Before Coffee

Before Coffee.  Watercolor and Crayon.
10x8 inches

I set up a still life, and then it went all abstrac-tish on me.  I'm not sure why, either, which as the painter, I'd sure like to be able to articulate why I'm doing what I'm doing.   

One thing that was limiting when I was designing the painting--I am trying to paint without putting any more paint out on my palettes.  The goal is to use enough paint that I don't feel guilty about cleaning them and starting fresh.  I ran out of my orange about 5 minutes in (good for palette cleaning purposes, but not good for the painting), and then added quin burnt orange and a red to try and compensate.  

When I finished the watercolor portion, I'd lost too much shape in the plate and shadow (and lost the fork entirely), so I went back with some crayon.  I like the way the shapes and lights and darks interlock, but I'm not sure I'd repeat this color combination.