Coloring outside the lines

Four Apples original pastel painting.

The first still life was framed and hung in the solo art show held last Fall. I had looked forward to seeing what it looked like up on the wall and was disappointed. It had been hung in the frame crooked because I had not colored in the part beneath the table edge all the way to the pencil guideline line I had drawn. Let this be a lesson to all: don't keep it between the lines. Let things bleed on past the borders a little. In other words, coloring outside the lines can be a good thing!

Second, as an in-law pointed out, the apples looked a bit like tomatoes. They were too shiny. You might say I was relieved it didn't sell so I could see if I could fix the problem. Later on the framer we use needed a favor involving taking the pastel out of its frame so he could use it in another project.

But then the apple/tomatoes still life was left on a shelf for a long time. I was sick and didn't quite know what to do with the picture anyway. 

A solution is found

Four Apples still life as it is now.

This week I sprayed fixative over the whole painting and drew a "new" version over the old one. This second edition is less colorful, (on purpose; maybe being ill affected my outlook on life?), and the apples were toned down, roughed up a bit, and simplified a little. Not too much, since the point was to have them look fairly realistic and a bit less like tomatoes! In any event, this is what it looks like now.* The picture was painted out to the edges and beyond, so when it gets reframed, the table edge should be level. I think it succeeds now as a pastel painting of apples. What do you think?

*When I was ten, my father had a very difficult time convincing me that tomatoes are not fruits, but rather are vegetables. I insisted that vegetables come in dull green and brown colors, and certainly not in cheery bright red. On the other hand, he pointed out that fruits taste good, and thus won the argument.