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Saturday, 6 February 2010

The Remains of the Day...

Last week, sitting at the office completely bored, I was aching to be at home with my paints and brushes. My drawing and sketching wasn't cutting the ice, so I had pushed that to one side. This morning, I woke up determined to just paint and paint anything that took my fancy. I chose basic still lifes of food; mushrooms, peppers, onions, lemons, mugs and a breadboard. These objects had been languishing in my fridge for over a week and were ready to be thrown out; I am such a bad eater! But at least these precious items didn't go to waste. Or so I tell myself.

I now have three unfinished 8" x 8" canvases drying waiting for the next assault, possibly tomorrow. I was hoping to have at least one finished today but I had decided earlier on in the week to really try and sit back and look critically at my work, no matter how humble the subject. This meant taking breaks and really stepping back and looking at the work at various stages and only going back to it once I had established at least five areas that needed correcting; and then disciplining myself to make those corrections. This works, but it takes a little longer. I took these photos at the end of the day just when the very rare appearance of a Winter sun was slipping down behind the clouds.


Pepper in Progress.

Now You Know Why I Need A Maid.

4 comments:

Chartan said...

It looks very good from what I can see of it. The still life in your photograph is fantastic, it looks like an old master to me. The way the light is hitting it, it's just fabulous. You're a wonderful photographer!

Anne C M Campbell said...

Thanks Charlotte! By a happy accident the cast shadows of window frames across the corners of the Pepper still life improved the composition so I am now going to incorporate them in the final work.

Autumn Leaves said...

I was thinking exactly the same thing Charlotte said! The painting itself has come out beautifully! Patience isn't my virtue either, alas. You made me laugh with that little 'why I need a maid' comment. I so enjoy reading here, Anne. Always enjoy your works and can't wait to see what is next.

Anne C M Campbell said...

Thanks Sherry - the problem with this photograph, even though I like it, is it makes my work look a lot better than it does in real life! The photograph of the pepper has been 'warmified' slightly so I am going to try and emulate that on the work when I get to the next layer. Have a great creative week.