Monday, November 10, 2008

"Vanishing Vase" - SOLD



Apparently I am still having some troubles with my email list. If you used to get an email from me each time I posted, but now you don't, please let me know. I am trying to figure out if it's the whole list or just some people. Thanks.

I really enjoyed the subtleties in this painting, and the contrast between all the grays and the bright reds and greens. I teach a lot in my class about having a dominant value, and a dominant color, but I think it can apply to just about anything. That's my latest working theory anyhow: that a painting can be made more dynamic if "something" is dominant. So the unsaturated colors here are dominant, but the eye goes towards the bright colors - partly because they are bright but also because they are what is different. If this painting was half gray and half saturated I think it would be less interesting than one or the other being dominant. So, is this something I came up with or is it an established rule?

9 comments:

Edward Burton said...

Very beautiful, Carol - I love the colors, contrasts and brushwork - very nice!

Anonymous said...

Lovely piece as usual Carol!
I've always been aware of a dominant value within a piece, but only recently explored about dominant and focal point colors. (via the wise words of http://www.robertburridge.com) I like the way you've also included the thread of saturation. It's the missing link I haven't been considering and why my work sometimes shouts when I want it to speak.
Thanks for spurring the discussion!

Kelley Carey MacDonald said...

I don't know about a 'rule', but I think intuitively, the best artists know this. I love the 'charge' the red gives against the neutral background here, Carol!

Barbara Pask said...

This is really beautiful Carol. I like that the toned background is a similar color to your carnations.

Karen Martin said...

Carol, I just love this piece. For all the reasons you mentioned, but also key here is the "smidge" of white in the vase. Really sets off the whole thing!

Penelope Lentz said...

Hi Carol,
Christopher Schink says, "A lot of This, and a little of That." He talks about three kinds of contrast: value, hue, and intensity I think. We naturally do value, but hue and intensity aren't as typical. At least that's what I thought he said. He writes the Palette Magazine, and is a delightful teacher. And so are you!
Thank you!
Penny

Marian Fortunati said...

The way the red peaks through the background is really nice too... Makes it warm and lively.
The vase reads as a vase probably more because of the reflection than anything else...
REALLY nice!!!

Anita said...

Wow, love the impact of that red. Really like the vase too - the distortion of the stems in the glass - lovely!

Mary Sheehan Winn said...

Wow, this one is dramatic. It is the red against these fabulous grays that makes this one pop. Beautiful brushwork, as always.
Hey, I'm not on the email list anymore :(l