"Cherry Blossom Delight" (oil on linen; 7" x 7") sold

sold

The cherry on this yummy French pastry still has the dried blossom attached!

"Antique French Teapot with Poppies" (oil on linen; 12" x 12") sold

sold

A glorious bouquet of poppies would have been enough. But apricots and cherries also tempt you. There is more! The antique French blue enameled teapot and coffee pot complete chromatically this sumptuous still life. 

"Mums, Carnations, and Cherries" (oil on linen; 14" x 11") sold

sold

The still life setup for the painting

I was just getting used to painting fruits and vegetables in John Murray's still life class.  When I saw the above setup last Wednesday, my jaw dropped.  Oy!  How was I supposed to paint spider chrysanthemums (I have drawn them before with a great difficulty), carnations, cherries, a demitasse with saucer (another drawing challenge), and a clear carafe with stems showing through, for a good measure!  The composition was awkward too.  The mums were pretty much stacked together where I was standing.  I had to persuade a classmate to swap the easel spots with me. 

As you can see from the photo, I still didn't like the position of the demitasse, but couldn't possibly move it to my liking without getting thrown out by other classmates.  So I took an artistic license by moving it slightly to the left in my painting.  I did consider painting only the flowers, but rejected the idea.  Why?

John is an experienced still life painter, who knows what he is doing.  He brought three primary-colored objects (yellow carnations, blue cup and saucer, and red cherries) for this complicated setup.  I didn't understand his rationale behind the purple mums, which nonetheless contrasted with the light, yellowish neutral drapery.  There had to be a good reason for them.  I did get the dark blue kitchen towel on the table; it anchored the whole thing.  Look at the beautiful shadows and reflected light on the pale drapery--greens, violets, and even oranges.  Wow!  I would have never come up with the combination.  I had to paint the entire setup, not a portion of it, to do justice to John's vision.

John doing a long demo for the attentive class

Do you know what the biggest challenge was after I settled on the composition?  It was the colors of the mums.  I saw and painted them too cool; so did some other students.  The mums in John's demo painting were much warmer in temperature.  I had to steer them toward warm pinks, purples, and muted oranges.  I am constantly fascinated by how people perceive colors differently.  Perhaps, John's is right.  I have the violet tendency!