Back in November I posted a miniature I had just finished, of apricots on an antique dish. It was a bit experimental, using coloured pencils on drafting film. In general I was happy with it, but had a niggling feeling something was not quite right, so showed it to a friend who has a very good eye for identifying just what needs adjusting. She reminded me that the eye tends to see primary colours first, then secondary and tertiary last, so the patterned wallpaper was leaping forward and confusing the composition. She also questioned the decision of placing the dish dead centre. So I have made some changes – an apricot has now fallen off the dish, the white runner has gone, so that the image is not sliced up into horizontal planes, and there is now a shadow under the dish. The wallpaper has gained a rusty brown background. I am sorry to lose the strength of the wallpaper, but I do think the composition has improved.
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How very interesting Anna . I have scrolled between the two and see what you mean . What you have changed does make a difference ..and a fallen nut who would have thought it 😉
The other wallpaper colour and its design is so nice maybe you will find another picture that will *just* need it !
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Thank you Poppytump! I will tuck the wallpaper away in my memory bank and hopefully something will be asking for it one day. Nothing is ever wasted, one idea leads to another!
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This is a mcuh better composition and the shadowing under the dish certainly anchors it to the ground, and the fallen apricot is a great touch. I too mourn the loss of the old wallpaper, I liked the contrast between it’s bold graphics and the more naturalistic fruit and dish.
I also liked the way the old painting had the strip of graphic, stripe of naturalistic and white strip (though the white stripe did not work so well). it was a more exciting composition, but did need some refining.
It is so interesting contemplating the composition of work and trying to figure out what works, what doesn’t and the more complexing issue of why. Thank you for sharing and I did not know about the different way our eyes register colours. Karen
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Thanks Karen – I am never quite sure about reworking pieces, sometimes if they don’t work in the first place its because there is something fundamentally wrong. I do think this has improved though, although it does feel a bit less idiosyncratic. I will definitely try to re-use the original wallpaper, I found it painful to lose it! Thank you so much for your thoughtful response.
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It is a brave step going back over piece and even braver to share it. I am so glad that you did as you have shared your learning with so many others.
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Thanks Karen, that’s a lovely thing to say.
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