Tag: apples

Apples and Oranges 2 still life in soft pastel

Published on by kmgunnart9 Comments

After the first still life art in watercolor, I decided day two simply needed to be in soft pastel. Not only because I haven’t recently played with my “dusties,” as I call them, but I also bought a sample pad of Clairefontaine’s Pastelmat, an expensive but highly recommended paper for soft pastels and pastel pencils. I figure an art challenge is a good excuse to try something new, so the apples, oranges, and bowl still life composition needed to be worked up in dusty pastel.

Apples and Oranges 2 still life art in soft pastel
Apples and Oranges 2, still life in soft pastel shown framed and hanging above a kitchen table

Selecting my reference photo

Once again, I looked through the set of photos I took back in October of 2021 for the right one to use as a reference. I almost didn’t pick this one, as I wasn’t sure at first how well the composition would work with the fruit mostly in a line like this. In the end I figured, “Why not?” This is for an art challenge and that is permission to try things that seem uncertain. So here is the cropped version of my reference photo, featuring the apples, oranges, and bowl mostly in a line.

reference photo of fruit for still life on my kitchen table - focus is a bonus when it comes to and photos!
my reference photo of a line of fruit including the white bowl on my kitchen table

Once again, I consider focus to be a bonus feature, and not a requirement. I am most interested in the shapes and shadows for a reference photo of familiar objects. (We got very familiar with these subjects when we ate them!)

Working the still life in soft pastels

I did my basic sketch directly onto the sheet of Pastelmat, as I know I am able to cover up the light graphite lines with the dusties. Soft pastel in particular tends to be quite opaque, so I felt confident as I sketched in the main shapes after lightly gridding the sheet. I had decided before starting that I would “edit” out the background of the photo in favor of more stylized colors behind the apples and oranges. In fact, I also planned to omit the towel and pepper grinder as well, choosing to focus only on the fruit.

First the oranges

I worked on both oranges first, mostly because I knew I would need to turn the mat this way and that to keep from accidently smudging the soft pastel. Actually, I started with a reddish tone they call sienna, not wanting to deal with trying to completely cover a stark white sheet. I used my Mungyo Gallery soft pastels for the blocking in, and even for the shading. My intention had been to use my Stabilo CarbOthello pastel pencils to add in details at the end, which turned out to be barely needed as the Mungyo set worked wonderfully with the Pastelmat.

The three apples in the bowl

Since I had made the previous day’s apples straight red instead of the variegated red and green they actually were, I decided to keep that for this version of the still life series so they look like a cohesive set of pictures. As I worked the color into first shapes then forms, I found myself enjoying the process of laying down dry pigment onto the expensive heavy paper. By the time I had the apples in the bowl looking like red apples in a white bowl, I made the decision that I will only be buying Pastelmat for my soft pastel paintings and drawings going forward.

Coloring the table for the fruit and the background to complement the colors

I had no intention of leaving these apples and oranges to float in a colorful ether, so after I was satisfied with the fruit it was time to color in a table for it all the set on top. A couple broad strokes in brown accomplished the illusion of a table with shadows. I then turned my attention to the background. Getting the background color right was actually a critical component of how successful this composition would be! I needed just the right combination of blue and green, blended just enough to be harmonious but still dynamic enough to stay interesting. It is a fine line, but I think I am getting more familiar with where that line is on each piece.

Apples and Oranges 2, second in a series of still life paintings featuring fruit in a bowl, soft pastel on Pastelmat, 24 by 30 cm
Apples and Oranges 2, soft pastel on Pastelmat paper, 24 by 30 cm $100 USD

Links to purchase original artwork and prints

Now for the part y’all have been waiting for: links to buy. The original is on paper made in Europe, which means they measure in centimeters, so if you purchase the 24 by 30 cm pastel piece you will need to have it custom matted to fit standard US frames. The long side is 11 -7/8 inches, while the short side is 9-7/16 inches, so neither measurement will work for a 9×12 inch frame or mat. It’s worth it though! The Pastelmat holds the dry pigment surprisingly well. Seriously, I’ve been playing with pastels off and on since I was seven, and this stuff is the best I’ve ever worked on in over forty years of making dusty, colorful messes.

