Lemons

“Art is an adventure into an unknown world, which can be explored only by those willing to take risks.” Mark Rothko and Adolph Gotllieb manifesto

| ssemchuk

August 1, 2016

Oil painting in progress of two lemons in a glass vase.
Two Lemons WIP, July 30, 2016, Oil on Canvas, 30″ X 40″

A little more progress on my latest lemon painting, and the completion of my July 31 Drawing A Day Challenge!

July 26
July 27
July 28
July 29
July 30
July 31
What I learned from my Daily Drawing Challenge:
  1. It’s the commitment that makes the difference – the commitment to post publicly on Instagram and the commitment to each drawing while I’m drawing it. I’ve drawn daily before without publishing and would often start and then scrap the drawing if I didn’t think it was going well. This time I didn’t have the luxury of time for that. Instead I kept going and figured I’d make the best of it. And some of those drawings are my favourites.
  2. I realized awhile ago that if my finished images look nothing like what I was working from, it doesn’t matter because no one else knows what it was SUPPOSED to look like. With this project I decided that even if the drawing clearly doesn’t reflect reality – as in it’s obviously not proportioned correctly, etc – that’s not actually irredeemable. It can still become a sweet little drawing if the character of line is interesting, and a bit of colour is added with care.

So my intention is to continue drawing regularly – but not daily. I am committing to three drawings a week published on Instagram and here with my weekly post. Let’s see what comes of this…

“There is no must in art because art is free.” – Wassily Kandinsky

| ssemchuk

December 6, 2015

Lone Lemon
Lone Lemon, Dec 5, 2015, Oil on Canvas, 10″ X 10″

Another experiment. I find if I call it an experiment when I set out, I feel less attached to the results. If it isn’t successful, it’s not a failed piece of art, but a learning experience. I’ve been feeling a little caged-in lately and this new experimental approach is my response to that. I was trying to paint quickly here, using more colour in my shadows and more broad areas of colour with less blending and less ‘preciousness’. I’m not thrilled with the lemon, but that’s ok. It is what it is and I will go on from here…

 

“Artists who approach perfection do not have many ideas.” -Odilon Redon

| ssemchuk

Sep 7, 2015

Odilon Redon Lemon
Odilon Redon Lemon, Sep 6, 2015, Oil on Canvas, 10″ X 10″

 

Round two of ‘lemons painted by other people and now painted by me’. This one is courtesy of Odilon Redon – not someone that makes me think “still life” – but I was really taken by this image of his and was inspired to recreate it as my own. Too bad I completely failed to capture the sort of similarity of style I was looking for. On the bright side, at least I don’t have to worry about the negative impact of approaching perfection.

“We live in a rainbow of chaos.” -Paul Cézanne

| ssemchuk

August 30, 2015

After my recent frustration with lemons I’ve decided to spend some time checking out how others have painted lemons. Here’s my version of one of Cézanne’s.

Cézanne Lemon
Cézanne Lemon, Aug 29, 2015, Oil on Canvas, 10″ X 10″

 

And here’s my inspiration:

Nature morte
Nature morte

 

I love the way his fruit is practically outlined – I may have to play with that more. In my various Cézanne searches, I came across this quote:

“Style is not created through servile imitation of the masters; it proceeds from the artist’s own particular way of feeling and expressing himself.” – Paul Cézanne

Perhaps M. Cézanne would consider my painting based on his work pointless and I kind of like the irony. Makes me want to continue my ‘Lemons after Masters’ project.

 

 

“Art is the triumph over chaos.” – John Cheever

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August 23, 2015

Still Life
Still Life, Aug 23, 2015, Oil on Canvas, 40″ X 30″

 

Finally finished this painting! At least I think it’s finished. I’m not thrilled with the lemons, but I’m pretty tired of them, so if they need revisiting, it will be down the road a little when I figure out how to fix them.

Just for fun, I made a gif of the process of the painting. It didn’t turn out as well as I had hoped – the colours in the individual photos were far brighter – but it does inspire me to consider doing time lapse or something similar of the next larger painting that I do.

Still Life Painting
Still Life Painting