Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Two Pairs







6" x 8", oil on canvas.
Today I did some colour studies. Single Japanese pear place on red, blue, green and yellow ground. I was aware that I got less and less loose with each one - maybe doing them all in one session was pushing it a little. It was really interesting to see the different colours that appear on the pear. The pear itself is a very pale creamy yellow and reflected the ground colours beautifully. The red was seriously in your face - nothing subtle going on here and the glow on the pear was brilliant. The blue fabric is a pale coeruleum pashmina with touches of pale lilac and paler turquoise and the pear shadow hues became much more subtle and soft. For the yellow I used a yellow top - quite a bright yellow - and the pear was almost camouflaged on it. The shadows seemed much darker though than they had on the blue. Finally for the green I used an olivey green sweater as my ground but in the light it became quite a golden colour and it seems like its only in the background that it shows as green. The shadows and lights were much cooler with only touches of warmth showing on the edges of the pear and at the stem. Interesting exercise and I learnt a lot. They look pretty cool all together too! I'm beginning to feel much more confident about moving the paint around the canvas and doing wet in wet. Another step forward!

New Year's Resolution 6 - Make notes of lessons learned.

Today was extremely chilly and there was frost on the ground - the first frost I have seen in years! All the locals were wrapped in their blanket/shawls and when my husband asked the driver why they wear blankets and not jackets, his response was that jackets are much more expensive at ................ $8.50 whereas a blanket/shawl costs only $3 or $4 and is much more useful because you can also wrap it around your head and across your mouth like a scarf as well as it covering your body and your hands. A jacket, however, only covers your arms and body. The soldiers guarding the road outside the Pakistani Parliament were dressed in greatcoats similar to the ones that used to be worn by British soldiers, their hands shoved deep in the pockets and then scarves wrapped around their heads, like a ladies headscarf, with their berets perched on top, kalashnikovs slung across their shoulders. Quite a picture.

One thing that is noticeable here is how few overweight people you see. They are also small. I am only 5' 5", very average for the western world, and here I am an amazon woman and tower over all but one person in my office!

7 comments:

Mary said...

Anita, I think your pears are lovely and I love the way you push yourself so creatively to learn more and more.

Jeanette Jobson said...

Its very useful to see how background colour affects the subject and this shows it very clearly. Brave you tackling all four in one session!

Your snapshot of life in Pakistan brings use the view through your eyes into another culture. I can see too how shawl or blankets would be a more effective heat source than jackets. They are much more versatile.

Stay warm.

Anita said...

Mary - I am absolutely determined to make this year count so pushing myself is the best thing I can do.

Jeanette - Being in Pakistan is certainly an eye-opener. It makes you realise how incredibly lucky those of us born in western cultures are, how much we have and how much we take it all for granted.

Margaret said...

Anita, I think this is excellent practice for you. If I could find the time to do something like this maybe it would help me loosen up with my painting. Maybe someday........:D

Anita said...

Margaret - thanks for coming by! Time you updated your blog!!!!

tlwest said...

Hi Anita this grouping is almost ZEN wonderful!

Anonymous said...

they look beautiful- on their own and grouped together.

all artwork is copyright of Anita Murphy 2006/2007/2008/2009