orange basket

[Inkling]

This was done from a still life I set up in my studio. It is 11 X 17 soft pastel on Wallis sanded paper. Any comments or critique? Don't feel like you have to be nice. I really would like your honest opinion.


http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/06-May-2002/orangebskt.JPG

[Wayne Gaudon]

This has a lot going for it but in my opinion there are 3 areas that could use a little fix .. the basket seems to float on top of the cloth instead of sitting on and in it .. the white around the sliced orange is too white .. needs more variance .. the orange behind the handle has lost it's roundness and looks like it has too much cleavage .. like the color harmony, details, and outlook.

Hope this is what you were looking for ..

All the best ..

[Ruth]

The blue-orange complementary color scheme is a knockout!
You draw well and handle the pastel beautifully.

I would suggest for your next setup, try placing the light differently so that you get some interesting shadows. A frontal lighting like this tends to flatten things out. Light from one side or the other, or slightly behind the objects, gives a light side and shadow side, allowing you to give more information about form and roundness. It also allows you to have a little mystery in the shadows, and some lost edges which are also nice.

Here's an article of mine that may be of help in setting up and lighting a still life:
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Articles2/2514/127/

In that same vein of thought, look at this one by Leopoldo:
http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=33220

Ruth

[walden]

I agree that the basket appears to be floating, but I can't for the life of me figure out why. The colors are gorgeous, though-- very rich and eye-catching.

[nam26b]

Hello,

I agree on the colors and drawing....nice. The things I would suggest are these:

To me it looks like the reason the basket is floating is that the cloth and its folds do not change much if at all as they approach the basket. I didn't see your still life, but I'd guess that the folds flattened considerably under the weight of the basket and that there was somekind of shadow underneath it. I think these things would anchor the basket.


Also, you may have the highlights on the cloth too bight, or the others too dark. Oranges are pretty reflective, and the cloth seems to be reflecting quite a bit more light than the oranges.....possibly too much. To me it seems the cloth was under a brighter light than the rest of the setup. Maybe observe the value of the highlights carefully and adjust them if needed.

You've done good details on the fruit and especially the basket!

Hope it helps,

Nathan

[Ruth]

I couldn't resist doing a paintshop retouch. I hope you don't mind. I imagined a light source to the left casting shadows to the right, and put some warm colors in the cools and vice versa.

Ruth

[Inkling]

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. I appreciate the help.

Ruth- Thanks for those links. I am going to give that still life box a try.:)