"Circus Plums"

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"Circus Plums"

6 x 6 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I wanted to revisit these fun plums and be a bit more whimsical, I also miss painting this beautiful marble top.  Painting these two surfaces together contrast each other nicely.  The tension this composition creates is pretty interesting, the plums seem to be having a hard time holding up the top plum.  You can create infinite story lines with this one, it'll be interesting to read what you guys can come up with?  I've always said if you want to better yourself in painting paint marble, it's so true.  Aside from painting flowers which also excels you in every way, painting marble teaches to control your medium and notice with each stroke the type of textures you'r laying down.  You can easily apply what you've learned to anything you paint, of course you have to conform it to the subject you'r painting.  I miss painting the wooden board I use for the majority of these alla prima's, but painting this marble has given me so much joy and teaches me something new every time.  

I started with the usual dry brush approach using no mediums and a bit of raw umber.  After the drawing is established I stated the background and middle value to the base, the colors I used where cerulean blue, naples yellow and titanium white for the background.  For the marble I used raw umber, ivory black and titanium white.

Then I stated the middle and darker values with their specific forms, and do the same with the lighter values.  Once the front part of the marble is complete I start on top and repeat the process.  

Once the whole marble is complete I start on the first plum by stating the middle to darker values first.  At this stage I'm applying the middle local color of the plum and turning the form, later I start to add more colors once the values are turning with the light.  Then I add the lighter values and take the plum to a finish, I repeat the process with the second plum.

I do the same process with the third plum.  The colors I used for the plums were naphthol red, ivory black, cad. red light, quinacridone magenta, cerulean blue, and titanium white.  

I take the painting to a finish by going in the cast shadows where the plums meet the marble, I tie them together by pushing the darks and blending the two together.  It was beyond fun painting this one, I truly enjoy learning from a painting and this one definitely delivered that.  That's what I love the most about painting these alla prima's, they teach me something new every time.  Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed this one!

"Black Plums 2"

Click here to purchase this painting at my Etsy shop

"Black Plums 2"

8 x 10 in 

Oil on Canvas Panel

I wanted to continue the marble series with another painting of these beautiful plums, especially painting marble practice makes perfect.  I noticed with painting plums you have to be very delicate with each transition of tones, which is stark contrast with marble.  Marble has so much texture their are subtle value shifts but for the most part its rough with impasto strokes.  I always start with the marble section first it requires so much attention, it takes so long to get the subtle and rough strokes working right with each other.  I suggest anybody who wants a great challenge on how to paint textures with so many properties should paint marble.  

I wanted to remind everyone again that I will be giving a live demo at the Uptown Art Fair, it'll be on August 5 from 1-5 p.m.  It'll be great to see you guys there!  I will also be teaching a still life and figure drawing workshops at the Bloomington Art Center, if anyone's interested you can now sign up for the classes.  Click here to see sign up!

I started with the usual dry brush approach using no mediums and a bit of raw umber on the brush.  Once the drawing is complete I stated the background and marble, I used cerulean blue, naples yellow and titanium white.  For the marble I just painted a thin base of the middle value, I used titanium white, ivory black, yellow ochre and raw umber.

Then I stated the middle darker values first not going to dark first, I like to slowly build up to my values. The middle picture shows the darker values taken to completion, then the third picture shows the lighter values and its specific forms taken to completion.  I made sure in each stage I take it to a close completion, the reason I'm not able to finish it is when stating surrounding values it effects the values that  have been painted before.  When all the values are stated in the end thats when you can fully see what you have and shift values here and there to the look your going for.

I do the same process with the top of the marble.

Then I start with plums after the marble is complete, I state all the plums with the middle values first.  Then I start with the first plum on the left stating the darks and its specific forms, for the most part I'm making the form turn at this stage and adding any details relating to the darks.  I used ivory black, alizarine crimson, and napthol red.

