Dinner 16" x 20"

It's always a little hard to get the colors right in these photos that I am posting to the web. But I feel that this is a good approximation - certainly (good enough) for a blog post. I wanted to spend a little more time on a painting than I have been, so I chose something more complex. And now, I am facing a few questions. I don't know what I would like to place in the background of the piece. Currently, I have the still life set up in front of a blank white wall. (The same ubiquitous "white wall" in all of my paintings.) The picture frame that is in the painting now is just something I have quickly sketched in as a possible solution. I know I could create more depth by simply introducing an edge of something that could be hung on the wall behind the table, but I am looking for a solution that isn't so easy. I think there is an opportunity to create more space in the painting and probably to create more interest. I was discussing the issue with my husband and at that time I felt what I chose to put in the background might point to what I'd really like to paint. I've experienced that before. The still lifes are something I am setting up to get the physical operation of painting beginning and to give it some purpose. And through this repeated exercise I am hoping to uncover some compulsion - something I can't resist putting into the picture, a pallette I can't resist using, a composition...I am trying to search out what I really want to paint. If in the end the still lifes are the "End", that's okay too. But I have a sense that I need this time and repeated motion of painting to unearth my ideas. Any input or observations are encouraged. Other people's ideas are always good fodder. I went to my second life drawing session on Thursday, so I'll post some photos of that soon.