For art prints, I recommend my Pixels shop. There is a good variety of surface to choose from, and you can get it matted and framed as well if you like. Shipping might seem a bit steep, but the quality of product is high.

If you prefer to wear your art like my mother and sister love to do, then I recommend my shop at RedBubble for the wide variety of apparel styles. I’m also partial to the analog face clocks, even though I definitely do NOT have enough wall space to hang even half of the ones I like. The struggle is real.

Apples and Oranges 2 as an analog clock
Apples and Oranges 2 as a clock

And this concludes the second in my short series of fruit in a bowl for the three work art challenge. If anyone thinks my method of naming to be boringly bland, you have permission to rename it if you purchase the original. Meanwhile, I’ll continue to refer to this still life in soft pastel as simply Apples and Oranges 2.

And with that, I wish everyone a happy new year, and I’ll be back in 2023!

Watercolor still life painting Apples and Oranges 1

Published on by kmgunnart10 Comments

So, I signed up to participate in a short three day art challenge solstice week with the theme of fruit in a bowl. Not even a full second had passed when I already knew what the first artwork would be: a watercolor still life painting using the reference photos from last year that inspired my Apples sketches and acrylic paintings. This time, though, I would only use photos with apples and oranges together in the frame. The bowl requirement excluded a handful of photos, but there was still plenty to choose from.

image of large art print of my watercolor still life Apples and Oranges 1 hanging on a wall over a set dining table
the final watercolor still life painting printed and framed in a mockup – wouldn’t this look lovely over your table?

Choosing the reference photo

Armed with the parameters of the specific theme for this art challenge, I began browsing my collection of photos taken on my own kitchen table with fruit chosen for its appearance. Yes, I actually went grocery shopping for fruit (and some vegetables) for the purpose of getting myself some reference photos that had the layout and lighting to draw and paint. As most of y’all know, I am blogging buddies with a handful of fine art photographers, and my hundred-or-so photos would probably make each of them cringe. I do not claim to be a photog, but sometimes I can get a snapshot that will make a decent painting reference. Focus tends to be a bonus, not a hard requirement. Here is the photo I chose for the first painting.

reference photo for my watercolor painting, a still life with fruit
cropped to how I wanted the fruit to fill the page

The preliminary sketch done in the sketchbook

I have learned from experience to do my gridding and layout in my sketchbook, not on my watercolor paper. Once I am happy with the general line drawing, I transfer it to my watercolor paper with graphite transfer paper. Then I take a kneaded eraser to clean up the lines and lift up any smudges from resting my hand on it.

contour drawing for the basic layout of Apples and Oranges 1, a still life watercolor painting with fruit in a bowl for the art challenge
the preliminary sketch for Apples and Oranges still life with fruit

This is where the progress photos stop, because once I picked out which paints I wanted to use, I got into the art zone and was only thinking about how I would apply the paint to paper. It took more layers than I expected, because apparently QoR brand watercolor paints have a color shift when they dry. I did do almost the entire painting with my newer QoR set, though I needed to pull out the burnt umber from my Turner set because I had evidently forgotten to make sure I had a nice strong dark brown tube when I purchased the colors last time. I’ll need to fix that with my next art supply splurge, maybe in January.

The finished still life in watercolor

I painted this fruit still life (with a bowl) on my 9 by 12 inch watercolor block, which means I did not need to tape a sheet of loose paper to a board. That means the paint goes all the way out to the edges, which is now my preference. I have not sealed it yet, because I am still debating if I should add another layer of pigment to the front apples and orange or not. If you want to purchase the original watercolor still life painting, you can make that decision for me.

