Friday, May 6, 2011

"Balancing Act"

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"Balancing Act"
7 x 5 in
Oil on Canvas Panel
This composition was fun to arrange, playing with the limes wrapping around the lemon was a joy especially having the one lime on top.  Its almost as if they're trying to take over the lemon and conquer it.  The colors are also a nice note to add, they are both close in chroma's and play off of each other pretty well.  The top lime was a challenge to keep still, its always fun to see how far you can push the limits of these guys.  Painting the lemon was a treat, creating textures and highlights is always beyond fun to do.
I got the drawing stage done with a bit of raw umber on the brush, once that was completed I stated the background and wooden base with just the general colors.  
Once the general colors are stated I went back into the wooden base and stated the darker values and its specific forms.  Then I stated the lighter values and its specific forms, I'm constantly going back and forth between values adjust them to the exact look i'm going for.
Then I move onto the limes just stating the general colors and stating the big form modeling, I'm not worried about details at this stage just the general information.  Then I apply the darker values and its specific forms.  I was asked in the last posting what colors I used for the limes, I use viridian, cad. yellow. and ultramarine blue.
Then I apply the lighter values and its specific forms or the details.  When I apply the specific forms of the darker and lighter values I'm applying the details, or you can also think of it as smaller form modeling.  Once the limes are complete I move onto the lemon just stating general colors and turning the form with the light.  At this stage I'm not stating the darkest and lighter values, just the middle values to get a base.
After the general colors are stated I apply the darker values and its specific values, and do the same with the lighter values.  The overall feel of the painting is exactly what I was going for, the composition as stated before is a plus and glad it worked out.  I hope you guys enjoyed this one it was fun making it, thanks for stopping by!





2 comments:

April Jarocka said...

How the Dickens did you get that lime to balance on top of that lemon?? Lovely work..

Judy P. said...

Besides great rendering, I'm really liking the small dramas you give your subjects- really lovely and whimsical.