After a long and intense session I managed to finish the new study of eleven green apples. The final hour of the session was spent staring at the piece and second guessing myself as to whether or not I should go over the whole thing again. Late last night I made a mental punch list to decide exactly what areas needed to be addressed, and after going through the list I couldn’t find any obvious holes in the veil of reality created in the surface. I considered going in and remixing all the white countertop colors, but I knew that would wind up throwing off the balance of color development throughout the rest of the painting. It’s not just the color, but the color relationship. Developing one area to another level of sophistication requires coordinating all the surrounding areas to a similar level, and I was having a hard time believing that this piece isn’t already totally solid and substantial, bristling and sparkling with areas of drama and dynamics. No part of this gets any easier, no matter how many times I do it.
