sometimes it needs to rest a while.

Some paintings come together quickly, others perhaps like a fine wine take time and need to rest for a while... This one was the latter.

It began with a number of color plans.  I'd been painting a number of very colorful pieces so I felt a desire to make my tonal and color ranges a little less dramatic. I think this changing of gears, meant the painting needed more time to crystallize in my mind.

color plans

The first few color plans felt a little cold so I opted for a nice rich table cloth color. I then began to work into the painting, but found myself getting stuck with some of the color choices that I'd laid out for myself. The dark blue chairs had been contrived to balance both the blue in the bowl and gray blues around the edge. However as it progressed the color felt too oppressive (it's a shame I dont have a photo of that stage.

Sometimes a small color plan can work 'small', but once it becomes a 'big' canvas it can fail. The painting sat in my studio, in this almost complete stage for a while. Additionally, I'd realized the bouquets foliage was too pale and the pears too muted and flat.  Ultimately all these changes happened quickly with the color change of the chairs from dark blue to a strong green. This unified the background with the foreground better, and made a nice overall green color tone. It then energized me and provided the catalyst to engage the painting and make the other elements come together.

The colors -  The cool blue/grays balancing with the greens. The soft transitions from rug, to floor, to seat cover. This balancing with the other side of the painting, the slight abstraction; where the background gray/blue eats into a foreground element on the table.  The warm colors of fruit and table cloth pulling you into the center of the table and the blue bowl drawing your eye in. An effective arrangement at this dramatic size (always a joy to  paint).

Fruit bowl with white bouquet

30X48     Acrylic on canvas

detail

It's hard to know what to show in a detail, when there's so many nice things to show. If you look closely you can see the original pear color showing through in places, these gaps were left intentionally, fractionally toning the overall pear color.

detail

Sometimes working over an area already painted allows for a more confident, bolder brush stroke. With some good impasto paint.