Today I made more small corrections to the painting, adding highlights, a little more glazing with the raw sienna and the chromium green oxide, changing the stems on some of the figs to create visual movement, and painting out the fig on the far right.  

Here you can compare the two compositions, the painting with the fig on the far right and the painting as it now looks without that fig.  It is a much better composition now.  That particular fig created too much weight on the right side of the canvas.  Without it there, the painting is more balanced.  So that is it!  I will paint the sides of the canvas, sign the front of the painting, write the date, title and my name on the back on the stretcher bars, add a wire for hanging, and then it is completely done.  By the way, I never used the yellow orange azo.

Nine Figs on a Board

At this point in the painting I make small corrections while 'living' with it and having the opportunity to critique what is already there.  I have added highlights to the figs and changed the top of one of the figs.  

I just glazed some areas of the figs with raw sienna.  Glazing is a technique that allows you to add a hint of transparent color by watering down the paint so that it is barely there.   I use my fingers for this process so I can rub the glaze onto the area with close control, adding and removing quickly until I achieve the amount of color I desire.

You can see the raw sienna glaze fairly clearly on the  left side of the fourth fig from the right.  Each fig has some of the glaze.  Click on the photo to enlarge, and take a look at the transparent color.

What a beautiful day today.  I had to force myself to stay inside to work on the painting, but once I got started I was 'lost' to the process of painting and time flew by.  Dipping the brush into the paint, applying the paint to canvas, watching the evolution of the painting becomes completely entertaining.  It is the act of painting, the process that is rewarding.


While standing in front of the easel today, I began to paint in the board on which the figs sit.  Using raw umber, raw sienna, phthalo blue and touches of white the board began to take form.

And when I was done with this, I headed out the door to enjoy this gorgeous day knowing that when I return to the easel I will be refining and adding detail.

I started painting the figs, and because they are sitting out in my studio getting softer by the minute, I decided to get all of them onto the canvas at once. They will need to be eaten immediately or become additions to the circular file.   More work will be done on the figs eventually (notice how they look a bit dull and lifeless), but here are a few photos showing how I painted from right to left, working towards the light, and how I shaped the figs with some shadows and deep to lighter tones.  If you click on the photos, they will increase in size and you can see the colors in the figs a bit better.  Just remember, you are seeing a painting come together, step by step, and this painting is in process.....

These are Brown Turkey figs, hence the deep purple tones I am using in this painting.   Some of us adore their shape, color and taste.  Others, I am told, cannot stand this luscious fruit.

I have selected the palatte of hues to be used in this painting, based on the figs in front of me and the colors I see in them:  Yellow orange aso, raw sienna, raw umber, naphthol crimson, phthalo blue, chromium green oxide, titanium white.  I snapped a photo of the paints after I put them into the container from which I paint, so you can see what they look like before they are mixed together on the canvas.  They will all combine into rich tones.

The other photos show the process of  painting in the upper background using three four of the hues.

 

The figs are in my kitchen, so I am 'living' with them and realized that I want the light, in the painting, to stream from the left, so more sketching today after repositioning the figs and changing the direction of the light source.  I have settled on the location for each fig, which will create movement across the canvas and draw the eye.

I also selected the canvas which is 10" x 30" and sketched the composition onto the canvas.  The figs will be located in the right 3/4's, on a board, with light hitting and bouncing off the left side of the board. This will also create a visual movement across the canvas which will lead your eye.

These figs are on the other side of firm, won't last long, so this is a painting that will need to proceed quickly since I want to have them sitting in front of me while I paint.