"Cherries"

Sold

"Cherries"

5 x 7 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I've been noticing the surge in cherries due to the season and had the itch to paint them, you can tell a neat story by just the simplest composition.  There vivid reds that are masked within the dark tinted skin values is also a treat to paint.

I started with the usual dry brush approach no mediums just a bit of raw umber on the brush to draw out the subjects on the canvas, then when the drawing is established I start with the first cherry emphasizing the darkest values first.  I used ivory black, permanent rose, and cadmium red to state the darkest values in the cherry from there I was able to carry to middle and lighter values.

At this stage I am working on the reflected lights in the cherry using titanium white, and cerulean blue I am also being careful when working up to the lightest values.  One must never add too much paint in the beginning in order to keep control and also keeps to the old rule fat over lean, then I added the lighter values using titanium white.

Started on the second cherry once the first one was complete I didn't finish the stem I decided to finish those separate, I started the same way as I did with the first cherry and the same mixture going from the darkest values to the lightest.

I did the same procedure with the third cherry just really concentrating on the darks using ivory black and some permanent rose, then for the lighter values I used titanium white and would go back and forth from the lighter to darker values fixing edges and values.  Its important to state that in each stage I'm taking everything to a close finish, reason being I can easily move onto the next section and not worry about coming back while the paints drying and having to pick up the paint and it not drying properly.

I then went into the stems and just took all of them to a finish going from left to right, I used a simple mixture of cobalt blue, cadmium yellow and titanium white.  I then went into the base and added the darker values first including the cast shadows from the cherries, I used ivory black, burnt sienna, and cadmium orange.  For the middle and lighter values I used burnt sienna, cerulean blue, and titanium white again taking it to a finish in each stage of value that I start.

Then I added the background colors using cerulean blue, naples yellow, and titanium white, I then went into the edges of the cherries that met the background and sharpened certain edges and kept others soft depending on the optical effect I wanted to achieve.  Overall I really liked painting these smooth cherries as I stated before their vivid reds that are masked within the darks make it a delight to paint, thanks for stopping by and viewing my painting hope you enjoyed!