still life – Page 4 – Africantapestry

Posted on April 21, 2007June 27, 2008 by Myfrenchkitchen

Three apples and the rest

Voila my painting of the week – a bowl with fruit.

It took 3 apples to get to the “right” half eaten one.
The first one was so crunchy and sweet and just too delicious, I ate the whole thing. That made me full. I then asked Hartman to eat the second one with specific orders…he just gave 3 huge gulps and only the stem was left…a little bit of deliberation there. There was only one left, so I had to eat the third apple carefully, measuring it against the other three after each bite. And then we went to play tennis. When I got back, the apple turned all brown. I had no apples left. So I played guessing game on the color.

The bowl is made by the artist Carrol Boyes from SA. Using pewter and other materials she makes beautiful bowls and cutlery and office stuff and…and…. to see
her work, which can also be ordered online – www.carrolboyes.com

I love expressionism. I find I can achieve that in oil, a little more challenging in watercolor though. I have a fear of losing the transparency of watercolor….but I think this one isn’t that far off?

Posted by Africantapestry at 5:52 PM

Brenda Y said…: Oh, this is marvelous! Definitely you’ve kept the transparency. Gorgeous lights and luscious shadows and a very lovely palette – I like the one green apple, really adds a punch to the trio in the dish. The dish. . . just gorgeous, it absolutely looks like pewter!!; April 21, 2007 7:52 PM
SCquiltaddict said…: Oh goodness this one is lovely…such a great wc….; April 21, 2007 8:51 PM
Carole said…: I love what you do with watercolour paint! This is a lovely composition (great bowl!) and the colours simply sing from the page. I like the loose shadow and background, and the way you’ve got the detail of the eaten apple. It’s just so funny that the pair of you nearly ate the still life before you could paint it!; April 21, 2007 9:34 PM
Felicity said…: Just fabulous! So lovely and loose and those lights just make it zing!; April 21, 2007 9:39 PM
Teri C said…: Wow, these are wonderful! The colors, reflections and the compostion. I laughed when I read your dilemna of eating all the apples and no wonder, they look so good.; April 21, 2007 10:07 PM
Fanta said…: Simply stunning, Ronell!; April 21, 2007 10:21 PM
why said…: i like this one a lot too… the colors, the reflections and the shadows.. great work!; April 22, 2007 12:09 AM
Lin said…: Ronell — you have such an easy going, painterly gorgeous style — I LOVE IT — and these fruits are delicious looking and spectacular!; April 22, 2007 12:22 AM
mARTa said…: What beautiful colors, reflections…the apples look so juicy! lovely!; April 22, 2007 1:52 AM
janeysjournal@aol.com said…: What a lovely little painting. Those highlights just sparkle.; April 22, 2007 3:54 AM
aPugsLife-laserone said…: Fantastic! I love that there’s an eaten apple in there. 🙂; April 22, 2007 4:21 AM
martín said…: Ronell, this is just beautiful! i do love this work!!!! greetings.; April 22, 2007 4:52 AM
Karen said…: very well done Ronell; April 22, 2007 8:23 AM
Tonniece said…: Hi Ronell
Thought I’d come out of the woodwork.
I love this piece and the great story behind it also. Great blog here, I visit often.
Thanks for visiting mine and for the nice comment on my.; April 22, 2007 1:11 PM
Linda said…: GREAT piece! It’s just too bad that you had to go through all that trauma of eating apples to get to this point, but we must suffer at times for our work, mustn’t we?! 😉 The colors are marvellous — very transparent and with juicy brushstrokes. This is a keeper!; April 22, 2007 2:28 PM
E-J said…: What an unusual bowl! There’s a wonderful fresh, transparent look to this. And I think the half-eaten apple’s the best part 🙂; April 22, 2007 3:24 PM
Africantapestry said…: Thank you for taking the time to look and comment…I appreciate it!
Ronell; April 22, 2007 4:28 PM
caseytoussaint said…: Ronell, I’m so far behind! My preview button kept showing the same old post – now I know notto trust it! Lovely job on this, it really just glows. This is the effect I keep trying to get – and you do it so effortlessly.; April 23, 2007 10:57 AM
Robyn Sinclair said…: Luscious, loose and very much back to your old form I see. Just gorgeous! I’ve missed a whole lot of posts too!; April 23, 2007 11:22 AM
Christeen said…: You are, aparently, a master of the color guessing game- this is a delightful painting 🙂; April 23, 2007 5:10 PM
phthaloblu said…: Sacrificing the body, or in this case the stomach, for your art. Well done!; April 24, 2007 3:17 PM
platitudinal said…: “It took 3 apples to get to the ‘right’ half eaten one” — Shucks, Ronell, I think I need to start drawing something that I can eat too. Hmm … should I start with subject like a half eaten cake? I wonder how many pieces I need to eat before I get the perfect half eaten look. (Sigh) Things that we must do for art’s sake!“Have to guess the colors.” Wow, they look really good, Ronell! Those apples, and the perfectly half eaten one, look so luscious and delicious!

