Summer 2019 Pastel Class

Pastel Project: Apple Turnover Revised Week 2

This week I finished under painting my apples. The red apples were 2 values of red: and alizarin crimson which is a dark, purplish red and a medium cad red color as well as an indigo blue which is a dark gray/blue, if you have it otherwise use the darkest blue you have. The indigo is a color I use a lot in my shadows so you might want to add the color to your collection when you are shopping for supplies.

The green apples were 3 values (dark, medium and light) of green. I have a very dark blue/green, a medium yellowish green and a light yellowish green plus the indigo in the darkest shadows.

On both the red and green apples, I first laid down my colors then blended with my fingers starting in the light area and working to the dark, following the shape of the apple. Look at your reference photo to see where the light and dark values are and the different shapes of the apples.

Remember that this is just the under painting. once we get all the under painting complete we will start the detail, this is just the start, not the finish.

Next I wanted to under paint the table. I need to get the table in before I finish my apples so the apples look like they are sitting on the table. However, I really am not fond of the light gold table the apples are sitting on so I am going to use my artistic license and create a more rustic looking table like a old redwood type table. That is why it is called a "reference" photo: You just use it for reference for color or design or lighting but you are not enslaved into following the photo to perfection, you have the right, as an artist, to change whatever you want to make it into your vision. 

I take lots of photos of very strange things just so I have other reference photos when I wan't to change things and need so study to get the look I am going for such as these images I took of an old bench I had before it fell apart. While I want a warmer color than the silver gray, I want that rough and worn look of the wood.

 

I used 3 different colors of a warm brown to start my table top. The first layer was a dark, reddish brown almost a dark brick color. That color I filled in the table top pretty solid. Next, I used a similar color but it was several shades lighter in value and streaked it on rather than going over the whole thing again. Last, I used a very light warm red again streaking it on so I have 3 values of color showing. I was also adding these colors very horizontal to the table looked flat. Your strokes and the way you blend matter in creating the ting you are painting.

I then lightly blended these colors together with my fingers again following the grain of the wood. This blending also fills in the areas that the chalk might have missed as you were laying it on.

Be careful as you blend around the  apples mostly so you don't lose your shapes. My white chalk lines are still visible at this point but will disappear in the coming weeks.

This is where I left off in class. Next time I will be working some more on the table and adding the background bushes and at that point our under painting will be done and the detail begins.

so keep painting and I will see you in class.