"Crab Apples III"

Sold

"Crab Apples III"

8 x 10 in 

Oil on Canvas Panel

This is the last of the series of crab apples, I really enjoyed painting them and their textures.  They really force you to slow down and observe what you'r painting.   At times I know I go to fast and miss certain information that will improve the painting, with this series of paintings that was not the case.  I was really happy to also re-visit small and big form modeling.  It's essential for any artist to understand that concept of turning the form with light, to grasp the idea of how to turn the form and make it dimensional.  I'm glad I painted these guys and look forward to painting them again in the future.

I also wanted to let you guys know I'll be gone starting tomorrow for about a week on vacation to Miami.  I'm really excited to meet up with an old friend and just hang out, I might bring my painting equipment but still not sure.  I cannot fathom the idea of not painting for that amount of time, I most likely will but if you don't hear from me you know where I'll be!

I started with usual dry brush approach using a bit of raw umber on the brush.  When the drawing is complete I stated the wooden base and the table top along with the background.  The colors I used for the background were cobalt blue, naples yellow and titanium white.  When stating the base and table top i'm first concerned with the fall of light on the object, I do this by going from dark to light and stating its general colors.  I'm not concerned with the details at this point just transition of dark to light and also keeping the edges soft.

Then I state the smaller forms and break into two sections, first starting with the darker to middle values. Once that's complete I start on the lighter values and highlights.

Once the wooden board is complete I start on the first crab apple, again just worrying about big form modeling and not any details or smaller forms.  It's imperative to understand this stage in order for the smaller forms to work correctly.  With big form modeling I state the darkest to the lightest values, I do this in order to make the form turn.  If it's not turning in the big form modeling stage when you state the smaller forms you'll run into more problems than you should.  Once the big form modelings is complete I start on the smaller form modeling and again breaking it up into two sections, first starting with the darker to middle values.  

Then I state the lighter values and their highlights to finish the first crab apple.  I then move onto the other crab apples and work on them simultaneously, I do this because they're side by side and their values effect each other.  Again starting out first by just concentrating on big form modeling.  I usually take my time at this stage making sure the transitional values are working right, I'm not concerned in getting it done in a quick manner.   

Then I add the smaller form modeling once the big form modeling is complete.  Remember the only way small form modeling works right if the big form modeling is done correctly, the two go hand in hand. 

I take the painting to a finish after adding the stems, I enjoy leaving them till the end I think it gives them so much life.  I hope you guys had a clearer understanding of my approach with small and big form modeling.  I cannot stress enough on how important it is to understand that concept, at times I loose sight of it and see that my paintings suffer.  I hope you guys enjoyed this one as much as I did, thanks for stopping by.

"Chestnut Crab Apples II"

Sold

"Chestnut Crab Apples II"

8 x 10 in 

Oil on Canvas Panel

I wanted to continue with these chestnut crab apples, I find them too adorable not to paint.  They have so much character due to their stem, they pose with a subtle hint of playfulness.  I also wanted to revisit big form modeling and stay true to the practice.  I find when I go back to what I was taught at the Angel Academy my understanding only improves to what I've learned so far.  

I started with the usual dry brush approach using no mediums and a bit of raw umber.  When the drawing is complete I stated the background and wooden base.  The colors I used for the background were naples yellow, cobalt blue and titanium white.  Then I filled in the wooden base by painting the fall of light from dark to light, I stated the general colors not worrying about putting in details at this stage.  The only thing I'm wanting to paint is the transition of values and keeping the edges soft.

Once the big form modeling is complete I state the smaller forms starting with the darker to middle values.  The colors I used were ivory black, raw umber and burnt sienna.  Then I stated the lighter values  with titanium white, yellow ochre, and naples yellow.  It's important to understand that the smaller forms would not work properly if the bigger form modeling wasn't done right.  Big form modeling is I believe more important than smaller form modeling, it creates the stage for the smaller forms to work with the overall values.  

Once the base is complete I start with the first chestnut crab apple and work on big form modeling.  I state the general colors while I'm doing big form modeling, again I'm not worried about adding the details just how the light and colors wrap around the form.  Once the big form modeling is complete I start with the smaller forms and state the darker to middle values first.  The colors I used were cad. yellow light, raw umber, ivory black, and cad.red light.

Then I state the lighter values with the smaller forms by using cad.yellow light, naples yellow and titanium white.  Once the first chestnut crab apple is complete I start on the second one and repeat the same process as I did with the first.  The colors I use are cad.red light, ivory black, raw umber and cad.yellow light.

Once the big form modeling is complete I start with the smaller forms.

Again repeating the process with the third crab apple after the second one is complete, I'm also using the same colors.

Once the third crab apple is complete I state the stems all at the same time.  When doing this I can see the painting come together and also how much more character it gives the crab apples.  I'm really glad I went back and worked on big and smaller form modeling.  Sometimes I forget how important it is, it's always good to just slow down and evaluate what's working for you'r painting and what isn't.  I find more success in trying to achieve what I want to paint when following this process.  I hope you enjoyed this painting, thanks for stopping and viewing. 

"Chestnut Crab Apples"

Click here to purchase this painting at my Etsy shop

"Chestnut Crab Apples"

8 x 10 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

Crab apples are neat looking to me they seem to be a mini version of an apple.  Their textures are not shiny and smooth as a regular apple, but do have to overall shape to them.  What also attracted me to paint these guys where their stems, I found for the majority of them to have so much character.  They have a gestural feel to them which to I really enjoy painting, although the stem is not the majority part of this painting it does have a secondary role to it.  Textures to me are important in a painting they definitely make the object you'r painting come to life.  To understand how to paint texture is extremely important in order to advance as a painter.
I also wanted to mention that a good friend of mine told me about her having issues leaving comments on my blog.  She gave me instructions on how to fix it which I did and it should be working now with no problems.  I apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for continuing to visit my blog! 

I started with the drawing stage which unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of, but I used a bit of raw umber on the brush and no mediums.  After the drawing is complete I stated the background and the general colors of the crab apples.  The colors I used for the background were cobalt blue, naples yellow and titanium white.  For the crab apples I used naples yellow, and cad.red light.  Then I start on the first crab apple by concentrating on turning the form or big form modeling, not worrying about details just how the light wraps around the form.  The colors I used in this stage were raw umber, cad.yellow light and cad.red light.

Then I went back into the darker values and stated their specific forms, in order for that to work the big form has to be correct.  I did the same with the lighter values, stating their specific forms to work with the surrounding values.  When done without the first crab apple I repeated the same process with the second one.  I also stated the cast shadows which are important since the darkest values affect the overall tone of the crab apple.

Then I stated the lighter values with their specific forms and took the second crab apple to a finish.  As you can see with previous pictures I've begun to state the stems, just giving a hint of where they'll be placed.  After the second crab apple is complete I start on the third one and repeat the process.  I also use the same colors as I did with the first crab apple.

Once the third crab apple is complete I state the overall color of the wooden base and after I start on the darker values with their specific forms.  The colors I used in this stage were raw umber, ivory black, and cad. orange.  

Then I stated the lighter values with their specific forms by using titanium white, cobalt blue, naples yellow and burnt sienna.  In order for the lighter values to have worked with the overall tone in the wooden base the big form modeling had to be correct.  In order for the details or small form modeling to work the big form modeling has to be correct.  Essentially your big form modeling is setting the stage for the finer details, its imperative to get this stage right for the small form modeling to work.  When painting intricate details such as these crab apples it can be challenging to get the big and small form modeling right, it may take a while which is just fine as long as you understand the process and know that it works.  I hope you learned and enjoyed this one, thanks for stopping by.