Last week I showed you this watercolor painting by Jim, who asked me for a critique.
This is what I told him:
“Wow, you are a get-‘er-dun kind of guy! Love the title too. . . (I’m puzzling over what to call my painting of the same scene that isn’t too dumb, obvious and boring)
“Your shapes look great, the textures are convincing and the colors of the fruit are bright.
“3 suggestions for a little better results (just to push it up a level):
“1. If the background part of the reflection is darker than looking out onto the grass (wow, so cumbersome to find words when if we were together I could just point!), then it will have more impact. This is because the contrast will be greater both between the inside and outside of the window, and between the reflections of fruit and background.
“2. Edges of reflections and shadows should be fuzzy EVEN IF they appear sharp in life or in a photo. It helps the viewer know which is real and which is an illusion (bring to mind that poem at the end of Nights in White Satin by the Moody Blues – I loved that song in 8th grade)
“3. I know nothing of watercolor so this might be useless information but here goes. . . the shadows on your lemon and lime look as if you just put black there (could be the monitor, the photo, the airwaves between your town and Three Rivers. . .) When I want a shadow in oil, I mix a darker version of the same color. Often shadows will show in a photo as black, but we have to disregard that visual information and make the color be a real color. (stupid deceptive lying sneaky cheating photos)”
And here is Jim’s reply:
“Thanks so much for your quick response…I understand everything you said, and I appreciate it, especially about the shadows on the fruit. I didn’t know that, so, wow, that’s valuable information. I really thank you, also, for your encouragement. I want to get to the point where I call myself and artist and BELIEVE it.
Blessings, my friend,
Jim
“Oh, and feel absolutely free to use any of my stuff on the blog; that’s the purpose, right? Even throw your suggestions to me on there if you desire. There’s so much we can all learn from each other in this world if we’re honest.”
Jim is smart, nice, funny, hard-working, and talented. (Forget it – he is married!)
2 Comments
Man, that “Jim-guy” is a heck of a guy all right. I have credible intel that he is doing another pass at the BowlaFruit utilizing the Trail Guy’s wife’s suggestions. He told me that he’s not sure if the shadowing by using a darker color will work with watercolor, but that’s because he’s still learning; he’s surely going to try it, though. He wants to thank you for your time and suggestions, and he considers you a good friend and mentor.
Signed, Jim’s lawyer and copyright cop
P.S. He wanted to confirm your allegation of his marital status; he’s married to his best friend, and he once told me that “life on this planet without her is incomprehensible”.
Heh-heh, Jim, I wondered what you’d have to add. . . 😎
About the darker color – there is a difference between “darker” and “brighter”. If that doesn’t make sense to you, you might have a little trouble making that suggesting work.
And when my version of the Fruit Bowl is finished, I’d love to hear your critique of it!
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