Learning to See

Inspiration and practical advice for aspiring realist artists

Copper Apples

By: 32 Comments

Copper Apples, Oil on Panel 5 x 7 inches

This little painting is up for auction until 9PM UK time on Thursday 27th September.

Click here to bid.

These apples came from our local farmers market. Every Friday and Saturday in Stroud, there is a market that has rightly become known as one of the biggest, busiest and best in the UK. It’s certainly busy!

Last week I happened on a stall that sold only apples and apple juice. They were a little surprised that I was rooting through their boxes of apples picking ones that looked less-than-perfect. I had to explain that I was looking for ones that I wanted to paint. And that I wanted them with the leaves on.

A long conversation about apple varieties ensued. Apparently they’ve had an artist paint some of their apples before, although the stall owners didn’t feel that the artist in question had quite caught the character of the apples.

I wonder what they’ll think of mine! I guess I’ll find out, since they’ve promised to put some by for me with the leaves still on, and some still on the branch.

Colour Notes

The interesting thing about painting variegated things like these apples is that you have to handle the light and shadow for (at least) two different colours.

So before I started painting them, I mixed up colours that went from the light to shadow for both the coppery-green (two versions for this, since the two apples were slightly different colours, and I like to catch those differences if I can) and the red. It greatly simplifies the painting process if you can get this stage right.

I call these colours modelling strings, and I use Munsell to get them as close as I can to what I’m seeing. That also allows me to make sure that the way the values and the chroma changes across the form makes sense – that it’s going to help to create the feeling of the form.

Medium

I also experimented more with a new medium I’ve just started using from Rublev – their Balsam Essential Oil medium. I’m absolutely in love with it, and not just for the way it makes the studio smell.

The spike oil in it (which comes from lavender) does have a lovely smell, but what I like most about this medium is that it’s quite fast-drying. What I like second-most is that it allows for nice smooth, flat blending.

I used it most in the background. After the underpainting, I rubbed a very thin layer onto the panel and then painted into it. It stays open and workable for most of a day, but is then touch-dry the next day. Best of all, it gives the paint a satin sheen and seems to stop sinking in.

I’ll report more on it as I use it more. So far I love it.

Here’s a few WIP shots – if you’ve got any questions about the set up (or anything else) just leave a comment.

Best wishes and thanks for reading,

Paul

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Comments

  1. 1

    I used to paint with a Balsam medium. It is close to perfect. Even though George sells it, I question its durability over time. This is wonderful study, Paul.

    Reply
    • 2

      Thank you Graydon! I’m surprised to hear you say that about durability though since I think of George as both knowledgeable and having great personal integrity.

      Have you seen some ill effects from it?

      Reply
  2. 4

    While I don’t know what variety those apples are, the coloration is similar to my favorite, the Honeycrisp. I have two trees in my yard, if only they can survive repeated blights and the ravenous grey squirrels (one little guy ate dozens of apples this year!).

    Reply
  4. 8

    Oh, this is just lovely Paul! You’ve done it again!!! The red apples got me excited they were so brilliant; these say calm and I love them just as much!!

    I am taking a small hiatus from painting this fall and practicing some drawing. I think it will speed up my painting, which I would really like to do! Also teaching again, but re-thinking that again too. I need some time for me, but I gave into the shop owner who wants me to teach. Think I will definitely say no after this class. I do have a 13 year old studying with me privately and she is a lovely artist. Because of her young age, her drawings (portraiture) are very good, but in need of a lot of VALUE work and proper drawing techniques, so I am concentrating on that with her right now. She’s still working in pencil and I would like to see her get into painting if she is willing. I’m finding this exciting!!

    Fall is here in Canada and we are getting very cool weather and rain this week. Very disheartening as it’s curtailed our golfing. It was soooo hot this summer that we couldn’t golf very often, so this hasn’t helped either. The weather is changing so much, and it’s scary, don’t you think? Definitely global warming!!

    Can’t wait for your next painting…keep them coming Paul.

