Practice makes...

...perfect!

Maybe not quite perfect... but it certainly makes a difference.

Last week I worked on two paintings that initially seemed to be done

... but they weren't.

First I did was a little color sketch of three pears. It was meant as a preliminary study to work out composition and color/values issues for a larger painting. It had a fresh quality that I really liked. And I thought, should I bother to re-paint this? I mean, it's not bad, right?

Pear Study ©2013 Dorothy Lorenze

But, the plan was to do a study and then do a larger painting. I'm trying to be disciplined and learn through the process... so I painted the pears again. By now, I was getting to know these little guys pretty well and I think it shows (you can also see that the pears were ripening from green to yellow).

Eeny, Meeny, Miny... ©2013 Dorothy Lorenze

The next painting is one I really thought was finished... until I tried to frame it. The little pewter pitcher was set up in front of a wooden box... and you know how I feel about painting wood!
So I decided that a nice neutral grey would do the trick.

It was OK, but not quite right.
How about a warmer cocoa brown?








Maybe that was better, but I couldn't find a frame that worked well with it. Back to the drawing board (or, more accurately, the still life set up). Putting in the dark brown background that actually existed in the shadow box of the set up - well, that made sense!

Seems like "patience and perseverance" are almost as important as "practice." Seriously, if something doesn't seem quite right, it's better to fix it than to pretend it's not going to bother me. (eww, that's sounding dangerously like "perfectionism." Moving right along... )

I do think it was worthwhile to find the right background for this still life "Satin, Pewter and Quartz." Now it's easier to appreciate the textural differences between each of the objects in the painting.
It just works better.  I hope you agree!

Pewter, Satin and Quartz ©2013 Dorothy Lorenze

The frame is a beauty from Custom Frame Solutions.