"Cots in a Bowl," redux

8x6", oil on canvas board, sold

Amongst the small still life paintings I did in 2007 and 2008, a number of them just didn't tickle my fancy. So, with my recent interest in experimenting with colors but remaining true in value, I decided to try repainting them. It seemed like a good way to learn about the Fauve colors, while working on an existing composition, with existing colors and values. (Are these Fauve colors? I don't know.) This was a painting of apricots from May of 2008.

Each one I've done (and there are a couple that I'm not ready to blog yet) teaches me something about how to do this, and how color works. For instance, in this one, even though I'm using non-standard colors, I need to pay attention to how they interact. Note that the further wall of the bowl is mostly green. I tried painting it with a mix of colors including blue and purple, and it just wanted to blend into the background. It had to be a color that separated itself from the purple. By the same token, if I made it too red or orange, then it wanted to interact with the fruit. In fact, for awhile the fruit was too pastel and sweet, and it looked weirdly transparent against the light colors of the bowl. Yeah, this one was a bit of a fighter.