"Peaches"

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"Peaches"

8 x 10 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

Peaches have great characteristics to them, their skin for one has beautiful designs to them.  Along with the designs there's also some fuzziness to them, these two components create a great challenge in painting these textures.  Not only there designs and texture are great but to eat them when the painting is complete makes it a better incentive to finish.   

I started with the usual dry brush approach for the drawing stage, keeping the lines light so I can easily correct any changes.  After the drawing is complete I start on the first peach, I start in a rather scumbling approach.  I get the local color and start light with the pressure in order to get a soft and even value.  Then in order to get a thicker application I add more paint or press a bit harder on the brush just as you would with the pencil.  For this stage I'm using cad. red light and raw umber.

Then I start using cad. yellow light, and ivory black to give more accents to the middle and darker values.  I start going to my lighter values at this stage as well, this allows me to see how dark I need to go with the darks.  Then I just concentrate on the darker values and take it to a finish.

After the darker values are completed I move onto the lighter values and highlights.  Once thats completed I move onto the other peach, just concentrating on the local colors and making the form turn.  I'm keeping the paints really thin in the beginning application, this allows me to keep control and have smooth transitions.  I'm using the same palette as the first peach.

At this stage I start adding smaller forms or the details to give the shape more character.  I'm also trying to be careful in making these intricate shapes work with the whole form.

Once the second peach is completed I start on the wooden base, I use ivory black, raw umber, burnt sienna, cerulean, naples yellow, and titanium white.  

Once the wooden base is completed I then state the background by using titanium white, naples yellow, cerulean, and titanium white.  When I'm done with the background I go back to the peaches and just push the highlights a bit more, I also do the same with the wooden base.  I had lots of fun painting this one, experimenting with painting textures and trying to get the fuzzy look that a peach has.  It's a great way to push yourself and see how your able to render these different textures.  One thing is painting an object, the other is actually making the viewer feel as if it's touching it.  Thanks for stopping by and viewing, I hope you enjoyed this one!