Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Oil study #38

I like this one!
I think it's my best still life so far. And hope it still will be tomorrow. :-)
I like the color, the light, my values are consistent: what's in the shadow is darker than (all) the light parts.

The background was supposed to be a satin fabric and it didn't work out so I just covered it with more paint. I'll have to give satin fabric another trial. I noticed afterward that the composition would have been better if the left pear would point towards the center instead of pointing almost to the left side. Highlights on the cherries may be a bit strong but I didn't want to mess up the dark there so left them alone. I'll be more careful next time.

4 comments:

BJ said...

I like this one, too! It is fun to hear your comments on the process. I also like the photo of you.
Love, BJ

Bob Barker said...

Good morning, Johanne,
I'm also a fan of this one.

Can I ask a question about what you have referred to as "highlights"? In my photography reading, I think these are the equivalent of "catchlights" which are usually found, most prominently, in the eyes of subjects but I suspect could be more diffused reflections of the light source on any surface. I'm told that these catchlights, especially in the eyes, take on the shape of the light source - the shape of the flash gun or window, for example, which shape would be very diffused on a pear or cherry. Do you think there is an equivalency in the terms, "highlights" and "catchlights"?

I just have to learn, among other things, the terminology.

Bob

JohanneMorinFineArt said...

The picture of me was taken in 2002. I'll need a more recent one...

JohanneMorinFineArt said...

Bob, you're right the terms "highlights" and "catchlights" seem to be equivalent.

So far I used a light source close to my still life setup, so I can see the highlights on the fruits. Oh, and I use plastic fruits :-)

Real cherries will have stronger highlights than pears since they are shinier, right? So I think we could see a window reflection in a cherry but it would be diffused (but still there) on a pear. What do you think?