GREENS AND GREENS AGAIN

I wasn't content with my two prior efforts, so gave this another try.

I began by working up some greens from my colors so I could see which ones I wanted to try. I would have liked to go even darker (needed to add more Prussian Blue) to the bottle but I'm not too unhappy with this one. Even did the background. My apple looks a bit mushed on the bottom but not too bad. Limes are hard - a dark color but some dimpling, too...I may have to pick one up at the grocery to have a real subject.

This one's closer to what I wanted so I think I'll move on to the next painting - a little white container, a lime (again, that dreaded lime!), and a pencil against a dark background...

Again, start with a contour drawing from the inside out - not just a silhouette. And what I got from watching him paint this is:

Draw your shadow shapes, connect your objects by overlapping or with shadows. The light is coming from the upper right so this side will have harder edges; the shadow side is the left side so this will have softer, blended edges.

He used only 3 colors (although he wasn't happy with the color of the lime when he finished) to teach more about edges and shapes than getting too into colors right now. He really hated that lime, though, when he was done :)

And what a mess the background looked as he worked it! Running, blossoms, yucky stuff going on...until it was finished and then looked fine. And he did wipe his brush onto his apron (or his sweatshirt), and he dabbed a run that wouldn't stop flowing down from the background to the lime several times (although he tells us NOT to do that EVER).

More to come as I try this one next - think I can get it in three tries?

Again, I'm just on the second DVD and am slowly working my way through the three DVDs in the set - and I do recommend them if you want to loosen up, see things a bit differently, etc. But you won't paint like Charles Reid at the end - who would want to? You want to paint like you, no matter who you study!