When the darks are complete I start with the lighter values and its specific forms, the colors I used where cerulean blue,  and titanium white.  Once the first plum is complete I repeat the process with the second plum, I also use the same colors as I did with the first plum.

And do the same with the third plum.

Once the plums are complete I went back to the cast shadows of the plums and filled in the darks, this allows the plums and marble to be in the same plane.  I also lightened some areas of the marble and took the whole painting to a finish.  I think after painting marble so many times I can paint it with my eyes closed, I'm glad i'm doing it though it really pushes me and challenges me like never before.  I hope you guys have enjoyed this one as much as I did, thanks for stopping by and viewing!

"Black Plums"

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"Black Plums"

8 x 10 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

Plums have such a rich deep colors to them, what I especially love is the way light softens and wraps around them.  The marble I believe also adds a nice element to the subtle colors of the plums.  The more I paint marble the more I understand its textures and how to paint them.  These two components have different textures to them one being smooth and the other being rough, painting these two elements in one painting is a good way in learning how to manipulate the paints.  

I wanted to remind everyone again that I will be giving a live demo at the Uptown Art Fair, it'll be on August 5 from 1-5 p.m.  It'll be great to see you guys there!  I will also be teaching a still life and figure drawing workshops at the Bloomington Art Center, if anyone's interested you can now sign up for the classes.  Click here to see sign up!

I started with the usual dry brush using no mediums and just a bit of raw umber on the brush.  After the drawing is complete I stated the background and also the middle value of the marble.  The colors I used at this stage is cerulean blue, naples yellow and titanium white.  For the marble I used ivory black, titanium white and raw umber.  I keep the paints really thin at this stage, this acts as a base for thicker paint to flow easier up top.

Then I start on the bottom part of the base first stating the middle darker values first, I like to slowly build up to the darks and do the same with the lights.  Then I start to add the darker values and its specific forms, when thats complete I move on to the lighter values and take it to a finish.  I make sure with each of these stages that I take them to a close finish, this allows me to completely concentrate on each area and take it to a finish.  

I repeat the same process on the top of the marble as I did with the bottom.  As you can see with the first picture I state the middle values first, I keep the edges really soft and the paints really thin.  This allows me to slowly build up the edges I want and certain looks I'm going for.

Then I apply a thin coat of a middle value to all the plums in one shot, this as stated before acts like a base so the paints can flow easier and smoother.  The colors I used where alizarine crimson and ivory black.  Then I start on the first plum and completely concentrate on that one until I take it to a completion.  I start on the darker values first and its specific forms, I use ivory black for this stage.  

Then I add the lighter values and its specific forms, I use titanium white and cobalt blue for this stage.  Then I start on the middle plum when the first one is complete and repeat the same process.  With the darkest and lightest value stages I'm starting out with a middle value and building up to the values I'm wanting, I never start with the brightest or darkest values first and model it from there.  I think of it as if I was drawing with a pencil you want to gradually build up to your tones, this allows you to create subtle transitions.  When the transitions are becoming subtle and shifting then I start to see if I want to add thicker paint to get a harder edge or keep them soft with thinner paint, the important part is that I'm gradually arriving to that stage not jumping straight to it.

 I do the same with the third plum after the second plum is complete, I also use the same colors through out all the plums.

I take the painting to a finish after I go back to the cast shadows where marble meets the plums and add darker values which meshes the plums and marble together.  I really enjoyed painting these plums, painting these two surfaces was more fun than what I expected.  I also enjoyed going back to the fundamentals of finishing an area before moving onto the next.  I've noticed in past paintings I have the habit of going really fast and jumping around the whole painting, I wasn't concentrating in one section at a time.  To me thats crucial in really observing what you'r painting and also painting what you see to your best ability.  I noticed that when I jump around in the section I'm painting without a methodical plan it takes me longer than painting it in stages like I did with this one.  I hope you guys enjoyed this one as much as I did, thanks for stopping by and viewing!