Red table cloth

[mgranstedt]

GENERAL INFORMATION:
Title: Red table cloth
Year Created:
Medium: Oil
Surface: Canvas
Dimension: 25 x 20 cm
Allow digital alterations?: Yes!

MY COMMENTS:
I wanted to paint some kind of cloth and found an excellent tutorial that I followed and put a whiskey cup on top of it. You can find the tutorial here: http://www.artgraphica.net/free-art-...ting-demo.html

MY QUESTIONS FOR THE GROUP:
All qritique and comments are welcome.

[eyecandy2]

Can't see much. Photo is too large.

[Andrewcody]

Mg the red napkin is quite good.
Phil is correct you need to resize your image so it is easier to see.
The whiskey cup appears to be floating over the red napkin.
You need to ground this, watch the perspective and shadow.
Personally I think a glass would have been more interesting for the whiskey
Regards
Andrew

[billmahler]

I like it
One thought:
Look at your edges. Those on the rear of the napkin should be the softest edges in the painting.

[goddessofgeek]

I love the picture. Red is my favorite color and I love when it's the focus of a piece. The left top side seems a little high (even with the angle) and the shadows at the corner aren't quite as sharp as the other side. Also, I would add a little more more shading right at the edge of the table to give a bit more depth. But it's super cool. I thought it was cool that you were from Sweden because the colors immediately reminded me of something you would have seen in Northern Europe during the Renaissance.

[mgranstedt]

Andrewcody - Thank you! Do you have any suggestions on how to ground it?

billmahleer - Thank you! I will review the edges once more

goddessofgeek - Thank you! I've asked both my mother and my wife to spot what's wrong with the picture but they couldn't see that left side of the tablecloth is higher than the right.
I try to convince myself that it's because the tablecloth folds strangely behind the cup

[Debzy]

Perhaps you could ground it by adding a very slight fold or rise of the napkin raised up against the base of the cup, with some slight shading to show this. It is a very clean, simple and pure study. Very neatly done. I like it very much! Cheers =)) Debs.

[eyecandy2]

You can ground it by placing a shadow where the cup meets the red cloth. This is standard for most objects. When I looked at your painting, I wasn't sure of what the object was until I read the comments above. I thought that it was some kind of plumbing fixture or a section of a pipe. Sorry, I never saw a whiskey cup before.

[mgranstedt]

Debzy and eyecandy2 - Thank you! I will try one (or both) of your suggestion(s).

[mgranstedt]

Originally Posted by eyecandy2

I thought that it was some kind of plumbing fixture or a section of a pipe. Sorry, I never saw a whiskey cup before.

I love your comment! And it's so true now that you have pointed it out.

That really shows how important it is to analyze the picture as objectively as you can. I've taken it for granted that everyone would know (and recognize) my whiskey cup.

Now I can see that there is nothing that really support the idea of a cup, such as a bottle or the actual liquid.

However, I'm gonna take the easy way out and rename the painting to "Plumbing fixture on red tablecloth"

[Debzy]

"However, I'm gonna take the easy way out and rename the painting to "Plumbing fixture on red tablecloth"

Brilliant! I love it! lol =)) Debs.

[Andrewcody]

We are of kindred spirits Mg.

Regards
Andrew

[D.W. Flint]

Nice painting, but the rear of the napkin appears to be floating above the table.