Radish Still Life Demo

I promised my classes I would post my process of the radish painting so here it is! 

The reason I think it's important to see where a painting like this starts is to understand that there is structure underlying all the fresh paint and notes of color.

It can be somewhat overwhelming at first glance when you first step up to the easel and see all the color in something like these radishes, not to mention the fact that the foliage starts wilting the second the light hits them. . . . I start by drawing my shapes, then separating lights and darks in the masses, ignoring all the reflected light within the radishes 'till later.  Getting the darks established right away freezes the light effect, even when the leaves decide to melt!

At this point my leaves were down but I had my darks in so I was ok. I then get all my lights covered, keeping them warmer since they were in a warm light. I was mostly concerned with my averages. Not caring too much about the subtleties within the masses at this point with the exception of a few prominent plane changes.

At this point in the painting I'm refining drawing and noting plane changes in each form not forgetting that each radish is a form but just as important the entire bundle is a form as well.  It has it's own comings and goings to it's shape.  Always think of serving the whole and try not to get too caught up in breaking up the 'stuff' within a mass.  In a painting like this working from life, I like to keep my strokes clean and fresh to emphasize all the beauty in color.  It's all about color temperature relationship to see the color.  Also, keep lights in light and darks in dark, it's crucial to keep your light effect! 

To see the final painting, scroll down to last week's Radish post.  Hope that was helpful and happy painting!