Posted on April 18, 2007July 6, 2008 by Myfrenchkitchen

Three times different

These are the results of my drawing afternoon with Casey yesterday. I tried something different to get out of my rut and ran into all kinds of trouble. Not that I can define “something different”…

The first one is just plain ugly and I’ve deleted it a few times from the blog, but decided finally to keep it. I wanted so many things fitted in and I chose the smallest format. I didn’t even complete it, just grabbed a brush pen and filled in some rough lines.

After Casey had left, I gave it another try, obstinate to get this scene in my pocket! I don’t feel much for this sketch…proportions are completely wrong, some ugly darks, even more cramped, in spite of a bigger format. Overall just a bad, disturbing painting that makes me want to come up for air.The third one I did this afternoon and decided it would be now or never. The plants need to get into the ground. I was still obstinate, so I kept to the same scene. I used an even larger format and this time I did use all the space. There is still too much detail and finicky pieces and not enough depth, but this it! I still can’t say what it is I wanted to do differently. I at least hope this last one broke my spell.

Watercolor on Fabriano HP. See Casey’s painting from yesterday, she also tried something different…take a look http://caseytoussaint.wordpress.com/

16 comments:

Dave said…: You’re too hard on yourself! And anyway, trying something different is always with doing!; April 18, 2007 10:21 PM
bec said…: I like the way you made the table and chair less of a focal point in the third try….it doesn’t compete for attention. I want a table and chair set like the one you painted. I bet your garden is beautiful!; April 19, 2007 1:26 AM
Lindsay said…: I love them all! This was a hard subject and your really stuck with it. I wish I could come out with you and Casey!! Lucky you.
p.s. This is supposed to be “FUN”.
No being mean to yourself!; April 19, 2007 2:56 AM
Brenda Y said…: Third time is the CHARM! I really like this! It’s so “SPRING.” Truly, this would look fantastic framed and hung on a sun porch. I love all the objects (particularly fond of the hat) and the pop of color from the pot of flowers is just perfect.
Thanks for posting all three! It’s really encouraging to see the progression and perseverance!!; April 19, 2007 3:21 AM
Teri C said…: Bravo to you for your persistance. I love the third one but I also like the other ones too. It looks like a difficult subject, and I’m sure you learned a lot on the way.; April 19, 2007 4:51 AM
caseytoussaint said…: Ronell, all three of these came out great. I don’t think the first one is ugly at all, as a matter of fact I think it’s full of charm. On the second one you’ve done an incredible job on the chair – you can just feel the texture of the metal basketweave, and the third is light and airy.
You have a distinctive style in watercolor, very elegant and yet relaxed(very French somehow) that brings to mind illustrations from the 1950s.; April 19, 2007 8:21 AM
Carole said…: Actually, I really like the quality of the lines on the first one, and I also like the tones of the wash. The third one has a nice quality of light to it, and I love the flowers, particularly the flower on the hat. It’s a beautiful composition overall, so well done for sticking with it! I think it bore fruit, don’t you?; April 19, 2007 2:36 PM
Sandy said…: Glorious taste of springtime, I love your work and envy you and Casey and your challenge/committment – Can’t wait to see them each week, who knows maybe I can join in some time.; April 19, 2007 8:11 PM
