Tag Archives: Winifred Whitfield Still Life Oil Paintings

Decorating the Background

Posted on by
Oranges Grapes and Vines Background 11×14

This past week, rather than creating a completely new painting, I decided to experiment on an existing painting. Painting backgrounds is an ongoing challenge for many painters. This is certainly the case for me. A background should be an integral part of the painting, created within the context the development of the painting, not as an after thought or a final thought. I was not happy with my original background of this painting, even though it resembled the original reference photo, I thought it could be more interesting. I’ve been practicing swerving lines and small floral and foliage elements during the past year. As someone explained on YouTube, painting is a physical exercise, and it requires effort and practice to teach the hand how to make different brush strokes. Think of the gymnast who has practiced and can perform a certain technique very well – but has no facility in another technique and must work hard to get her body to perform it. So it is with brushstrokes. It is few painters who can paint any subject matter very well. You should see how awkwardly my hand moves when painting the petals of roses or a cluster of petals in a lilac or hydrangea. Portraits over all are hardest to paint, (the nose. eyes, lips) but floral elements, require the most complex brushstrokes. For me, painting fruit is easiest. For a while now, I’ve wanted to add decorative floral elements to the backgrounds of my paintings. Last week I added some floral decorative elements to the portrait I painted. It was subtle but it was there. This week, I added floral elements more substantially to this still life painting above. I made quite a few other changes as well. The original painting is below. You may well think the simpler version is preferable. Important to me was giving my hand practice adding graceful swerves and floral elements which you see in the painting above – and there will be more because I am still practicing.

Oranges and Grapes Still Life 11×14 Oil Painting by Winifred Whitfield

I think of the destruction and terror which must have been experienced by the hurricane victims – now trying to rebuild their lives. I also think of the terror of the Haitians who’ve been placed in harm, accused repeatedly of eating their neighbors cats and dogs. All very sad. Have a good weekend. Winifred

Related Images:

WW Haitian Girl Winifred Whitfield Still life WW Red Tree WW Fall Maple WW mom-child WW Portrait S ww-portrait-A

Roses in Green Vase

Posted on by
Pink Roses in Green Vase 12×12 Oil Painting by Winifred Whitfield

Hope you had a fun holiday. It was my first day of air conditioning, but it wasn’t too hot – only 80 degrees. Roses are so complex to paint but I keep trying. In a recent podcast interview of quite an excellent artist, he recalled that in art school, he would view other artist work and think he wished he could paint so well, he wished painting would get easier. He thought that would be the case in the future. Now, 20 years later and a highly acknowledged painter, he proclaims, that though he is more experience with more developed skills, it NEVER gets easier. I hope I don’t bore you with my regular mention of how difficult any given painting was – which is all of them. Sometimes all I can think about is the constant struggle. I should just accept that this is the nature of the journey. and be careful not to go to the point of frustration or a negative mindset. That’s likely why painters remain engaged for so long. They never get to the place of feeling bored, or feel as though they’ve figured it all out. It’s a constant struggle.

The vase is one of my favorite parts of the painting. I changed the original colors but generally maintained the pattern of the vase. It looks lustrous almost like marble. I’m going to rest from roses for a bit to try something different. Have a wonderful week. Winifred

Related Images:

Roses in Small Brass Container

Posted on by
Roses in Small Brass Container – Oil Painting by Winifred Whitfield

Since last I saw you, I’ve been incredibly busy creating new still life reference images to paint. I have a huge collection of “silk” flowers, many diverse yards of fabric, many vases and other containers and a great and versatile video light with I really love. Having such an assortment of goods, I decided to set up new floral still lifes to photograph. I didn’t plan to began my photo shoot at midnight, but I did, and it continued to 4 a.m. I so enjoyed what I was capturing that my obsessive compulsive tendencies were apparent to me. In addition my creative energy always seems to increase with the lateness of the hour. Over the next few days, I continued to set up new back drops, table-top settings, vases of flowers and light configurations. I photographed so many images, that not even one tenth of the images were preserved. I now have a new selection of still life references to choose from. I seem to prefer ones with dramatic and high contrast lighting. I enjoyed such lighting in the image above along with the warm pretty colors, the texture in the background and foreground cloth, and the shapes the shadow and highlights form. It’s so important to begin a painting with a good reference and one which is exciting to paint. I considered setting up my still life and painting it from life but my studio set up is not right for this at the moment.

Bye for now. Hope you enjoy. Winifred

Related Images:

2 Apples 2 Bricks and Grapes

Posted on by
2 Apples 2 Bricks and Grapes Oil Painting by Winifred Whitfield

In an interview last night I heard a portrait artist say “if you want to improve your portrait paintings, paint fruit”. I actually know this to be true. I would also include flowers as well. It is the practice of creating form, seeing shapes and capturing lights and shadows which is being practiced. My recent still lifes – seem to express a theme – apples and grapes. These grapes weren’t in the reference but I felt the bricks needed them and at this point I could paint them from imagination. I wanted them a bit loose, so it was best for me not to have a reference. You know what would happen – the grapes would have been tight and photographic. It is also helpful that I have learned the science of painting grapes. They are translucent and light passes through them.

There was a drape behind the still life but I didn’t care for it so I painted these swirly things paying some attention to the pattern of light but not the shapes. For some reason, it’s the kind of thing my hand likes to do without too much trouble.

This week, I’ll get back to portraits. I’ve continued to work on the girl from Kazakhstan. Still not quite done. You’ve only seen the first two iterations. There will be more. I should start all of my post with “this is the first draft of…”. I have NEVER posted a painting which I did not substantial change in the following days or weeks. There is a reason for this and it is true for all painters. One has to get some time and distance from a painting and see it freshly in order to see really see it. Our eyes get use to seeing what we’re painting and very quickly we no longer view it’s colors, shapes and relationships correctly. It can conceivably become a “finished” painting in a few days, a few weeks, sometimes months until one looks at the work and doesn’t want to change anything. It’s a nice feeling when that happens. I just finished this painting tonight. I wonder what I will want to change on it in a couple days. Have a wonderful week. Winifred

Related Images: