Pomegranate and Conker

I remember being quite exited when I’d finished this painting, but looking back at it now two or three weeks later I can’t really see why.

The pomegranate bothered me a lot. I couldn’t seem to get the red deep enough, and I kept working in the shadows till it all got muddy and indistinct. In the end I left it to dry overnight and then washed some thinned red over it the next day.

I like the conker though, cheeky little feller. I brought him back in my pocket from Cortona, I might give him the honour of a whole painting to himself.

The table top is the top of an old wooden ottoman painted white. I got a bit too involved with it to the detriment of the focus of the painting, the pomegranate and the conker. Michelle pointed that out straight away, as soon as she got home.

I know she’s right, but I was enjoying playing with the different colour temperatures round the shadows at the edges of the top plane. If only I’d known what a battle I’d have with those greys when I tried to paint them as they really were instead of just having fun with them.

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