"Cherries 2"

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"Cherries 2"

5 x7 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

This is the second painting I have done of these guys as I stated before in the other painting setting up an interesting composition allows you to tell a story.  I really enjoy painting the deep reds that are hidden under the dark layers of skin.

I start off using no mediums and just a bit of raw umber on the brush to have a light drawing down, as soon as the drawing is established I start in the darks of the first cherry.  I used ivory black, cadmium red and permanent rose.

Then I add cadmium red light and cadmium red to the middle and lighter values, I also add titanium white for the highlights.  Once the first cherry is done I move onto the stem first with the darkest values and moving up to the lighter values, I use ivory black, cadmium yellow, cobalt blue, and titanium white for the three values of the stem.   Once the cherry is taken to a finish I move onto the base I first establish the cast shadow and a bit of the darks on top of the base, I also add the middle to lighter values of the base using burnt sienna, cerulean blue, titanium white and ivory black.

I then moved onto the background which is different than my usual approach to painting these still lifes, usually I leave the background towards the end but this time I wanted to put it in to finish the surrounding information from the first cherry to take the edges further.  I like working this way I don't have to go back and worry about the edges or anything, for the background I used cerulean blue, naples yellow and titanium white.  Then I stated the darker values of the wooden base using ivory black, cadmium orange and cadmium red light.

After the base was taken to a finish I started on the second cherry again starting from the darkest values and moving up to the middle and lighter values, I am also using the same mixture as I did with the first cherry.  Once the cherry is completed I move to the stem and do the same.

Then I started on the third cherry using the same mixture but a bit more subdued, another reason I like this way of working I keep looking back to what I previously painted and see that I don't have to go back and rework things out, I put all my concentration on the section I am working at and paint it the best I can.

Once the cherries were completed I stated the middle value of the table using cadmium orange, burnt sienna and a bit of ivory black.  Then I added the lighter values of the table using the same mixture but with titanium white, cerulean blue and naples yellow.

As I stated before the composition and colors your able to produce from these cherries are worth wild to paint, I'm having so much fun creating these paintings and also eating them when I'm done!  Thanks for stopping by and viewing, I hope you enjoyed!