Saturday, June 26, 2010

Pink Peony - Finished- To crop or not to crop

As I was painting my Pink Peony I extended the background past what I intended to paint. I  can now leave it at 11" X 14" framed larger, or crop it to fit a 11X14 frame at about 8 X 11.
In the larger version, the peony does not have a stem and may look as if it is floating; however, I like the larger frame size and the background looks less crowded. However, some have already commented that the larger background detracts from the flower....Decisions, decisions!  Any advice? Below is the larger format .

9 comments:

  1. I prefer the larger version. The flower doesn't feel so isolated, and I like that.
    Its absolutely stunning.
    Actually, its stunning whichever way you frame it, but the larger is my preference :)

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  2. Larger! Another great job on this one!
    Wow, earthquakes in Ottawa, who knew! They said it was felt in our area, but not by me. Our earth and Mother Nature are truly amazing.

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  3. Pat and Deb, thank you for the advice!

    Deb, Ottawa is right on a fault line, but I have only experienced an earthquake here twice. This one scared a lot of people!

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  4. I like this better in the larger format - that luscious, dark background gives the flower some breathing room and I don't think it detracts at all. Beautiful! (I sent this before but then realized I didn't fill in the word verify thing so it probably didn't go through!).

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  5. Thank you, Rhonda. This makes 3 out of 3 for the larger format. It's decided then. I will sign it and frame it in the larger format.

    Have a nice evening.

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  6. Wow, that is quite impressive! You have improved tremendously. Ever thought about trying oil painting?

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  7. Thank you, anonymous!
    I really love watercolor, but I often think of the possibilities that oil painting would offer: adding that touch of white, creating fantastic textures, knife painting etc.. One of these days....:-)

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  8. Oh dear, here I go against the major response. On referring back to the earlier post the smaller version without the extra dark background is definitely my favourite. Somehow it takes you right into the bloom as the undoubted focus of the piece. Why should one want to gaze onto that dark extra empty surrounding space for such a subject as a floral study. Just shows its in the eye of the beholder and we are all come with different emotions and awareness.

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  9. Joan, I have framed the painting already. However, I still have the option to crop it later on :-) I will look at it for a while and if I do find myself gazing in the dark empty space, I will definitely crop.
    I truly respect your opinion.
    Thank you!

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