From Carolyn: Hi Christy, first about the painting:
We're conditioned by the conventions of flower paintings to want to see the flowers in the center of the painting, instead of all over. But I think that the composition is very interesting; this painting has so much wonderful space in it, yet everything seems equally in focus (except for the little yellowish one that you still want to work on and so it will also probably come into focus). This gives it, like much of your work, a very slight hallucinatory quality that I like. But why do you still have hours of work ahead? Maybe I'm missing something in the reproduction, but I would not change a thing except to finish the little blossom you mentioned. I even wonder, however, if the unfinished quality of that blossom is part of what makes the whole work so well. The drama in this painting, to me, is in the deep contrast from the dark, shadowy parts behind and the full throttle color of the blooms and leaves. This makes it not like wrapping paper, in my opinion.
From Carolyn: Hi Christy, first about the painting:
ReplyDeleteWe're conditioned by the conventions of flower paintings to want to see the flowers in the center of the painting, instead of all over. But I think that the composition is very interesting; this painting has so much wonderful space in it, yet everything seems equally in focus (except for the little yellowish one that you still want to work on and so it will also probably come into focus). This gives it, like much of your work, a very slight hallucinatory quality that I like. But why do you still have hours of work ahead? Maybe I'm missing something in the reproduction, but I would not change a thing except to finish the little blossom you mentioned. I even wonder, however, if the unfinished quality of that blossom is part of what makes the whole work so well. The drama in this painting, to me, is in the deep contrast from the dark, shadowy parts behind and the full throttle color of the blooms and leaves. This makes it not like wrapping paper, in my opinion.