets look more, um...., real? exact? than the fruit. I think it's because of the hard lines in color differentiation on the drops, where the fruit is sorta fuzzy. This could definitely just be the camera effects. The exception to this is the second picture's apple and right hand lemon. In these two, you have brought the highlight, close part of the fruit, into sharp focus and very realistic, while the back edges in shadow remain slightly out of focus. It's a neat effect and makes it look like the eye is specially focused on these two surfaces.

All in all, the studies are very well executed and show your high skill.

[Trisha H]

Pavol,

Thye're all really good - I think the cut lemons in the third one are especially good!

Trisha.

[MonicaB]

These are all wonderful, Pavol. Great job! Have to agree about the water droplets -- they are just a tad too bright. But that third painting -- it's fantastic. :clap:

[palob]

Thank you Jaysen, Trisha and Monica for your kind words!

Jaysen, you are right, droplets draw attention much more than rest of paintings. I had problems to make them less conspicuous. There are several reasons. The smallest have less than about 2millimeters (I cannot understand how I was able to paint them and even to make them to look like droplets :D They just happened - I tried later, but without success). They should have sharp edges, otherwise do not look well. Finally Artpapa says, highlights have to be brightests part in paintings (he never uses pure white for anything else).
He also says for dark part of droplet nearest darker color should be used - but I was not able to mix it and - it was either too dark (as in result it is seen) or droplet was not visible.

Trisha, secret of third painting is in lemons without highlights. I tried them hard on other two, but they did not work. It is also probably related to too bright highlights.

Pavol

[Rosic]

These are so good they are making my mouth water! :clap:
Rosic

[WFMartin]

Palob, I greatly admire your paintings. I like your water droplets, and think they are wonderfully done.

Bill

[palob]

Thank you Rosic and Bill for your kind words!

Pavol

[dcorc]

Pavol - you are to be congratulated on all three paintings, they are of high quality - the slight discrepancy between the sharpness of the drops and of other features has been pointed out - if you found a few,other occasional selected, edges, and sharpened them to similar extent - (or knocked back the sharpness of the droplets just a little by stippling with the tip of a dry brush), the feeling as to the sharpness or softness of focus would be unified, I think.

Dave

[palob]

Thank you Dave for your advices. I prefer not to blur droplets, they are small so I can ruin them easily. I probably try sharp edges. I have never done it before - I tried to do all my edges soft. Finding which one should be sharper will not be very easy on round forms :( .

Pavol

[palob]

Cut lemons - they are unnecessary blurred! Yes, that is the way!

[dcorc]

Don't overdo the sharpening though! :) Be selective.

Dave

[CarolChretien]

Very nice :clap: ...and I keep thinking they must be very beautiful in person ...I know some of my pics look fuzzy when I post but when I view the digital pic on the monitor they look sharper and of course sharper still in person.
Congrats on completing your projects! :D

[palob]

Thank you Carol. You are right, they look different in person, but I will not speculate whether they are nicer :D. Wait a second - looking at post now, I like them more here... :D. I have to check...

Pavol