As of right now I would have to say that a pineapple is the hardest thing I have ever tried to paint. They change colors every day going from bright green to a yellow brown. The mango keeps getting redder which is nice and the coconut will rot overnight if you don't keep it refrigerated....basically, you have to paint FAST.
Step 1. The Drawing: I draw with a brush using a mixture of burnt umber and white. I start with a value just slightly darker than my canvas tone. I usually do three drawings getting slightly darker with each drawing.
Step 2. Make it round: Once I start filling it in with paint, I work from the darks to the lights in strips or bands of value. Everything that turns goes from dark to halftone to light. The first step of painting something round is to.... make it round. If a round object does not look round early, all of the detail in the world will not make it work.
I paint living objects in the order in which they will rot. If I am working on objects that will not rot, I work from the background to the objects closest to me.
I waited on painting the mango because I knew it would get more red as time went on.
At this point the painting felt like it was missing something....It needed more personality so I added some Key Limes.
After I put down the first layer of paint I coat the objects with pure linseed oil and then wipe it down gently with a paper towel. I then paint again into the wet surface. You can get some terrific results with this technique.
At this point the pineapple is unrecognizable but it will still cast the right shadows.
A few finishing touches left....
This painting was part of The International Guild Of Realism Show at the Jones & Terwilliger Gallery in Carmel, CA
