Monochromatic with a twist

Today, we explored monochromatic painting again, but this time with a twist: we had to choose red or black and use a range of values from white to black.

To accommodate a wider range of values, Prof. Garguilo provided some different items that were charcoal and/or flat gray, as well as some new, interesting shapes.  I tried to see about changing still life, but the other two setups had too many working at them and I couldn't get a good angle to get shadows. So, this will look similar to the still life I have been working on for the black monochromatic paintings.

First, here is the arrangement:

In case you can't tell, the upright piece on the right is a clock weight and it drove me crazy today.

At the first break, I had much of the blocking done. And I had the front block pretty well finished. The pot, however was getting muddy, so I needed to walk away for a bit.

I also realized the background and shadows needed work, so, I spent time going between the various sections trying not to work any one too much. All in all, the shiny surfaces are the things I do best, while slightly strange shapes continue to confound me. I need to practice proportions.