Color Boost

Taking pictures of my artwork isn't easy. Often times the whites photograph gray and the overall picture has a cool feel to it, while the paintings are quite warm in color in real life. In addition, the slightly yellow color and "texture" of the wax has not been easy to catch. I am often told that my paintings look better in person. While that is flattering to hear, my galleries have a harder time selling my paintings based on their photos (which many galleries do by posting images on their website and sending photos of new work to clients). I've had gallerist try to take the photos themselves and adjust the color in Photoshop. The color has never been right, and some have been way off.

After three years of playing with my images and trying to get them to look right in Photoshop (and then not being able to consistently recreate what I did with another image), I finally figured out how to make my photos looks warmer and more like the actual paintings. It was real simple and took hitting only one button. I'm not sure I never figured this out before. It was so easy! So what did I do? I used the "color boost" button in the effects section of iPhoto. Simple. I hit the button and VIOLA! A warmer photo. If I hit it twice, it gets even warmer. Any more than that and the image is too yellow. Here's what the new images look like: 

Original: This is what my photos originally look like without any effects. It's pretty
gray and has a "cool" feel to it.

Boost One: This with the color boost effect on 1. It's much warmer. I like this...but
 sometimes I wonder if the effect should be on 2.

Boost Two: This is with a color boost setting of 2. Do you think it looks TOO yellow? I can't decide.
Which one of these effects look more like my actual paintings? I need some opinions.

If you have any opinions, I'd like to hear them. Which one do you think best represents my work?

On another note, I finished the 5th painting of the month today. If you remember, I am on a crazy painting schedule of 5 paintings per month for the next 4 months. I managed to finish a little bit early for this month's deadlines. Fifteen more paintings (at least...although I probably actually need more) to go! Here are paintings number 4 and 5, without the wax:

"Row Boat" 30"x24"
You'll be able to find this painting at Lanoue Fine Art in March.

"Feeding Pigeons", 36"x36"
You will be able to find this painting at ArtHaus Gallery sometime next week.