"Balancing Act"

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"Balancing Act"

6 x 6 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

This is the third installment of the baby eggplants and I wanted to get really creative with the pose, this balancing act kind of reminds me of a cirque du soleil pose.  I love going to go see their shows the way they incorporate color, music, and amazing performances by their performers is just out of this world.  Truthfully I wasn't thinking of them when creating this composition, I just wanted to have a creative painting and a unique balancing act.  I don't think I can ever get tired painting these guys, but I do think three is the magic number and it's a good time to paint something else after this one. 

I started with the usual dry brush approach with a bit of raw umber on the brush, I use no mediums throughout the whole painting even from the beginning.  After the drawing is complete I start on the first eggplant just stating the main colors first and how light wraps around the form, which is also known as big form modeling.

After the main information is stated and the form is turning I state the smaller forms, I'm still conscious of the big form modeling and want my smaller forms to work well within the form and its values.  Then I move onto the stem and do the same procedure.

When I get to the second eggplant I repeat the same process as I did with the first one.  An important thing to also remember when painting big form modeling always keep your edges soft and also keep the paints thin.  Having the paints thin from the beginning gives you more freedom to build your layers without getting your colors muddy.  It also gives more control in manipulating the look you'r going for.  I always keep all the edges soft in the big form modeling stage, when I get to the smaller forms and details I start to sharpen certain edges and also get a bit thicker with the paints.

After the big form modeling is complete I then move onto the stem and do the same big form modeling.  When I start on smaller form modeling I take the eggplant and stem to a finish together.  

Then I add the background and base general information after the eggplant is taken to a finish.  Then I go and add the details to the wood and also take it to a finish.  As stated before I really do love painting these guys and can just paint them for a whole year, you learn so much about control of your craft when rendering these guys.  It can be a bit intimidating due to their smooth skin texture but don't let that fool you, they have some rough areas as well.  It's a unique object to paint and I thoroughly enjoy it, I hope you enjoyed this one and thanks for stopping by!