My second painting was based on a photo from a magazine which my wife suggested. This painting was also completed in 2010. It was perhaps ambitious (something that I tend to do), but it turned out quite nicely. For a lot of reasons I still consider it to be my best painting to date.
The strong points of this painting are the reflection of the light off the various objects and the darkness/shadows that plays such a dominant role. I think I really succeeded in bring depth into the picture with the little pot on the middle shelf being the best indication of role that the depth and shadows play in the painting. After completing the painting it looked nice, but dull. I realised that something was missing and that is where I decided to add the red flowers in the front… and it just worked! It was as if the flowers brought the painting to life.
The weak point of the painting is the leaves of the ivy. It lacks detail and sometimes appears like blobs of green, but since the other features are so strong, you do not really take notice of the ivy.
This painting was not too difficult, but hugely satisfying to paint.
Francois' Art Blog 