Oil, Vinegar and Basil

Daily Painting Challenge - Day 17

Specifically olive oil, balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar and basil.

Today just got silly if I'm honest.
On a day when I had to get my son to both physio and orthodontist (different locations) and daughter to dance lessons (another location) and husband is in Japan I choose to fit basically a full size painting into a tiny 8 x 8" panel? These are supposed to be studies! What was I thinking? .... Tomorrow... simplify!!! I might just paint a lemon or something.


Something clicked while I was doing this painting: Some artists paint in the main subject matter first, then they paint in the background. For the longest time I couldn't understand this approach because if you paint the subject matter first, you then have to be very careful to paint around it.
I would usually paint the bulk of background first, then paint in the subject matter so that you don't have to be so careful, then go back and finish off the background.
The problem, is that you need to match the background to your subject matter - the subject matter should come first. The background is firmly secondary - you can adjust the values round your subject matter as needed to give the subject matter center stage.
As in this painting - the background gets very light in places to really make those bottles pop.
Okay I'm a convert. From now on I'll be leaving the background until later.

(8 x 8 inches)
20 x 20cm approx
Oil on Gessobord