oil lesson 2- still life, direct painting/alla prima

technique: softening contours using high key colours of bright primaries red/yellow/blue in one session, mixing colors on the brush

step 1

I first position the apples whereby the best shades of reds/contours of light and dark are well reflected

step 2

then as in first lesson squeeze the yellow , red and white paints out generously with the blue very sparingly and place them onto different portions of the palette, taking care not to mix

step 3

today, we were to try painting the bright colors of the apples directly onto the canvas without blending on the palette,

wow, by painting the yellows reds loosely mixed on the brush , they do seem to work both separately and together in the stroke to make the color more alive

step 4

We had to step back now and then to view from a distance whether the strokes mimic the contours of the apples. At first I didnt appreciate painting in curvy strokes but after awhile, yea I do agree that this way, using different tonal values, from a distance the apple can appear 3 dimensional

As in lesson one, we use white paint to represent the light reflections.

I have since learnt that white should be applied in one stroke and then blend keeping care to wipe the brush clean after each and every stroke. This way, then the color is not muddied.

Alternatively, I made sure that a particular area that has light reflection is totally left unpainted with any other color except zinc white and then while the paint is still white I try to blend the white towards the color and not the other way round ….

step 5

to get a uniform grey color to use as shadows, mix red/yellow/blue together on palette until blended , then the shades can be dark to lighter by varying the thickness of the stroke or by adding more white to get paler grey

step 6

lastly for the background, we could apply white color generously direct from the tube onto the canvas and blend with clean dry brush to finish the entire background

step 7

I cant wait to see how the glaze will be done after 4th lessons~

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Hee hee, I am quite happy with my outcome of the apples even though hubby, my #1 fan laughed and pronounced that my apples look more like red capsicums…hahaha.

well, I just told hubby what Ms Shia taught me …..it helps to step further back and view the painting from a distance.

I also "cheated" and told hubby that he had to view my apples with one eye closed.

After that he said Yea yea yea and nodded more enthusiastically!

He agreed that at a distance and with only one good eye vs 2 good eyes….my red apples do look more like apples. Kakakaka!

Hope you have as much fun viewing too.

Any suggestions, feel free to text me please~ don't worry I am a big girl and can handle any comments :)))))