A Struggle And A Smile

Pommes D’Orenge

My husband said it best, “you smile when you paint, even if you are struggling with the painting.” Even if I have a bad week with my painting, it is still a good week because I get to paint!

I would love to do a Portrait (just neck and head) which would mean larger features on the canvas, but then I get to art group and there is this sweet couch pose; I have to paint more than a face! Once again I lay out the composition on the canvas. I love the arms around the bowl of oranges and the complementing colors of orange and blue. But the face, oh I do not get a likeness. After 3 hours of painting, I carry my canvas home, unsatisfied.

Once home I decided to wipe out the face in my painting and redo it, just the face (I used a Viva paper towel and a teeny bit of Turpenoid). Then I pulled up my reference photos and zoomed in on the face to recreate it. This model had small eyes, full cheeks and a nice mouth. I decided to paint the mouth slightly more orange than reality. Then because the orange colors on the blanket and in the bowl were so bright and lovely, I decided to lighten the blue robe a bit. I used a Cerulean Blue mixed with Naples Yellow to create the light. Also, from the photograph, the shadowed cheek is more orange and less blue than I had originally painted. Lastly, I added some light orange (orange mixed with light yellow) to the hair for highlights. Now the painting has a greater likeness and is more successful.

Pommes D’Orenge 12x16 oil on canvas