Drskmishra

[Drskmishra]

Thanks,sir. You continue to ap 'pear' kind to me!!

[D Akey]

The pears are really nice. Good still life stuff. And your assessment of the one with the wine bottle is accurate. I see you learned much from that as well in how to assess your own work afterward. That's very useful to a painter.

And the watercolor one is very interesting. I'm wondering what you'll do with that technique having learned what you did. What I see is that you're employing about 3 different calligraphic motifs that are designed into the piece in a pleasing relation. Reminds me a little of the short choppy marks made by Van Gogh in his drawings that approximated how he would use his paint strokes.

So all in all it looks like you're making a whole lot of good progress in diverse directions. That speaks of your intention on your journey to explore and bring into the world where your artistic mind goes. You challenge yourself. You attempt things both new and to make improvements. It appears you have been looking at pictures from others in the world and how they have gone about their picture making.

I can think of no better way at this point. So very well done indeed! I have no criticism since you're becoming so aware of your own process, which is perfect to have been developing that necessary ability so you can keep moving whether you get feedback from others or not. Just in this case offering my observation as a way to give you feedback that you're doing great. Keep painting and posting. Very enjoyable.

[Drskmishra]

Sir, it's over a year that I joined in and the forum has worked wonders for me. You, in particular have been an integral part of this journey. Thanks, sir for all your guidance. Let me see how I can improve further.

[coops]

Great paintings I really like the canvas that you use

[Drskmishra]

Thanks for the kind words.

[Drskmishra]

Have tried to do it in its natural appearance. Wanted to do the background but it didn't work somehow. Request comments from all please.

[D Akey]

Works fine for me. I think I might have pushed the shadow darkness just a little for the inside of the coconut -- the concave part, just to establish the form a little more.

One of the choices as the artist is that you get to choose how to light your subject - and that's all important. That's where your descriptive voice lives. So is this diffuse overhead light optimal for what you want to show us? Right now it's all about the brown skin and the hairy fibers and the white meat rather than the form. It would be great for medical illustrations where you want to isolate a spot or quality. Works the same way in a painting, only artists aren't always so much about illustrating with emphasis.

So, regarding the background, you have the coconut halves against a white background, so the least bit of value change in the subject is going to seem like more than if you had a contrasting, busy background. And you would likely be surprised when you introduce an active background, or a dominant color in a background just how much it affects your subject. More contrast in the background needs more contrast in the subject generally. red in the background would suggest you need that color in your other colors so they feel like they're in the same context.

Context is super important. As such, it's a good idea to work up the whole picture at once. If you try to drop in a background after you paint the subject, you are often in for some unpleasant surprises because once you start adding contrast, the values in your subject are no longer going to relate the same way as when you painted it and pale contrast will sometimes even disappear. Also in this simple image, most people are aware of what a coconut looks like so there's ample information where we would know what's being painted. So the fact that it's both subtle and bold at the same time is just fine. But I do know why putting in a background could have presented problems for you.

Anyway, on the good side of this painting, the forms are good and you have a good contrast. You are describing the materials of the subject pretty well. And against a white background, the values work well all around. You're handling your forms, marks and color mixing pretty well these days.

[Drskmishra]

Thanks, sir. Yes, I painted the subject first which put me in trouble when it came to doing the background. I should have taken it up in entirety. I was soaking in the morning winter sun looking at the broken coconut pieces and was so fascinated with the brightness of the inside of coconut as against the outer shell that I went on painting. Shall consider your point as always, the next time.

[Drskmishra]

Thanks for taking a look at my painting.

[Drskmishra]

Have tried to paint marketplace abuzz with activities. Something amiss in this I know, request suggestions from all please.