"Bananas"

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"Bananas"

8 x 10 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

This is the second banana painting i've done.  They have so much character by being bunched up together,  its to good not to paint.  The soft yellows and greens also make it a delight to try to render in paints, they can be somewhat challenging but a good learning experience.  

I started with a dry brush and no mediums for the drawing stage, I used raw umber.  Then when the drawing was completed I filled in the background with naples yellow, cerulean blue, and titanium white. Then I also filled in the base using burnt sienna, cad. orange, and ivory black for the darker values.

Then I applied the lighter values to the base using titanium white, cerulean blue, and burnt sienna.  Then I started on the darker values of the first banana, I used ivory black, cad. yellow light, and raw umber.  As you can see I'm applying the paints much thinner in this painting which allows me to have more control from the beginning.

Then I start adding the middle values after the darks are completed to a certain stage, I use the same mixture as I did with the darks just using more cad. yellow light and a bit of titanium white.  Then I added the highlights just using titanium white, I am also adding the little indents in the banana which gives it character.

Then I start with the other bananas just dabbing where the darker middle values will be, I treat all the other bananas as one section.  Then I add the darker values just using ivory black.

Then I go back to the middle values and start adding more of the lighter values, using titanium white and cad. yellow light to tie the sections together.  I'm constantly going around and fixing areas that need things nudged here and there.  Then I start with the top of the bananas the green area and add the darker middle values, I'm using cobalt blue, viridian, and cad. yellow light.

Then I added the lighter values by just adding titanium white to the middle value mixture.  This painting was a lot of fun to do especially going back and painting really thin in the beginning.  It's funny how much more control I get from just applying very thin paint in the beginning.  I also really like the look it gives when I work this way.  Thanks for stopping by and viewing, hope you enjoyed!