Greetings,
Sometimes (most times?) my paintings are just about finding beauty in simple things.
Here is the setup. Just an apple wrapped in foil. The plan is to bring as much drama and focus as possible to those warm apple reds by making everything else complimentary and subservient (greenish, yet relatively unsaturated).
Empty restful space is an important factor in composition. If my apple were to take up the entire panel, there would be nothing relative to the apple to let it be special. The apple needs to be within just the right amount of non-special area for context. So the apple is allowed to be the "odd man out". Beginning stage:
And the finished small painting, "Shield" (5x7 oil on panel, 2015):
You'll notice I omitted the stem. Just a choice. I ask myself, does this element help or hurt the painting? Or neither? If something doesn't absolutely improve the painting, I try to leave it out.
Thanks for reading! -David