Apples and Oranges 1, still life painting in watercolor on paper, 9 x 12 inches
Apples and Oranges 1, 9 x 12 inch watercolor still life on paper, original for sale $100

If you want a larger version, you can order a fine art print all the way up to 60 by 45 inches (before matting and framing) from my Pixels shop. That’s almost as tall as I am on the long side! Or, if you prefer your art printed on apparel or useful accessories for you and your home, check into the swag at my RedBubble shop. Finally, if this one is “close but not quite” for you, you can always commission a slightly different piece. I have a 12 by 16 inch watercolor block now.

Stay tuned here for the second piece in this series, which will not be in watercolor, but will still be named “Apples and Oranges.” Or put in an email address so you can have the next post delivered to your inbox. I don’t seem to be able to keep a regular schedule for publishing new blog posts, so that’s probably the best way to keep up.

Apples 3 in Charcoal

Published on by kmgunnart5 Comments

I am still on my charcoal drawing kick, and still enjoying both process and results. Today, I finally finished up a simple (not the same as easy though) still life of a pair of apples, which is one of the tutorials I bought last month though I took the reference photo and made a different crop, which results in a different finished piece. (Y’all may recall I enjoy using apples as a still life subject.)

I actually started this late last week, but decided I wanted to take my time and see how well I liked the end product. The answer is, “I like it.”

Apples 3, 12 by 9 inch charcoal, in sketchbook

Since this started out as an exercise in my bedraggled, almost-but-not-quite-full sketchbook, I cannot offer the original for purchase, although I would be happy to redo it on better paper that doesn’t have two corners curling up. I did scan and upload it to my Pixels store, so print are available all the way up to 60 by 45 inches. Have I mentioned recently how much I love my scanner that I bought with stimulus money the other year?

The charcoal drawing I did prior to Apples 3 is not as impressive. It’s another study for portraiture, and also in my sketchbook and not available for purchase. Here I was focusing on the nose and mouth of a face. The reference photo seemed a little off to my eye, and my drawing seemed to bring that out. Oddly, I still like it enough to share here.

Nose and mouth study, 9 by 12 inches, charcoal, in sketchbook

I still need a bit more practice before I can claim to be able to do portraits of people, but in all honesty I have drawn worse than this. If nothing else, this is a marker on my journey to draw and paint people.

Still life drawings with charcoal and graphite

Published on by kmgunnart4 Comments

I’ve been doing some art this month, though I just didn’t get around to loading up the blog until this morning. It started the way it often starts for me – with an art challenge. While folks are doing the Big One, one a day for 335 days out of the year’s 365 days, I knew I would not be able to keep it up once the goats kidded and I must bottle feed every two to three hours during the first week. Bottle feeding goat kids is my annual spring joy. So, while sitting out the Big One, I jumped on a shorter seven day challenge with the theme “from the kitchen.” I would love to get a nice long series of drawings and paintings featuring the kitchen and cooking motifs, and I have a LOT of reference photos from October when I spent over an hour taking photos of produce on my table, so I was in on the shorter challenge.

One good photograph out of over a hundred

I made it through day four before I just had a bad day and dropped out on the fifth day of the challenge. Sometimes I just feel too poorly to even draw, and I was out of photos from that set that could count as an honest entry … which is to say I used my second photo from over a hundred. For me, that is an excellent success rate, and here is the one I used:

digital photo of an orange in still life arrangement
Orange 1, digital photo from still life series

This was actually sort-of an accidental photo, as I had set the digital camera on the table to change the towel in the background, then noticed before picking it back up that the image in the viewscreen had really nice composition. The other good one from that photo shoot has an apple that sits off to the left and was used as the reference for my apples paintings in November. While the idea of someone wanting a photograph I took tends to really puzzle me, I do have prints and stuff at my Pixels site featuring this. This was the first day of the challenge.

