More fish...

Recently there's something fishy about my studio. I've just completed the second still life painting to include some fish within the composition.  If I keep this up, it's going to get really smelly!  Well actually I've been using reference material, but I've been really enjoying tackling this new subject within my still lifes. It seems to humanize the subject in some strange way. I used some paintings of fish by Georges Braque as inspiration for how to treat my stylization of the fish.

I like the conflict of geometry here, the circular table and rug pushing against the square angles of the background drape. Round against Square.

The painting proved a challenge to photograph accurately. I feel the red rug is actually a little deeper, with a slight purplish tinge. I think the photograph often struggles with the subtleties or red and warm ranges. It's one of those paintings that really shows well in person, but I know I'm biased.

Delphinium, fish & Oranges

40X30           Acrylic on wood

Detail

I though these flowers were worthy of a close up. I love the over sized petals in relations to each flower. The irregular, unique shapes of each flower formed by these big floppy petals, that stretch out on storks from a bed of broad leaved foliage. I tried to leave a lot of red under painting, within the petals, to help state and enhance the overall color.

Detail

I consciously kept this painting a little looser, more under painting was left than usual and forms were loosely defined. This detail illustrates that well. The Delphinium have very little definition with some lost and found elements that bleed into the background. The blue jug has very loose stylized coloration on the inside of it. Again this was achieved by letting a lot of the under painting remain.

Here are some stages of the paintings progress -

 The 'block-in', out line stage 

You'll notice I originally intended just one fish on the plate, and this was nearer the jug. Once I moved to the color plan stage, I began to feel the fish was too centrally placed in the picture. So I slightly off-set it, and added a second fish.  I needed additional fruit placement on the left to balance out the change.

The color plan

The proposed colors of the final painting. These quick color studies guide me as I complete my final painting.

The under painting

Under painting colors are chosen in reference to the final color plan. Both complimentary and secondary colors are used.

First pass on most colors. 

Still some refining and re-tuning of colors where needed. Notice how the tone of some elements changed, - such as the rug and flower pot.