For this exercise I spent a bit more time with trying to get a pleasing composition. I arranged the fruit and pepper in a number of different ways and took both photographs and made sketches. These I looked at and thought about until I found the one that I wanted to try and paint. I decided that I would try to get in close to the fruit and to let them seep over the edges of the painting.
The photographs and sketches are shown below:
The painting I would attempt would be a combination of photograph 5 and sketch 5. I took a couple of photographs as I worked on the painting.
I had decided to use acrylics and this time to work on a Prussian blue ground. I completed the painting and was reasonably pleased with the result until I showed it to my wife and step son that evening. It was clear that one of the bananas got lost in the shadows and as a result looked unconvincing. I worked on this the following day lightening the skin in the shaded area and also painting over the background to darken it.
The final painting is shown below. I’m happy with the result but it is not what I had in mind when I commenced. I was looking to create a more impressionistic feel along the lines of Cezanne’s still life fruit paintings. The example below is Cezanne’s “Still Life with Pomegranate and pears” , 1890
My tendency to be more literal in my painting meant that I didn’t achieve this. Perhaps I’m setting my targets a little too high. My final painting below:
Mark Taylor "Painting 1" 