"Bananas #2" Oil Painting Progression Video

You can also click here to watch the video.

Bananas #2

There are all kinds of strategies artists use when executing a painting. Some work the whole painting at once. Some will work background to foreground. Some will work outward from the main subject and any variation in-between. Some like to start with tightly rendered drawings while others sculpt form with the paint as if carving a lump of clay. I personally like to exercise many approaches so I don’t become too systematic.

Other considerations come into play depending on the medium being used. For example: watercolor artists tend to work light colors/values to dark colors/values in a painting. Oil painters recommend the opposite; painting thinner dark colors to thicker light colors. Acrylic painters have more options by working as thin and transparent as watercolor or as thick as oil paint.

I used oil for this painting however; I didn’t really stick to the “dark to light” approach of oil. After a loose drawing for placement I started with my yellow (light value) subject. Then, I established the red fabric in light before moving to the bigger red fabric in shadow. I was able to work this way in oil because I worked my color and value changes side by side just like putting puzzle pieces of color together. If I tried applying a darker color directly over a lighter one I would have run into trouble.

Medium: Artists quality oil.
Painted on: Ampersand Gessobord.
Dimensions: 5x7 inches.

Amity

These two Comice Pears are of a complementary color scheme: red and green. I used Permanent Alizarin as my primary red. Permanent Alizarin is considered a cool red because it leans toward blue on the color wheel. To keep the green in harmony with the red I used a blue/green mixture of Ultramarine Blue and a small amount of Cadmium Yellow Light.

Medium: Artist quality oil.
Painted on: Ampersand Gessobord.
Dimensions: 5x5 inches.

Standing Guard - SOLD

I was thinking about how some animals seem to take turns at standing guard as the other one sleeps or is too distracted while eating. I see this with the ducks that visit our pond and the deer that have made the backyard home.

Medium: Artist quality oil.
Painted on: Ampersand Gessobord.
Dimensions: 5x5 inches.

"Apple Half" Oil Painting Progression Video

I shot photo stills as I was painting my last blog post “Apple Half” and made them into a brief instructional youtube video. Click the image above or  click here to watch the moive on youtube.

Apple Half - SOLD

I’ve painted a few apples before; whole to partially eaten. They’re always fun to paint. How did I get this apple to stand perfectly upright? I used a toothpick as a makeshift "apple kickstand".

Medium: Artist quality oil.
Painted on: Ampersand Gessobord.
Dimensions: 5x5 inches.

Lemon Half 2 - SOLD

To create the reflection of the lemon on the tabletop, I simply “wiped-out” paint with a soft paper towel.

Medium: Artist Quality Oil.
Painted on: Ampersand Gessobord.
Dimensions: 5x5 inches.