Cradled Lemons

I have the set up for my next painting all ready to start and I hope to have the first stage ready to show next week.  So, with apologies to my FB friends, I will continue to share a recent work.

This was my first still life work in many years.  I've always loved this flowery bowl and on a whim grabbed the tablecloth and lemons, headed out to the driveway, and started taking pictures.
I was so excited to try something different.  But soon wondered what I was thinking with that tablecloth.

Shadows.  I just love'em!  The more dramatic the better.  I've learned so much while teaching color theory to my 8th graders.  My shadows are almost never black or gray.  The Impressionists taught us that the best shadows are made by blending the complimentary color of the object to it's shadow.  These shadows have violets washed in with the blues.  

"Cradled Lemons"  Watercolor

Copyright © Carmella Tuliszewski 2011

This painting really got me hooked on still life set ups.  After I finished this I was all over the house looking for all kinds of objects to put together and photograph.

I have a quote by Henry David Thoreau hanging in my classroom which reads, 

"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."  

An artist's work is about seeing.  The blemishes on the top lemon, the yellow reflections of the lemons in the bowl and just a hint of highlighting.  It's seeing all the little things that bring it all together.