This painting is one of my attempt to Leslie Saeta's yearly "30 paintings in 30 days" challenge - I have exaggerated the shadow shapes a bit and made them darker than the photo, to give the white petal its "shine", and emphasize the brightness of sunlight in a summer morning. It also helps to get the volume and turn of the petal more noticeable. I love the contrast between the sharp-in-focus flower in the foreground, and the soft, out-of-focus atmospheric blossoms and foliage in the background. A carefully planned and executed painting is not unlike carefully orchestrated theater, with center characters and supporting roles. By deliberately painting objects to a different degree of sharpness, competition for viewers attention from different sector of the painting is cleverly avoided, and the entire painting flows more smoothly in terms of rhythm without too much distraction of "noise". The viewer's eye is thus lead onto a journey of smoothly blended restful moments and intense discovery and visual stimulation.
This painting is one of my attempt to Leslie Saeta's yearly "30 paintings in 30 days" challenge - I have exaggerated the shadow shapes a bit and made them darker than the photo, to give the white petal its "shine", and emphasize the brightness of sunlight in a summer morning. It also helps to get the volume and turn of the petal more noticeable. I love the contrast between the sharp-in-focus flower in the foreground, and the soft, out-of-focus atmospheric blossoms and foliage in the background. A carefully planned and executed painting is not unlike carefully orchestrated theater, with center characters and supporting roles. By deliberately painting objects to a different degree of sharpness, competition for viewers attention from different sector of the painting is cleverly avoided, and the entire painting flows more smoothly in terms of rhythm without too much distraction of "noise". The viewer's eye is thus lead onto a journey of smoothly blended restful moments and intense discovery and visual stimulation.