Grandpa's Treasures - FINISHED

[knippes]

Hi everyone,
I'm embarrased to say just how long this painting took me. I'll just say that it was more than a couple of months. In the beginning, it just didn't want to flow. But finally, the painting took over, and I was able to complete it in a couple of weeks. It is 36" x 24" and is on Ampersand Pastelbord. It is a variety of softies, including NuPastel, Mt Vision, Rembrandt and Ludwigs. The color is off, but I won't be able to get outside to get a good photo until this weekend, when it finally stops snowing here. I'd greatly appreciate any C&C.
Thanks!
-Kym

[Lynndidj]

Kym - very nice! interesting composition, the eye moves around the painting well, great reflections and highlights. Was there a shadow from the mason jar at all? Everything else has a shadow coming down and to the left, and I just wondered about that jar. Hard to know without seeing the reference ...

Lynn

[Kathryn Day]

Hi Kym, what a great collection of Grandpa's treasures. All brought together in a beautiful painting. Bet the size of it makes it even more impressive. Great work!

[Colorix]

Hi Kym, is this a "portrait" of a young grandfather? Lovely tradition, to paint a still-life that is a portrait of sorts.

It works well, looks great!

Just tell me, what are the 'caltrops' for, the wheel in the bg too?

Only nit I have is that the mouth of the glass jar doesn't look right.

I love how your paintings tell a story!

Charlie

[knippes]

Thanks so much Lynn and Kathryn! I really appreciate it. Here is the reference photo that I used. As you can see, I decided midstream to switch out the pocketknife for the fishing reel. I did have problems trying to decide what to do about a shadow for the mason jar. I would think that there should be a shadow, and I put a very small one under the bottom, but according to the photo, there didn't seem to be any shadow to my eye, except for the one made by the lid.
Thanks for the help.
-Kym

[water girl]

This was well worth the time it took to complete. There are so many areas that invite the viewer to linger. Lovely. But as with the others, something about the bottle is slightly off. Perhaps you could round off that one small area on the bottle neck that is a bit too sharp, then the bottle needs some sort of subtle shadow or reflection on the table. But I have confidence that a few of your masterful strokes will set it right.

[knippes]

Charlie, I had to look up "caltrops". Wasn't sure what they were - but now I've learned a new word for the day - yea! The objects in my painting are jacks. A game played with a rubber ball. The wheel in the background is an old fishing reel, that would have been placed on a wooden rod.
When I used to go over to my grandparent's house when I was a little tyke, they always had a toy chest that was tons of fun to play with. It had a bunch of toys that were my grandfather's when he was little. I remember always having such fun playing with his things, because they were so different from my own.
-Kym

[water girl]

I posted as you posted! Thanks for the photo. I see what the jar needs! The reflected lights on the jar need to be a darker value as they turn toward the table top. The value is too light, so the roundness does not read as round. Please repost when you've touched it up.

[Kim34]

That is gorgeous. I love it, especially the jacks in the foreground.

[Donna T]

Wow, Kym, no wonder you needed a break during this painting - there's a lot to look at and lots of detail! I'm glad you took your time, it turned out beautifully!

[knippes]

Here are the updates I've been working on. I did some additional work on the mason jar and added a shadow underneath. I also did some work on the harmonica. I didn't quite like the reflection and changed it a bit. Hopefully the jar reads better now.
-Kym

[KariTirrell]

Hi Kym,

This is beautiful, and obviously a lot of work!

I like your changes to the jar, but the top of the lip looks like it needs to be rounded a bit, IMO.

Really nice work!

[Nansketch]

Kym,

thanks for sharing, you've done a wonderful job on this. I am definitely too new to critique but I think the changes you made to the jar / shadow really help.

Nancy

[Lynndidj]

Kym:

The jar shadow reads very well now - I could see it faintly in your photograph. Recently took a workshop with Sally Strand and did a lot of looking at shadows and finding the color of the shadows!! I do agree the lip of the jar isn't reading quite right ... I think the problem is on the far right of what would be the top of the jar as it lays on the side. You have the highlight on the rim, but the rim needs to continue on in a darker tone to give the round shape. Then it continues on as you look through the glass jar. Hope that makes sense. Wish I knew how to take your photograph and show you the area. It is such a small change and then that "circle" of the rim of the jar should read correctly.

Lynn

[Lynndidj]

Really an extremely nice painting!!!

Lynn