Green and Red apple

8 x 10, oil on linen

How to make a simple little still life like this interesting and beautiful. This is what was going through my mind while this study.

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Comment by mario alberto velazquez on September 14, 2013 at 16:35: Just one for a good still life !!

Comment by Kim Hayes on September 7, 2013 at 8:52: Agree with Christine.....the fluidity of the painting matters the most and I think this piece of work ticks a lots of boxes!

Comment by Christine Lewis on September 7, 2013 at 8:44: I like it just as it is! To me, it has more interest with some softer edges. ( =

Comment by Þorgrímur Andri Einarsson on September 6, 2013 at 20:14: Hahh, thanks for doing that Michael. I like both images. In your photoshoped version, the apple becomes a little more realistic in that space. It might be nice if only a part of that left half would be soft (like the middle) and the rest a little harder. I think that variation in edges is what makes a painting come alive as well.

Comment by Michael Chomse on September 6, 2013 at 18:27: Andri, I agree. Experimentation is what gets us to the next level.

I experimented with your apple in Photoshop, hardening the edge on the left, before I asked you the question. Looking at the comparison, I'm not sure which I like more visually, the harder or softer edge. They both work. But emotionally, the choice is easy. The softer edge makes the apple (and the painting as a whole) much sweeter, more inviting. The apple is accessible, it is there for me. With the hard edge, it is emotionally distant, not inviting me into its space at all.

Thanks for your response. :-)

Comment by Þorgrímur Andri Einarsson on September 6, 2013 at 11:27: Thanks guys.

Michael. I think it is something that is to be experimented with, which is what I was doing in this one :) Yes I was think about this concept where greater value difference, results in a harder. Which is what is happening on the upper right of the apple. I decided to make the edges on the sides where the apple meets the white´ish background a little softer than I normally would. I was thinking about giving it a little more air, but also just to see how it looked. I like when shapes kind of bleed into other shapes, where there colors and values get meshed somehow. So yes, to make a long answer short, I think its good to experiment :)

Comment by Michael Chomse on September 6, 2013 at 10:38: Ah, once again, Andri, you have excelled in the simplicity of the work.

My question is, in a piece like this, how does one choose between making a hard, a firm, a soft or a lost edge? I know the accepted 'rule' is the higher the contrast, the harder the edge, but you've successfully chosen to go another route.

Comment by Betsy Jenkins on September 6, 2013 at 9:30: Very nice. It's almost like a pastel in softness and edges. I like it.

Comment by Michael J. Severin on September 6, 2013 at 9:08: Very beautiful Andri ...you have succeeded! I am going to study yours so I can learn how to do some more simpler still life myself!!