Cherry Bowl, 6x6

"Cherry Bowl" 6x6" Pastel on sanded paper Sold

Since I got that notice of acceptance into the Local 14 show, I've been focusing on getting a series of fruit still-life paintings done. I've painted this cute little one before and to be honest with you, I spent more time on it this second time around noticing things that previously went unnoticed. I think this comes with most anything in life. I just may have been more ready to take in more information this time around, or possibly wasn't willing to see it clearly last time. Have you ever listened to an inspirational tape and then listened to it a month later only to get something new from it? I was told that as we grow in maturity, or shall I say at different times in our lives, we are more receptive to certain ideas or concepts than at other times. Am I more willing to listen instead of just hear? Am I willing to see more than before? I guess and guess again.

Duet, 6x6

Duet, 6x6"  Pastel on sanded paper

I've been side stepping my farm series this week, taking a quick break with this small still life piece of pears.  I'm actually preparing for the Local 14 show where I will be showing several still life paintings of fruit.  Even though the show won't be until October, I still like to be ready to "hang" well before the installation.  This one is a bit interesting because the variety of textures/techniques used to make the different surfaces.  The resource photo comes from the Reference Image Library on WetCanvas.

Staged Zest (study), 6x6

"Staged Zest, study" 6x6" Pastel on sanded paper

Lemons! Don't they remind you of Summer? In this little piece, I wanted the color to sing by using the complementary colors of yellow and purple. I used a fun mark-making technique called "broken color" where the underpainting or underlying colors are allowed to peek through, making the eye "mix" the colors in the mind. See the table-top...it has marks of yellow, pink and blue. And I just love that bright red on the lemon skin. Makes my mouth water.

Lemons in Red Bowl 6x6

"Lemons in Red Bowl" 6x6

I think this will be my last broken color study on fruit for awhile. Although I had a lot of fun creating these little studies of fruit, I'm ready to begin working on water subjects again. Here, I have used a resource photo from the Reference Image Library on Wetcanvas, uploaded by "Nitsa".


To start, I begin with a sketch of the image in pastel pencil and then an under painting of complimentary colors of the intended image. I used Createx acrylic airbrush pigment. It is a pretty potent pigment in a waterbased binder.


After the underpainting dries, I begin applying color. I usually establish the darkest and lightest values of the image as well as some of the mid-toned values. This is the "ugly stage" of the painting. I am intentionally letting the underpainting show through the marks of pastel. This "broken color" creates nice energy in the painting. I've noticed that the underpainting in the darker areas (bowl, parts of the fabric) needs to be in the same value! I'll take note of that next time to give it more spark.


At this stage of the piece, I'm giving shape to the bowl and lemons by adding shades of the local color. The highlights on the bowl and darkening the sides of the lemon with intense orange helps to make it look round. I'm thinking that the stripes on the back wall are conflicting with the stripes in the draped cloth. Almost done...


I've made the stripes in the wall less noticeable and worked on the fabric a lot. The top edge of the table originally was going to have a fold in the fabric, but I decided to simplify it by just making it straight across. I also rounded out the lemons a bit too. Finished!

"Pears 3" 6x6

"Pears 3" 6x6 SOLD

I'm wanting to get back to my color studies again that I first started back in December of '07 and here it is almost May! So, here is a broken color study I did tonight with steps. I really used some fun colors in this piece and tried to capture the freshness of the image. Oh, the original image was taken from the Reference Image Library on Wetcanvas.


I decided to paint a blue underpainting this time around simply because the reference image has a cool tint to it which I originally was attracted to. Here, I have done a light sketch with a dark pink pastel pencil.


This is what I call the "ugly stage" of the piece. I'm blocking in the values to define the shapes. This includes the background too.


At this stage I'm giving the pears their shape by shading in their girth and also beginning to give them the color they really need. Lookin' good so far from here...


And now for a punch of bold color to give it the excitement it needs...because pears can be boring. I also finished up with a few details of pear spots. Details, details.

Color Study #7 6x6"

Color Study # 7

This next color study is a Triadic color scheme that is based on three colors that are evenly spaced on the color wheel. I chose orange, purple and green simply because I love purple! The source photo is again from Wetcanvas' reference library from contributer "lisilk". I began with a complimentary underpainting of Createx pigment paint, and then applied the much confusing color story. It looks like a mess in the beginning stages, but soon evolves! I used a broken color application, letting the underpainting show through a bit, although I did lay it on a bit thick on the orange! I has a lot of texture only because I love this broken color method! I could smooth it out to make it more realistic, but I think that would ruin the bold color play.


The underpainting looks a bit crazy along with the sketch underneath. I mistakenly painted purple for the background underpainting when I should have used yellow! Ooops! Anyway, I put the purple pastel down first to hide my mistake.

Then I applied the darkest values and a few of the oranges. This is the "ugly" stage of the painting.

I continued to work on the orange. I began to add the greens to help bring it together along with using a lighter, brighter purple in the branches.

I continued to work on the greens, and on the orange peel.

Here is the finished image, again for comparison.

Color Study #6 6x6

Color Study #6

Well, after posting Color Study #5, I wasn't completely satisfied with the outcome of the split complimentary study, even though I really like the painting. So instead of moving forward with the Triadic study that I had intended, I attempted another Split-Complimentary study. This time I used the colors blue-green, red, and orange. This really works for me! And the color just POPS! I'm also including the process of how I did this study, with all the steps below. I used an under-painting of each particular color's compliment. Sound confusing? Yup, it is. But I am sure happy with this one definitely! Oh, and the reference photo that I painted this from comes from the image library on Wetcanvas by Fagan, called "Blue Plate Special"


First, I painted an underpainting of each color's compliment.....

then I began adding red for the table and establishing a bit of the blue-green plate.

adding highlights and shadows....

filling in the fruit with shades of oranges...

Finished painting!