Watercolor classwork: Soup Ingredients

[studio1009]

I was making Cream of Turnip soup. I had the ingredients gathered on the countertop and the arrangement was appealing, so I took a photo. Later, the instructor in my watercolor class asked us to do a food still life from a personal photo. (I like this class because the instructor lets us choose are own subject.) The process she told us to follow was to do a tonal painting first (greys) then paint over with color glazes. I was very careful to duplicate the colors of the parsnip and turnips.

I submitted the painting for critique. The instructor liked it overall and recommended that I increase the intensity of the color glaze. When I see the original photo and my painting photo side by side, I see her point. I was afraid of exaggerating the color unrealistically. Good thing is that it is easier to add color than remove it.