"Sweet Corn"

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"Sweet Corn"

8 x 10 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

The outer shape of this delicious sweet corn is what attracted me to paint this, I was tempted to just open it and cook it but I fell in love with the subtle greens and light yellows that covered the outer skin area.  The composition was also an interesting aspect, I wanted to show more of the leaves having so much character to them and how they interact within each other.

I really never knew too much about these corn until I moved up here to the mid west, its fun getting them at the farmers market and getting home and pealing them.  The corn up here taste so sweet in comparison to the ones in Florida, they have a distinct "sweet" taste too them.  I have also noticed that everyone up here are very proud of their corns and how good they taste, I've always been used to in Florida going to the store and buying the corn already pealed and ready to eat, love the camaraderie there is with these guys here! 

I started with the usual dry brush approach using just raw umber and no mediums, after the drawing was established I started from the left of the canvas and moved my way towards the right.  I started with the fuzzy stringy things from the sweet corn using ivory black, titanium white and a bit of cadmium orange.

Then I started with the leaves hanging off the corn using viridian, cobalt blue, ultramarine blue, and ivory black, then after the darks were established I stated the middle and a bit of the lighter values using the same mixture but with a hint of titanium white.

After the leaves where completed I started on the front half of the corn using viridian, cadmium yellow light, ultramarine blue, and titanium white.  I am constantly going in each section I start from dark to light values always starting with the darkest so I can accurately judge how light I need to go.

Then I started on the second half of the corn using the same mixture as I used with the first half, I laid the overall color of the body and then went into it with soft lines after making sure the big form was turning with the light.  When stating the lines you have to be careful because they can easily be too dark by the pressure one applies to the brush and can make the form look awkward, take your time in this stage to get the subtleties right.

I then added the top of the base after stating the end of the corn using the same palette as stated before, I used burnt sienna, cerulean blue, titanium white, and ivory black.

Then I stated the darkest and largest area of the base using ivory black, cadmium orange and cadmium red light I added the darkest and middle values first and after I added the details of the grain.  After the base was completed I added the background using cerulean blue, naples yellow, and titanium white.

This painting was a joy to paint having seen how expressive and gesturally the leaves are made it to hard not to.  I appreciate everyone stopping by and viewing my work hope you enjoyed!