Biscotti Fruit and Coffee-Revised

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Comment by Stuart J. Gourlay on March 18, 2012 at 11:23

Dania, we detail addicts can spot each other a mile away!  We should start a detailers anonymous chapter on this site!  I usually sit on most of the potential fixes for awhile and I defiitely keep tham as studies for the next ones.  I don't know if I told you what my day job is or not.  I am a general surgeon and the details do matter a lot in surgery.  Happy painting.  Don't try to radically change your style; I like it like it is.  Furthermore, you can't unless you are Picasso.  I just try and keep the detail within the focal area and loosen it up in the other areas by using big brushes and painting faster and trying not to dab too much.  Stu

Comment by Dania Bree on March 18, 2012 at 10:47

Stuart, Funny you should say what you did.  I was know as the detail queen where I worked.  I did electrical wiring and later chased down weld spot studies for build documentation in the automative industry.  Anytime there was an involved project - it was let Dania do it.  It used to drive me crazy.  It is also why it is hard for me to break away from linear habits since it did so many line drawings.  I'm really trying to mass things in and get lucy-goosey - but it is conscious effort.  I always see more things once I post even though I stand way and do the mirror trick. I don't always fix my paintings right away - like to live within for a while or I view them as studies or idea for further exploration later.  But, like you, I surrrrrre appreciate the advise and helpful hints.

Comment by deb hill on March 18, 2012 at 10:43

Yeh, I like it. Looks like lunch!

Comment by Stuart J. Gourlay on March 18, 2012 at 10:08

Dania, you are absolutely right about all those tweaks.  I did revise my Starbuck's logo a couple of times and gave up trying to make it perfect.  Now that I have it posted, I can really see where the shadow side of my jar needs to be darker.  I really didn't want too much more attention on the lighter orange, but I see what you are talking about.  I think I am just going to leave it as is.  I may upscale it to a larger painting and incorporate all those tweaks.  Like you, I tend to paint fairly complex paintings rather than simplify, so there are a lot more things to consider to get it just right.  I am a bit addicted to detail and often refer to my self as a "recovering detail addict".  Thanks a lot. I really appreciate your comments and tips, particularly the tip to use a brush handle to lay in a line in the wet paint for lettering.  Stu

Comment by Dania Bree on March 18, 2012 at 9:46

Stuart,  When is sunday brunch-this is so inviting.  Makes you want to pull up a chair and take a coffee break.  You made a really nice arrangement , all you need is a bit of steam floating up from the coffee.  If you deepen the design on the biscotti jar as it wraps around the shadow side and put a bit more brighter yellow/orange on the light flooded  larger orange might add a little more pop.  The lettering on the mug is tricky because it also has to wrap around the ellipse of mug.  Maybe you could use the end of your brush to draw a curved line to follow.  Great job with complicated subject !

Comment by Stuart J. Gourlay on March 18, 2012 at 0:02

Thanks Stephanie. I actually got the idea when I saw Susie Gregorie's painting with the white rose on the right side. I already had the biscotti jar that we got in Gubbio a few years ago and the off-white color of the almond biscotti and the white Starbuck's coffee mug just seemed to click as something that went together. I used to worry that I wouldn't have enough original ideas to create interesting paintings; now I am more worried that I have too many and will never get them all painted. If you get a chance to go to Italy while you're in Germany, visit Gubbio in Umbria; very picturesque and some great pottery. Stu

Comment by Stephanie Burgess on March 17, 2012 at 23:17

Nice!  The biscotti looks crunchy  (almond?).  I like the way the it helps the white container make sense (If that makes sense.) 

Comment by Stuart J. Gourlay on March 17, 2012 at 17:48

Thanks Barb. That's Peet's coffee in the Starbuck's mug. I'm equal opportunity. Stu

Comment by Barbara Sawyer on March 17, 2012 at 16:53

Nice    job  I like your colors and detail.    Are  Staarbucks  getting a plug here?  :P>)

Comment by Stuart J. Gourlay on March 17, 2012 at 15:07

Thank you Justine for the compliments.  You are quite right about the tangerines in the back; when I darkened the back edge of the blood orange in front of the tangerines behind the coffee cup, I should have darkened the tangerines behind it to further lose them in the background.  You too have a very good eye.  As I mentioned under your painting, you have a much better knack for simplification than I do.   Stu

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