"Lemon Plums"

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"Lemon Plums"

6 x 6 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

These lemon plums caught my eye in the grocery store I could not get my eyes off of them.  They are unique looking to say the least and you know automatically I have to paint it.  I really like their colors and how orange their tips are.  Along with the colors I enjoy their textures, they are subtle but painting the smooth to rougher texture in one plane was a nice challenge.

I wanted to remind everyone that I am doing a painting demo this Thursday at Dick Blick in Edina, Minnesota from 10:45 to 2:00pm.  I hope to see you guys there! 

I started with the usual dry brush approach for the drawing stage.  Once the drawing is complete I stated the big form modeling with a very thin mixture on the brush, its a dry brush approach as well.  

I then just concentrate on the darker values with their specific forms.  Once thats completed I move onto the lighter forms and continue the same process.

I repeat the same process on the second lemon plum till its completed.    

Once the plums are complete I state the wooden base by applying a thin coat for the base.  Going back to the plums you can see that I start really thin with my mixture, this allows me to control my values from the brush touching the canvas.  Think of it as rendering with a pencil, once you put the pencil to the paper to get the subtle rendering you need to have a soft touch, same idea.  When I need the colors or values to be stronger and more opaque I'll go thicker with the paints, but I do so in a slow manner making sure the transitions are working within each other.  

Then I paint in the darker values with their specific forms and do the same with the lighter values.  

Once the wooden base is complete I start on the background, in this stage I make sure to take my time in polishing all the edges.  Thanks for stopping and viewing, hope you enjoyed!