Tea Time!

"Tea Time" 9x12 Pastel on pastel board

Sorry I've been MIA the past few months, I've been having major issues with my computer! Namely- my 9 month old computer crashed and I had to get another one!

This painting was a bit of fresh air for me. I normally do not like still lives, but I got the itch to try one out. While I was browsing through a picture reference gallery, this image just popped out at me. I wish I still had the original picture's file so I could show the 'artistic license' I did for it, but you'll just have to take my word on it.

So, that leads to what is artistic license? To put it simply it means that nothing is set in stone. If you want to paint a purple cat, well, then by all means do so. It doesn't matter that in 'real life' a purple cat doesn't exist, you are expressing your creative judgment on the world.

An in depth look at it is how I worked this painting. The original picture was very dark and brooding with other objects cluttering around the tea cup and books. I didn't really like the cropping of the original picture or the composition. So, I played with what I wanted out of this picture in my sketch book until I had a composition that I felt really worked. I de-cluttered the background and lightened the mood. I made the painting mine and not basing it off something someone else took, and that is a big part of what I think the artistic license is all about.