"Apricots"

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"Apricots"

5 x 7 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

Apricots have a smooth surface to them, their tones are subtle and colors are deep but subtle as well.  I really like the shape of these guys they have a funny quirky shape to them, needless to say it was fun painting them.  Composing these guys wasn't to difficult no matter how you arrange them they always seem to say something by their body shape.  The smooth skin and rich colors made them even more delicious to paint, and to eat them was a plus after a long day of painting.

I started with the usual dry brush approach using no mediums and a bit of raw umber on the brush.  After the drawing is done I started laying the general colors, I'm keeping the paints fairly thin at this stage as I still have more paint to put on.

Then I start to get darker values to turn the form even more in the big form modeling stage, I progressively go into each level of tones.  I treat it as if I'm drawing with a pen or pencil, I slowly go from one tone to the other.  This creates better handling of the paints and more control.  At this stage I also don't add the darkest and lightest values, I like to keep the values in the middle stages.  I like to break down after big form modeling to darker and lighter value stage, meaning I add the darkest and lightest values and its details to take each area to a finish.  

After the darker values are stated I start on the lighter values and its specific values.  After finishing with the apricots I start on the wooden base by stating the general color and the way the lights are wrapping around the form.  Remember at this stage I'm not worried about details just a general statement of colors and the way the light falls on the form.  

Then I lay in the darker values and its specific forms, I do the same with the lighter values and take it to a finish.

I finish the painting by adding the background and softening the surrounding edges, its easy to forget about edges but remember they can make or break you'r painting.  It's important to not forget about them, sometimes I like to keep all the edges soft until the end of the painting and sharpen certain edges to give more of a focus to that area.  Thanks for stopping by I hope you enjoyed this one.