Probably my last graphite drawing

For the second day, I used an apples photo from the same shoot, but one that is noticeably out of focus – but that isn’t a big deal on an object that is both familiar and simple. I did this in graphite on my Strathmore 500 series charcoal paper, and once finished, I decided I am now certain I don’t like graphite as a medium anymore. The drawing is not bad, I just dislike the grey instead of black, and really dislike the shininess of graphite that becomes obvious the darker you attempt to make your shadows. Prints are available at my Pixels site, and the original is for sale and can be purchased through Daily PaintWorks or by contacting me directly.

graphite drawing of apples in a bowl
sketch for Apples 2, graphite on laid paper, 12 by 9 inches, available $80 USD

Still life drawing in charcoal

For day three, I went back to my dog-eared sketchbook, and also back to working in charcoal instead of graphite, and also back to that collection of photos for this drawing of a bowl full of citrus fruit: a total of two oranges, one lemon, and two limes, one inside the bowl and the other sitting in front of it. I was pleased with how it turned out … until I noticed the right side of the bowl droops down. Oops! Aside from that, it turned out nicely, but once I saw that I could not unsee it. It was good practice though, and if anyone wants, prints are available on my Pixels site. The original will stay in my sketchbook though.

charcoal still life sketch of citrus in and in front of a bowl
Citrus Bowl sketch, charcoal 12 by 9 inches, prints available

The orange composition in charcoal

For the fourth day of the challenge, I returned to the orange reference photo, and worked it up in charcoal on the Strathmore charcoal paper, and uploaded this:

charcoal sketch of an orange in front of a bowl and towel
Orange 1 sketch, prints available

While not a shabby result for a good three hours’ sketching, I did go back and work on it some more. The not-quite-finished version does currently have prints available, although I will likely change that at some point. I think the final version is an improvement, and the original of it is available through Daily PaintWorks, or by contacting me directly. Here is how it looks now that I went over it again.

finished drawing of the still life orange
Orange 1 (final), 12 by 9 inches, charcoal on laid paper, original $100 USD

My intention to finish the challenge up was to go back to each of the three images and paint them in acrylic, and I do still intend to make that happen. Right now though I seem to keep reaching for my charcoal and paper, and so I am just rolling with it. I should probably break here, and continue tomorrow or so for the rest of it, for there is definitely more to post.

Red Apples 1 still life paintings

Published on by kmgunnart6 Comments

The theme for the 30 day art challenge running the entirety of November is red, so I started off with an obvious choice: an apple still life. It is a classic in art because it is simple yet elegant. For my first attempt, I did a trio of honeycrisp apples, but had difficulty nailing down the gold-green of the variegated skin. This trio was also my third painting for the 3 day three themed challenge, and while it does look interesting, it just was not what I wanted to paint. I did upload it to my Pixels store, and input a few prints of it, but until today was not sure what to do with the original. It has kind of grown on me, I guess. Anywho, this is the opportunity to test out Daily PaintWorks’ auction feature. Interested? Bid here.

acrylic sketch of three Honeycrisp apples in a white bowl on my table
Apples sketch, 12 by 9 inch acrylic on paper

Since my first attempt wasn’t what I was trying to paint, I did a second painting of these apples, flipping/reversing the photo to just be different, because sometimes that results in a better piece. I am quite pleased with this result: it is bright and colorful.

acrylic painting of apple trio, this time in solid red for the apple skin
Red Apples 1, 12 by 9 inch acrylic on paper

Ah yes, this has a bolder feel to it. In fact, it is almost Christmas-y in the bold reds with the green of the background. The original is listed at Daily PaintWorks, while both smaller and larger prints are at my Pixels store. For this image printed on various apparel, check out the listing on my RedBubble page here.

I think this covers all of this episode of apples as still life subjects, for now. I will be revisiting these reference photos – even after we eat the final apple.

For more apples-themed artwork, check out my charcoal drawings of this trio and also another pair of apples.