Leaf 3

I think this is the last of the leaves I had picked up in the fall and brought to the studio for later painting (or at least one of the last, and there may be some crumbled to dust, too, amidst the other still life props, which admittedly are always just shoved in a hurried jumble off to the side of the shadow box).

I changed palettes for this, since I've been feeling like I tend to go overly saturated with a lot of things. So this was, befitting a dried leaf, all earth colors (plus ultramarine and white).

It's funny, I was just remembering that I've never really (gasp! don't shoot!) LIKED realism in painting. I've always been more drawn to abstracts. Everyone is always asking me, Then why do you keep painting realism? And why did you go to a classical art academy for two years? And the answer is, it's all about training, whether formal classes or by myself; I want to be able to do whatever style I want. And I may change tactics radically down the road, but right now I am so drawn to the challenge of representing objects realistically. It still seems like magic to me, how light and shadow and color create a 3-D illusion. I may never tire of that feeling. Also perhaps that I've never been attracted to the easy way to do ANYTHING. (I love abstract? Okay, then I think I'll go suffer the torture of years of realism work...)  To assuage some of you who may still be in shock at my admission, I must say that through doing it and learning about it and looking at it, I HAVE learned to enjoy and appreciate realism painting a great deal...or I probably wouldn't still be doing it!

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More art on my website: jalapfaff.com