Forelle Pear

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"Forelle Pear"

5 x 7 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I haven't painted pears in a while and thought it was time to re visit these beauties. I also wanted to go back on how I painted pears when I first started to do alla prima paintings a couple years ago. It's minimal amount of paint on the brush kind of like drawing with a pencil, you do not want to put a dark hard line with the initial mark. This painting is an exploration of my technique old and new.

I started with a thin application of raw umber for the drawing stage.  I am not worried about details just the placement of major shapes and the lineation of shadow shapes. Then I painted the background in. I usually like to paint this area first, this allows me to now worry about it when I am painting the main object in the painting.

Once the background was filled in I then painted in the wood, I applied a thin amount of paint to cover the base. I think of it as how one would when drawing with a pencil. I do not paint in the darkest darks or lights lights, just an in between value to give form to the object. Then I paint in the darkest values. I still have not applied any lighter values just concentrating on the middle to darker values.

Once the darks are painted I then start to paint in the middle to lighter values. Once the base is at a level I am satisfied with I move onto the pear. The initial stage of painting the pear I apply a thin layer of paint in the shadows, I do the same with the lights. In this stage I am only concentrating on big form modeling, how light wraps around the form. I mesh the lights into the darks to make the form turn, softening edges to show more of the turn. I am not worried about details at this stage just worried on applying a thin layer of paint and making the form turn with generalized colors.

Once big form modeling is working I then start to work on middle to darker values. As I mentioned before I am applying the paints very thin, this allows me to control values the same way one would control a mark with a pencil. I like to build into my darks as well into the lights.  This approach is time consuming but gives you control on how much subtle values shifts you're needing.

Hope you enjoyed this painting, thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

"Forelle Pears 2"

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"Forelle Pears 2"

10 x 8 in 

Oil on Canvas Panel

After a well rested weekend with friends, I'm ready to paint today and continue the theme from last sessions alla prima.  I really enjoy painting this red cloth it can be tricky to paint because of its brightest value, one can easily mix white into it and it turn pink instead of bright red.  These pears as stated in the previous post go well with the red cloth.  As you may have noticed already with my alla prima's I enjoy trying to paint texture, painting these pears definitely gave me a run for my money pertaining to textures.  I do enjoy painting smooth surfaces and getting subtle value transitions but I enjoy more trying to paint texture.  Texture definitely takes painting to a different realm, one can feel the surface of the object you'r painting, it gives the impression as if the paintings alive and breathing.  Going beyond just trying to over blend every section of the painting, closely observe the particular object you'r painting and try to paint the texture it has, doing so will give a hint of life to the painting.

I wanted to let you guys know that I'll be doing a portrait painting this Saturday at Art Resource Gallery in Edina, Minnesota.  I'll be doing the painting from a photo, I wish it can be from life but the sitter is 6 years old and the lady who's wanting me to paint the portrait says he wouldn't sit still.  It'll be fun either way and excited for it, I also hope to be done with my largest still life I've ever painting.  Hopefully I'll be done with it and have it there for the painting demo.  

I started with the usual dry brush approach using no mediums and a bit of raw umber on the brush.  After the drawing is complete I filled in the background and red cloth, I started with just the general colors and big form modeling.  For the background I used ultramarine blue, naples yellow and titanium white.  Colors for the red cloth were cad. red light, naphthol red and ivory black.  At this stage I'm concerned with just modeling the form, having the light wrap around the form and keeping the chroma as light as I can in the lighter areas.  

  

After the big form modeling is complete I started to state the smaller forms, I like to break this stage into two sections.  The first section I state the darker values with its specific forms.  Once that's complete I state the lighter values with its specific forms.  

Once the red cloth is complete I start to state the pears with its general colors and big form modeling.  The colors I used for this stage were naphthol red, cad.red light, cad.yellow light, naples yellow, viridian and ivory black.  When the big form modeling is complete I state the smaller form modeling, again first starting with the darker values and their specific forms.

Then I state the lighter values with their specific values and highlights, I also state the stems when the pears are completed.  After the stems is complete I go back around the whole painting and see what needs a finishing touch, after doing that the painting is complete.  I hope you guys enjoyed this one, thanks for stopping by and viewing!