Thursday, August 07, 2008

"Two Green" --- SOLD



I read in a book a while back that that you should never do a still life from a 45 degree angle - that it makes the object(s) look like it's going to slide right off the painting. Lately I have found that I can get a much more dynamic view this way, so I am questioning this "rule". Any thoughts on this?

16 comments:

Cheryl Quist said...

this is awesome! Such eye candy! Gosh I'm glad you're back in the heat of Texas. Too bad your computer didn't like Canada...

flygye12 said...

who makes those rules anyways? i think if u can make it look like it will slide off its great isn't it :)

ps: i love ur hair in ur profile foto :)

are u there in one of those group fotos u posted a bit earlier?

David Lobenberg said...

Do some Top Ramen and cheese. please. Double dog dare you!

michael mikolon said...

So my take on this is that you learn all the rules first and then you can break them as you wish. But with intent and reason.

T_Rex said...

The dark shadow underneath the lower piece serves as a wedge to stop the fruit from rolling off the painting.

Kelley Carey MacDonald said...

I agree with m. mikolon on this one, Carol! And some of the rules are made up by people who WOULD paint if they COULD. :)

eLIZabeth Floyd said...

I am in agreement with the others in that rules are good parameters and then you decide whether to use them or adjust to meet your needs. Also I wonder if the rule applies to large compositions...

Deb Kirkeeide said...

That's someone else's rule...make up your own. You know what feels right to you and it's definitely working. I often wonder who makes up these "rules" and who appointed them the rule maker?

David Lobenberg said...

I don't want to be glib about this 45 degree angle "rule", but I believe you could be incarcerated for such painting action.

Barbara Pask said...

Love the colors in this.

xdbx said...

agree with t_rex - the lower edge of the shadow works directly against the main 45 degree angle - plus the bright flesh of the kiwis is placed with more space at the bottom of the frame than the top - so the composition is dynamic yet stable - and it all looks wonderful, as ever!

Mona Diane Conner said...

Check out the daily painting on Duane Keiser's new home page. He apparently doesn't follow this rule either.

In my own work, I have done my compositions strictly based on my intuition. Other than the most obvious, composition rules never stuck with me, so I hope that my intuition is my best guide.

Marilyn M. King said...

I'm glad I never heard that rule. I use 45% angle views all the time and never been arrested!

Anonymous said...

Rules were made to be broken. Here are some quotes I just love: "To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong." "Once I realized failure was an option, I freed myself to truly get started." "Fear is always an anticipation of what has not yet come." I think maybe rules are made out of fear...?

xdbx said...

creativity IS mistakes!

adebanji said...

Don't know much about the rule but as I was going through your nice paintings, this one threw me off balance-I love it! Great strokes- Great Colour!