"Grapes & Cork"

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"Grapes and Cork"

8 x 10 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I really had the itch to paint grapes its been a long time since I've painted them and when I started I remembered why I took a break from them!  I do love painting the deep reds and blacks that are hidden within the skin of the grapes, I also wanted to add the cork to pay homage to the fantastic wines these guys produce.  Thursdays are usually a very busy day for me with teaching I really did not expect to do such an intricate painting, I usually like doing a 5 x 7 painting but today I pushed myself to the limit with this one!

I started with an intricate drawing I could not just generalize shapes I had to really concentrate and get everything to fit within the frame of 8 x 10 inches, I used the usual dry brush approach with no mediums just a bit of raw umber.  After the drawing was established I started with the first grape starting from the darkest values and moving towards the lights, I did this throughout the whole grapes in each section you will notice I take each section to a finish going from dark to light.  I used ivory black, cadmium red light, cadmium orange, cobalt blue and titanium white for the darks and lights.

I then started to put the cork in after I had something going for the grapes to bounce of chroma, and value, I used yellow ochre pale, ivory black, and titanium white for  the darkest to the lightest values.

Then I added the details after the overall chroma and values where established remember start from the largest information and if it reads well then you can go in with the details but it has to work with the larger information.  After the cork I started with the lighter grapes again using the same mixture and also going from darkest to lightest, I cannot stress enough how important it is to take each section you work on to a finish this allows you to dedicate all your concentration in one area.

Then I added the stems using cobalt blue, cadmium yellow, ivory black, and titanium white it was fun playing around with little stems going in and out of the grapes they added more character to the story I was trying to tell.  I then added the darkest value of the base using ivory black, cadmium orange, and cadmium red light.

Then I added the middle and lighter values of the base using burnt sienna, cobalt blue, ivory black, and titanium white at this point I can see the painting starting to come together.  Then I added the background color which is naples yellow, cerulean blue, and titanium white at this stage I had to be careful because of the intricate negative shapes that the grapes and stems had. 

 

Overall this was a very challenging painting to complete for a daily painting but glad I did so I learned a lot from it, I appreciate everyone stopping by and viewing my painting hope you enjoyed it!