platitudinal said…: What a dedicated artist you are! I love all of them. And, I’m glad you posted all of your tries. Each one has something special that the other doesn’t have.; April 20, 2007 12:35 PM
Jana Bouc said…: Good for you to keep going until you get what you were striving for. The funny thing is that my favorite is the first one. I know it didn’t capture the look you wanted but it’s still a wonderful piece. The last one is technically better but the first one is full of energy and expressiveness somehow. They’re all worthy of appreciation though and not at all ugly!; April 20, 2007 6:06 PM
Ujwala said…: All three are wonderful but I too especially like the first one.All the best with your new goal.; April 20, 2007 8:50 PM
mARTa said…: well, the first one has it’s own charm, What I like about the 2nd one is the chair and compositon. The 3rd is light and airy and just as lovely.
So where is France are you and Casey? I will be in paris for 8 days in October…just roaming and skething…maybe we can meet and paint?; April 22, 2007 1:54 AM
aPugsLife-laserone said…: These are really great! I love how determined you are. 🙂 🙂; April 22, 2007 4:21 AM
Linda said…: Well, I love the last one, so I guess the third time is the charm, although I don’t know how you did three paintings of the same thing — all in a row! I would have been pulling my hair out!
🙂 All three have their good bits, though, as I think has been well stated by earlier commenters.; April 22, 2007 2:26 PM
Africantapestry said…: thank you for all the comments…much apprecaited!
Ronell; April 22, 2007 4:29 PM
phthaloblu said…: Don’t be so hard on yourself. Any time you step outside your comfort zone, you are going to be challenged. Not only on how you see your subject, but on how you interpret it also. I think these are wonderful little sketches. Keeping playing with them and something will come out of it that will satisfy you. Just remember, it’s always a learning experience.

Posted on March 18, 2007July 6, 2008 by Myfrenchkitchen

Mood in a flame

After having glorious days last week, the rain settled back in yesterday, with a daring chill after the warmth of those perfect days. That drove me to a long, luxurious bath last night. As I watched my candle’s flame flickering mysterious images against the wall, I thought I’d post a drawing of this mood in a candle…

Ink and wash on Arches water color paper.

I made so many mistakes in this one – once again misjudged the size of my paper, tried to correct an off-centre line by putting in more line, thus accentuating the problem(left side above), keep on fiddling with the flame so it became completely without ambiance, and left too few “lost edges” by continuing coming back and doing more lines. The learning process is an uphill journey all the time….

7 comments:

SCquiltaddict said…: LOVELY JOB …sweet candlestick…; March 18, 2007 6:53 PM
Sandy said…: Maybe you had problems with is flame but I love the cherub and the overall structure and depth you achieved (yes we are all on the same journey uphill 😉; March 18, 2007 7:20 PM
phthaloblu said…: So beautiful! And I think the flame just adds a mysterious prescence to the overall piece. I love it!; March 19, 2007 2:41 AM
Emma Pod said…: The cherub candlestick is exquisite! Great job. And all of your vine drawings/paintings are beautiful. This is my first visit to your blog – lovely! Thanks for visiting mine.; March 19, 2007 3:16 AM
aPugsLife-laserone said…: This is realy beautiful. 🙂; March 19, 2007 8:22 AM
Lin said…: This is incredibly beautiful! Such wonderful shading!; March 19, 2007 12:00 PM
Africantapestry said…: Thank you everybody for visiting, I appreciate all your comments!
Ronell

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