Working Wednesday

So, it's Wednesday. My week here in my studio is coming to a close and I'm beginning to think about what's on my easel. Some things are working really well with this painting and some things still haven't come together quite the way I want them to. Though I don't have my camera with me today, I'll post a picture of it soon. Meanwhile, you'll just have to trust me as I look at it from behind the monitor here.

First a description: I'm painting a still life with a self portrait. It's my reflection in a silver toaster with my coffee cup from the Anastasis, a jar of jam, and a spoon with strawberry jam. There's a plate off to the right and the toast has just popped up from the toaster.

What's working? I like the background a lot. It provides unity and really adds a bit of depth now that I have cooled it down with a blue. The face in the toaster looks like me, though I didn't realize how old and grouchy I look when I'm concentrating. (Note to self: work on smiling when you're painting a self portrait.) I've also done a decent job with all the ellipses in the work. The top of the jam jar is still a little off, but that's fixable. Considering how much trouble I've had with ellipses in the past, I'm pretty proud of these.

Another place where I can see progress is the toast. A year ago, I tried to paint bread in a still life and just ended up with something that looked like an amorphous blob. This toast actually looks like toast. Well done, Jolie!

However, the spoon handle doesn't seem solid. The plate still looks brown instead of white and the logo is not sitting well on the cup. And the ellipse on the jam jar is wobbly.

So my next step is to get out my notebook and make a detailed specific list of things to do before the painting is finished. I'll keep you updated on the progress.