Altered states

I finished this painting last year. Or so I thought. But something didn't look right and over time I grew to realize that I needed to do something with this painting.

I liked the basic composition, the relationship of the three objects and the definition of the space as being bound by a shadow. It took me a long time to realize that what I didn't like were two things: First the edge of the shadow was too hard and crisp. Second, the overall light was too bluish and I wanted to warm it up. These things sound simple now that I've articulated them but they took me a long time to realize.

But once having realized these things, it took less than an hour to make the changes. Now that I've made the changes I feel like the painting is more interesting and 'painterly.'

BTW, the top image is a bit too contrasty and the bottom image is more faithful to the colors and tonality.