When I finish a painting, I stand it up in a corner and glance at it while walking by or while watching TV to see if I notice anything that I do not like about it. When doing this with the painting I did yesterday, I noticed a TANGENT - YES - THE DREADED TANGENT. I should say it was ALMOST A TANGENT. Enough so that it caught my eye and started to give me an eye ache!!!
Most "PURE PAINTERS" frown upon TANGENTS or ALMOST TANGENTS - it is considered to be a mortal sin in painting. I really don't give a rat's butt about rules as they were made when Jesus was a little baby and for the most part have not been updated to reflect the "NEW WORLD!" I'm feel a digression coming on!!!
I watch Helen Van Wyk on PBS on Saturday afternoon. About 25 years ago - (when I was a little baby) I could not watch her on TV as she was very GRUMPY!!! Since I have aged - I find that I enjoy GRUMPY as I figure I'VE EARNED IT!! Poor Helen is dead now - died rather young - in her 60's and based on the programs being aired now, she lost some of her GRUMPINESS so I rather enjoy her now. She (used) to break rules all the time - with her theory being if it looks better by breaking a rule - THEN BREAK IT!!!!! So to all the purists out there - GET A LIFE!!!!!!
A tangent basically is where two objects form a vertical line ( the edge lines up one to the other in a vertical orientation.)
Look at the left side of the painting facing you and you can see where an ALMOST TANGENT occurs with the bottom side of the vase and the right side of an orange. Close enough that I find it distracting.
Soooooooo I went into the painting and added another apple to cover the base of the vase on the left and to project the new apple past the outer edge of the vase - thereby creating a correction to the afore-mentioned ALMOST A TANGENT.
This now is a much more pleasant presentation to the viewer (me thinkith) and it interestingly enough brought about what is called (by me) a "clustered still life."
Some still life painters like to "cluster" their objects so they can paint in some dark dramatic surface shadows as well as cast shadows.
My first choice is to leave some space between objects or between clusters of objects thereby giving me a greater opportunity to express color within the shadow areas.
That said - what else is there to say!!
Some closeups of the DETAIL in the revised piece.
I also deepened the shadow within the opening of the vase to give greater depth into the vase. Want to know how I do that?
YA - RIGHT - LIKE I'M GOING TO TELL!!!!
