"Berries"

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"Berries"

5 x 7 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

After painting the radishes I decided to go smaller with these raspberries.  I really love the way the reds glow within the raspberry and also how light reflects from the black berries.  With this painting I also wanted to tackle a different wooden base and its textures.  It was definitely challenging in many ways, the wood reminded me of "seneca" the painting I did back in Florence.  It had similar textures in the wooden base which was neat to revisit after such a long time.  The berries themselves where also fun to paint and even better to eat!  

I started with the usual approach to the drawing stage, no mediums just a bit of raw umber on the brush.  Then I filled in the background with cerulean blue, naples yellow, burnt sienna and titanium white.

I then covered the base as well using burnt sienna, raw umber, cerulean and titanium white.  The texture to this wood is different than the regular wood I usually paint.  It was pretty challenging, but I really liked the soft textures it has.

Then I started on the first raspberry just stating the local color, I just used cad. red light.  Then I started forming the shape with raw umber and ivory black.  I'm also constantly thinking of the smaller forms when stating the larger ones, always making sure the form is turning in the respected areas.

I then start adding the middle and lighter values using titanium white, and cerulean blue.  I then go back to the gaps within the raspberry and just add cad. red light to give that glow effect.  I'm constantly going back and forth from values to get the right look, you have to just dab the colors in the right area until it looks right.  Then I added the black berries just stating the local color first, I just used ivory black for the initial lay in.

Then I used titanium white to dab where the lights where gonna be placed and just shifted them as I went.  I was also adding reflected colors on the black berries, especially the one right next to the red raspberry.  

I then added more details to the wooden base and finishing touches to the raspberries themselves, and called it a day.  It was neat painting these guys, they seem simple but they have their own intricate qualities that make it somewhat challenging.  I hope you enjoyed this one, thanks for stopping by and viewing!