Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Tea and Beatrix Potter

12x24 oil on canvas

 I haven't done still life for several months.  I found this one in the closet a couple of days ago - had completely forgotten about it.  It was still unfinished, and I had gotten disgruntled because I just wasn't happy with it - so, into the closet it went!
Well, repainting an old canvas sometimes works, and sometimes doesn't.   You can lose the transparency (which did happen here to some extent) and certainly the freshness... But I think, overall, the re-painting (actually, just replacing one object with another) helped this one and it is at least salvageable.  Where the little Beatrix Potter books are now, used to be the saucer from the teacup.  The round, white shape was too repetitive with the cup, and drew too much attention away from the copper pot, which is really the star.  The books are there, but they whisper instead of shout.  And besides, who doesn't like Beatrix Potter?   The one on top is "the Tale of Benjamin Bunny" - one of my favorites.  Her watercolor illustrations are so delightful.


2 comments:

Unknown said...

This is beautiful. Love the colors, and of course the tea theme is special. How large is the canvas?

Judy P. said...

This is lovely; I really like your treatment of the flowers and leaves, and the book is a great shape, with the red marker as an accent; also it echoes the tea canister.