r/ArtCrit • u/plantgub • 4d ago
Does this fall flat?
So this is half of my painting thus far. It’s oil on canvas. What do you think of it? i’m planning on leaving more and more of the red to bleed through as I paint the foreground because it’s so bright. Idk does it fall flat to you? like not impressionistic enough or not realistic enough. Too much detail or not enough? Do you think there’s life to it?
I know a lot of people love negative space but that wasn’t my original goal with this so the huge bright red chunk will not be there as it progresses.
Also i’m painting this to hang in my house, not to give to someone or sell it. I like to paint things for my house that I think are pretty. The original video reminds me of my childhood. The reference photo is a screenshot from Mateusz Kalafut’s instagram video of his beautiful garden. This won’t be used for anything commercial. i’m asking for opinions because most people are more cerebral when it comes to art than I am, the different ideas help me get out of my own head. I’m trying to develop my painting ability but still just painting whatever speaks to me lol. At some point i’ll have to paint lemons or something and actually get better but until then this is what im doing .
Also if you’ve seen this post on another r/ i’m sorry I wasn’t sure where would be the best spot to post.
thanks :)
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u/Sea-Worry-802 4d ago
My first reaction was that it was really cool and different with the red. I hope you leave some of that stark contrast. It's so fresh and unique.
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u/Opalquestionall 4d ago
Me too! I thought the painting was done and that it was intentional. It looks different and really cool
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u/Know_It_Not 4d ago
My only criticism is that some of the plants feel too even in height and too dense. The colors are great though and I love the vibe
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u/ubiquitous-joe 4d ago
I think your plan is good but it’s hard to critique a hypothetical. I like the idea of more of this warm red orange showing through more as you go. I do think in the photo the part with the backlit redish flowers and the pale blond grassy things behind them is key to the color quality of the photo, so I’d be interested to see how that shows up in your picture.
More than that though, I do like seeing your brushy strokes on the intense orange; that’s where you really feel like a painter to me. If I zoom in to crop it to just the “finished” part, it’s nice enough, but so far I think the colors get a bit simple in places; the yellow flowers is all one yellow, the violet flower is all violet, etc. And maybe the white mixes are starting to wash out parts of the background greens.
If I crop to the middle part with the complex dark greens and underpainting, it feels like Joan Mitchell or something. The energy + immediacy + intense colors really activates the viewer.
Of course, whenever we show anyone a painting with underpainting left on it, somebody always thinks you should leave it, so this can be frustrating or create a crisis of direction if you’re not confident about your inner sense of where you wanted to take the painting.
But remember that you can always bring in some of that underpainting color on top again so it’s not just the thin underpainting vs the thick plant colors on top.
Anyway, idk if any of this is helpful but here’s the top crop…
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u/Sea-Bid-3626 4d ago
It looks great, and I know it's not your intention to leave the red, but if you told me it was finished, I would think it was very cool and strikingly unique
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u/urscylla 4d ago
I do think you're losing some of the energy of your red base in some areas where the flowers are thicker. Maybe a quick experiment on a very small canvas or board (like as small as 4 inches wide) where you loosely paint the whole composition and then go back in for a second pass to do the details etc. I wonder if that would be an effective way to experiment with leaving more of the red showing and then covering it as you make rounds through the piece.
That's how I work - I need to get everything laid in loosely and then I sort of hop between areas to tighten or leave loose.
That being said, I think you're on track for a lovely painting. I wouldn't stress too much, and if you don't feel satisfied when you're done with it... Well, you can always try again. That's kinda how art goes, isn't it, haha
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u/CBFoxxOfficialArt 3d ago
I really like it and I agree with all the commenters, although I do have one idea! I'm not sure what you're going for but it looks like it's supposed to be water; I'd say add some white in a few places as reflective surfaces to create a seperator. But I absolutely think you cooked here, amazing job!
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u/Logical-Aerie-8795 3d ago
This is exactly what I thought it was at first glance, and I love the idea of a little pond reflecting the sunset like that!
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u/TheBigLeBrittski 3d ago
For some reason, I really like it as-is. It feels finished to me. Something about the stark contrast and color choice with the red. It feels delicate but also sort of violent. Serene but also anxious or like something sinister is waiting. Idk, I like it a lot
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u/NexisVlada 4d ago
Absolutely not flat, this has so much life. The wild garden texture against that blazing red is gorgeous. I love how you start from the red and work down, I could never do it that way. Do you plan where the red will peek through, or do you decide as you go?
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u/plantgub 4d ago
Just decide as I go! I don’t think I could plan it if I tried. thank you for your kind words!
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u/Rdhearts 4d ago
I love it, as is, but flipped upside down evwn better. I would not change this, its good either way.
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u/StopFalseReporting 4d ago
Yes a little but I like it that way personally. I like that it’s not too realistic
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u/Dark_Baphomet 4d ago
A little at the top yeah. Could do a colour wash over it in places to give more dimension. I hope you love some of the orange base in too, it looks really nice
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u/Fit-Lavishness-539 22m ago
Nope, it looks good. Move on to the next one and don’t obsess on this one for six months 😎
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