I just bought this beautiful orange pitcher off eBay. It is hand-thrown and I love the contours and the color. My camera does not like the color however and I had a difficult time getting my white balance set correctly so this color reads right. I see the base color of the vase as a mixture of cadmium orange with a touch of cad yellow. I initially tried a neutral background behind the set up, but the whole painting was just too warm. So I decided to use the slate tiles that make up the back splash in my kitchen.. I love the texture and color of natural slate. It provided a really nice contrast for the warmth of the pitcher and I was able to get a better photo too after toning down all that orange. Eventually I plan to use this pitcher as a vase for some wildflowers in another painting.
As always, I learned a few things doing this still life painting:
1) Too much warmth needs a balance of cool!
2) I love cadmium orange! (Well- I already knew this one).
3) Sometimes you can break the rules of composition and make it work. Here I placed the lightest, and only yellow object in the center of the painting and I made it work by creating some linear tones and interest in the background.
4) Repeating a round shape with a very similar color in a different texture is fun and challenging to paint.
4) Still Life is not for sissies! :)
9" x 12" oil on linen
(before background added)
After background added
