The finished copy.
So, this semester I am taking Still-Lifes painting class as an elective class. I was going to take this class as a really relax class, a kind of setting off my mind from all the thesis stuff and all the stressful things. However, my instructor, John Wentz, changed this class to more like direct study for me. And I think it is really cool. So far, I like this class a lot, and I get out of a lot of inspirations from him.
First assignment is master copy. The reason I chose David Leffel to copy from is that his paintings known for good composition, and that is the aspect I want to improve in my paintings. And below are my little black and white studies and what I wrote about those compositions.
Composition in Silver, Blue, and Green (book. P. 79)
1. Composition: Compositionally, it’s an L shape composition. I like the direction of the fabric and the grapes, the both are directing downwards so that it feels like the composition got extended toward bottom a little bit.
2. Color: This is mainly green, blue, and red color scheme. It has green on the guavas, the vase, leaves, and fabric that make whole painting harmony. And, grapes are separated in two groups, which is one the right and the left. They balance the composition.
3. Value Pattern: It’s a low-key painting, and the white drapery forms an “S” composition on the painting. I think the fact that the drapery at the end of left is slightly darker than it at the right is really brilliant. It makes it less contract on the left and keeps the focal point at the center rather than being distracted to the side of painting.
4. Texture: I really like how he did to the guavas. The texture looks really well.
Apricot With Hantz Vase (Mag. P.121)
1. Composition: I like composition of the painting the most. He set up the branches as eye-directing elements and the background has an arch formed right between where light and shadow meets, so that the painting has a sense of movement and compositionally directs viewers eye through the canvas.
2. Color: All the objects are limited in same color range, like oranges, red flowers, and background. They are in the warm yellowish and reddish color. The only cool color is that Chinese vase. It’s really good accent color. It doesn’t jump out too much because that leaves are green and he put a little blue on the flowers too. So, they all connect with together really well.
3. Value Pattern: The way he set up the white objects make the composition stable. Even though that the vase and fabric are white, they have different temperature. So, they don’t look similar.
T’ang Horse
1. Composition: I think that the objects are forming a diagonal composition. From the drapery on the top left to the drapery at the bottom right.
2. Color: the oranges and the pumpkins even out on the table and also on the drapery at the top, and it forms a triangle that balances the composition.
3. Texture: I like the horse that looks like glowing.
T’ang Horse and Rider with Flower
1. Composition: I like his newer paintings because they seem to have background as part of composition element more often than his older paintings. Also, they seem to have more color. I like the background of this painting because it is a blurry Chinese painting and it helps the composition.
2. Value: light values play an important role in this painting too and the dark value at the bottom balances the whole painting out.
3. Color: It’s a triangle composition. The red onion, peddles at the bottom and the doll’s clothes are reddish and they form a triangle composition too. And green vase and leaves balance the composition as well.
I like the transparency of this painting a lot.
Texture and Light (book. P.75)
1. Value and Composition: To me, it is a really dark low-key panting, and three light objects, which are the vase, highlight on the black jug, and garlic. These three light values form a triangle composition.
2. Color: purple-red colors are designed in different spots too. Like at the left bottom, there is a thing look like onionskin, the stems of the turnips, red onion in the center, and some onionskin under the jar on the right. They balance the composition too. Even with the drapery is purplish and it connects with other objects really well.
nice work