Composition,Shadows, and my Still Life

I struggled very early on with this project. First, I had trouble picking a composition. Although I know the basic rules of composition, I still have trouble knowing when a composition is interesting. There is no voice in my head that says "This is interesting. It will work" or "This is a boring composition." I think I might be too detail focused because my mind gets stuck on the objects themselves. If they are interesting, then the work as a whole is interesting.

Final Composition

Next I did the grisaille underpainting. I liked this a little more, but I noticed I have trouble with going dark. My underpainting was much lighter than everybody elses'. I don't want to get too dark, but have to get darker than what I have. At least I can see the differences in value.

Grisaille

After the underpainting, I finally started adding color. I want to get the near black color of the book's shadows. I think I like the envelope the most because the shadows are so clear on the white background. There is really nice contrast. I do hate how subtle I have to be with the color since too much completely ruins the white envelope. I worry about the neon earring because it is much more bright and unnatural compared to the rest of the subjects.

After 1 day

Day 3

Close to finish

I love the shadows of the cardboard and near the edges. I feel like it blends the most realistically here. Then there is the envelope which is also really cool and realistic feeling. I don't like how the wording threw the proportion off, so I am glad I covered it up. I want to add more depth to the card box.