Painting Process 7

Up until this point work on this painting was going on the right direction. I started to loosen up and try to be more painterly, something that at times is hard for me but at the same time very exiting. I added two garlic cloves to the composition because the bottom left area was empty. Too much dead space there. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep the garlic as it is or change it some more, maybe play around with different positions.
This is the last image I took of the painting before it got to it's scary point. I decided to listen to a friend. She said that I should put some bright color in the background and make it more contemporary. I decided to do a greenish color but it ended up being a loud, supper scary turquoise. I tried toning it down but it still looks horrible. Thanks Carol! One of the many learning experiences of painting. I'm hopping to finish this soon because it is driving me nut not being able to just get it right. We'll see what happens next!