two still life paintings in acrylic - dramatic colors

[Menolly]

Two of my most recent paintings... I'm trying to build my skills painting light, shadow, and reflective surfaces. I enjoyed taking relatively mundane still-life arrangements and inventing elements to make them really intense to look at. I also like bending some painting rules, balance and symmetry, particularly, to create tension. I've entered the glass vase painting into my college's student art show, so here's hoping!
Sorry about the reflections on the candlestick still-life - I liked that the paper curled up at first, because it made it look more like fa
ic, but then I realized that made it impossible to get a decent picture because it never sits flat. (It was my first painting on watercolor paper... I learned my lesson!)

[Coda]

Are you trying for realism or your own style?..it would help to know just what your trying to learn.

[Michael Ortega]

Hey thanks for posting your work!

This first piece is kinda ho hum student work. The cumquats (or whatever they are) are interesting, but the rest just reminds me of my school days.

I like the second piece much more. Everthing has such an organic feel, even the glass vases. Technically well done, but it is the style and the application that lend it a quality that seperates it from the rest. This work has a whimsical feel to it that makes me smile.

The colors are choosen well with the orange and blue elements of the fruit and the background create a dynamic that pulls together the work and allows the lightheartedness of the subject matter to succeed.

[Menolly]

COda: not really sure if I'm settled on a style... I'm aiming for a result that has realistic depth, proportion, and a recognizable object (fruit, coffee cup, table, etc.), but with abstracted colors and textures. The expressive side of my
ain is still arguing with the realistic side of my
ain.

[artisticsha]

I really like the style of your paintings. The only thing I would change is your shadows on the first painting. I think there a bit too large.

[Menolly]

Yes, I see your point about the shadows; I was aiming for a dramatic angle on the lighting, but I do think I overshot a bit.

[oilpainter2247]

hello Menolly,,,you no i like the first one ...........i think it is a nice arrangement ,,the shadows are a bit big but i do like this one very much

the second one is very nice also ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,i like the background color makes the rest jump right out at you

nice work Menolly