    Reply
    • 9

      I recently tried to speed up my painting and, as usually happens when I attempt to do that, I become uncomfortable and return to working slowly! I really wish I could paint faster but it just seems to go against my temperament. Maybe you’re the same?

      I think you’re teaching her correctly, for what it’s worth you can never have too much drawing and value practice! (Which reminds me, I need to do some value practice myself – I have an idea for a fiendish exercise with spheres 🙂 )

      Reply
    • 11

      Thank you Pia! I never know how quickly they will sell, but the auction doesn’t close till Thursday night anyway 🙂

      Reply
    • 15

      That would be great! I like the coffee in the Star Anise 🙂 Give me a shout next time you’re going – I need to get some more titanium white myself soon!

      Reply
    • 17

      Thanks Ken. It’s not a photo, I paint always from life. It may appear so because I have a black foam board viewfinder between me and the subject.

      I grid the canvas on the fly as I go, if that makes sense. Part of the drawing out I do by eye, but I check rough positions against the vertical and horizontal middle of the panel – that’s generally enough for me these days. I did used to grid the panel too more carefully though.

      Reply
      • 20

        As a participant in Belfast – I think it went really well. I hope you think so too Paul. I’m back in the desert as of today and intend to sit down and really look at my notes. Love the last 2 studies x x

        Reply
        • 21

          I do, I was a bit surprised how well tbh 🙂

          Just get in touch if you’ve got any questions about anything when you’re going through your notes.

          Reply
  12. 26

    Nice work, Paul! My favorite part are the leaves. In my own work I have been struggling on getting a green color for leaves that is not too high-chroma-bright, and trying to get a “dirtier” more natural color. Would you recommend something like sap green with a little ochre. At the moment I have chrome-oxide green and viridian, but think I need to get some sap green.

    Keep them coming.

    Reply
    • 27

      Thanks Michael!

      I’m afraid I can’t really give you recipes because it all depends on your subject. But also, it’s much, much more useful to use an approach that will let you get to the colours you need, an approach that you can re-use whatever you’re painting. The thought of memorising mixing recipes for everything is terrifying!

      Here;s what I would do: First, learn to mix colour accurately using bracketing. These video will help you:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPDmhcKZhjU

      https://vimeo.com/212231348

      Then get hold of some actual leaves, and match the colours exactly, using this method:

      https://vimeo.com/148070602

      Quite honestly, that will teach you everything you need to know about mixing greens – and most of what you need to know about colour mixing full stop!

      Two things you’re probably getting wrong with your leaf colours:

      1. The greens will be too far towards blue. They will be so yellow as to be almost brown. The viridian especially is way too blue for most leaves.

      2. You probably have the chroma too high. Leaves are closer to a near neutral brown than anything else.

      so I’d advise you to stop thinking about greens, and practice matching some local colours of leaves as closely as you possibly can. I think you’ll be surprised by how close to neutral they generally are!

      Hope this helps. Just email me if you have any questions about any of that – you have my email address?

      Reply
  13. 28

    FANTASTIC! I love this one! I am also loving my course from you. You are such a thorough and thoughtful teacher. I’m so glad I found you. Please know you are a great gift to the art world and all those you interact with.

    Reply
    • 31

      Thanks Lynn 🙂 Not everyone paints by pre-mixing of course, and it’s perfectly possible to paint well without doing it, but I do feel it helps me organise the colours more so that they make sense, and I’m left guessing much less. Once it comes to actually painting, if the majority of the colours you need are mixed, you can just concentrate on the painting itself, how you want to handle the paint, the effect you want – it makes things go much more smoothly I think.

      Reply
  15. 32

    Thanks so much for your advice, and for the wonderful links! Yes, you are quite right—it is a matter spending time at the easel, and applying the color-matching exercises that I am learning with your help—not using a fixed formula for a specific situation. I look forward to viewing the material you have sent over the next few days.

    Thank you very much for sharing with me and being such a great teacher!

    Reply

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