“St. Agur cheese, rose wine and a strawberry.”
A very busy week at work, but I have survived. And I made myself some time for painting as well. During the week I did a study with a nautical theme still life, a wooden boat, a compass and some seashells.
I didn’t know what to do for my weekly challenge. But inspiration came on Saturday, while shopping. I was browsing through the supermarket and as I was passing by the cheeses section I noticed some lovely blue cheese. I have bought a couple of pieces. I did the setup using the wooden board I have, using a piece of cheese and two crumbs from the other piece. I added some rose wine, using the tall glass I have used before for the still life with lightbulbs.
I played with the light to obtain the best light effect I could and I started painting. I have felt like something was missing and in the end I added a huge strawberry for a more balanced composition.
I used some de Mayerne medium, but just for the last layers of paint. For the first ones I have only used paints and turpentine.
For the first time, I painted in a dark room, with few ambient lights, so quite dark. I had the strong light on the setup to create the light effect. And, for the first time I used a Black and White viewing filter, to see better the value of the objects, lights and shadows. I tried the black mirror as well, to see a comparison between the two. I was familiar with the black mirror from Sarum Studio in Salisbury, where I learn life drawing and portraiture. Basically, is a mirror with a black reflective surface. Being dark, means that the contrasts are sharper and the colours are simplified to a more unified composition. It is easier to see the values, so it is great for using when painting or drawing from life, including still life and even for landscapes. The black and white viewing filter is produced by a company called Tiffen and are quite difficult to find.
I bought mine from United States and was difficult to find even there. Can be used with the camera, or as a viewing aid. The image is not actually B &W, but rather deep yellow -sepia, quite monochromatic; you can see the strong hues as well, especially the red ones. The image is darker than the black mirror and the values are more simplified. It is also easier to use and gives you a normal image as opposed to the mirror image. A great tool, especially for outdoors or for larger paintings. I am happy with both and probably will start using them more.
I painted alla prima over few sessions in one day.
So, here it is:
“St. Agur cheese, rose wine and a strawberry.”
Oil on linen.
24 X 30cm (10” X 12”)
