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Still Life with a Crab
Vicente Collado Jr.
Doha, Qatar
Tue 13th September 2011
Sometimes, ideas for a painting come from unexpected places. I was browsing once through the Facebook album of my cousin-in-law when I came across her orchid collection and pictures of a giant crab as big as a placemat.
Oil on Canvas
(40cm x 50cm)
It immediately hit me that the flowers and the crustacean could become the subject of my next still life painting. I had never painted a crab before and my previous orchids, although looking like orchids, certainly needed much improvement.
I started picturing in my mind all imaginable arrangement involving the two with the crab as the main element and the orchids as supporting cast. When I had a definite
I started picturing in my mind all imaginable arrangement involving the two with the crab as the main element and the orchids as supporting cast. When I had a definite
composition in mind, I immediately sketched it on a drawing pad and there was nothing that would stop the painting process from then on.
Afraid my rendition of the crab would flop given the complexity of its bodily structure, I decided to use a relatively small canvas that I could always pass as a study should my fears proved true. And if I liked the result, I could always make a much bigger version worthy of the giant crab.
Afraid my rendition of the crab would flop given the complexity of its bodily structure, I decided to use a relatively small canvas that I could always pass as a study should my fears proved true. And if I liked the result, I could always make a much bigger version worthy of the giant crab.
Resource photos of the yellow orchid and the humongous crab.
The following are the major stages involved in the creation of the painting. More intermediate stages can be seen in the slideshow below.
Stage 1
I made an initial sketch of the composition on paper, placing the orchids on the tip of the pyramid and the crab at the intended focal area. The crab was slightly turned to the side to avoid the less dramatic frontal view.
Stage 2
Satisfied with the arrangement, I transferred the sketch into the canvas. I placed some peripheral and diagonal lines to aid me in drawing. I made sure the crab is situated right at the golden mean, the point where the diagonal line from the upper left corner is intersected by the perpendicular line coming from the upper right corner.
Stage 3
Using acrylic, I did the underpainting in black and white. This helps to assess the overall value (lightness and darkness) pattern in the composition.
Stage 4
Once the underpainting was dry, I began to add colors in oil. Realizing that the small dark areas on the right are overwhelmed by the large dark areas at the left, I decided to make the grapes purple instead of green for more value balance. Initially, I kept the the flower vase light blue (complement of orange) to contrast with the crab. I balanced the color combination of beige, orange and yellow (basket, crab, mangoes) on the right with a similar combination (lanzones, clementine, karamay) on the left.
Stage 5
I continued developing the forms and adding more details, such as the leaves of the yellow orchids. I decided to change the wooden table into marble to which I could add as patterns my palette colors. I also made the flower vase white to harmonize with the table cloth. Together, they help to tie up the composition into a unified whole. Note that I replaced the purple-pink orchids from the resource photo with yellow ones for unity's sake.
FINISHED PAINTING
Oil on Canvas
(40cm x 50cm)
In this final stage, I refined the features of the claws, feet, eyes and shell of the crab to give it a sharper focus. I then painted the wine bottle lable with a mini-landscape, the reflections on the shadow side of the flower vase and the wine glass. Then, I carried out the most enjoyable part of any painting process which is to place or strengthened the opaque highlights in all the items in the painting where they should naturally appear. Finally, I marked in the transmitted light on the eyes of the crab to make them look more real.
It is generally accepted among artists that every painting must have one and only one focal point and that it should not be situated in the center. In this work, what it is should be pretty obvious. Nethertheless, I took some care that the viewers' eyes would feast first on the crab before moving on to the others. The crab stands out in the arrangement not only
because it occupies the golden-mean area but also because it is the only fauna in a sea of flora. Likewise, it gets noticeable first because of its color red that gets highlighted by green, the dominant color, and because the most elaborate work was done on it. And, if none of these techniques works, at least, I made sure the crab's eyes feast on the viewers instead.
Details
Tweet
Rene Eune P. Ponte
Lintuan, Loon, Bohol, Philippines
Tue 18th October 2011
Great work! Thank you for the inputs and inspiration.
Lintuan, Loon, Bohol, Philippines
Tue 18th October 2011
Great work! Thank you for the inputs and inspiration.
Vicente Collado Jr.
Doha
Tue 18th October 2011
Thanks, Rene. Your comment is very much appreciated.
Doha
Tue 18th October 2011
Thanks, Rene. Your comment is very much appreciated.
evelyn galvadores
va
Thu 22nd September 2011
Thank you, this is very informative and it helps ease the loneliness, keep it up and more power. . .
va
Thu 22nd September 2011
Thank you, this is very informative and it helps ease the loneliness, keep it up and more power. . .
Vicente Collado Jr.
Doha
Fri 23rd September 2011
Thanks, Evelyn. Art may indeed have some uplifting effects even when not intended.
Doha
Fri 23rd September 2011
Thanks, Evelyn. Art may indeed have some uplifting effects even when not intended.
Bueno Silva
Chicago
Thu 15th September 2011
I received your Wonderful News and am so grateful to know this beautiful information regarding the published work of your News Staff, Great Friend / Colleague Artist Vicente Collado, Jr. & showing the Step by Steps processes of his work....
"STILL LIFE WITH A CRAB" ...
am so proud to be a Filipino and glad to see his updates on Filipino Community News...
Thanks for sharing this for me and Congratulations to a Great Friend indeed...Mabuhay Philippines!
Keep my best regards,
Sincerely,
Bueno
Chicago
September 14, 2011
Chicago
Thu 15th September 2011
I received your Wonderful News and am so grateful to know this beautiful information regarding the published work of your News Staff, Great Friend / Colleague Artist Vicente Collado, Jr. & showing the Step by Steps processes of his work....
"STILL LIFE WITH A CRAB" ...
am so proud to be a Filipino and glad to see his updates on Filipino Community News...
Thanks for sharing this for me and Congratulations to a Great Friend indeed...Mabuhay Philippines!
Keep my best regards,
Sincerely,
Bueno
Chicago
September 14, 2011
Vicente Collado Jr.
Doha
Thu 15th September 2011
Thanks, Bueno. Coming from a master like you, these words are really confidence boosting.
Doha
Thu 15th September 2011
Thanks, Bueno. Coming from a master like you, these words are really confidence boosting.
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