Pink Peonies and Pears, Painting Lesson, 11" x 14"

So here it is Saturday and I bounced out of bed - well nearly, went for my morning walk and came back eager to finish "Peonies and Pears". Not a very inspired title, I'll admit, but when you do as many of these as I do, it's easy to run out of creative ideas for titles.

The first thing I did was mix a glaze of Maroger Medium and Alizarin Crimsen with a touch of Ultramarine Blue. I used this glaze to create the flower pattern on the vase and to deepen the color on some of the petals. It's important to know that form in such a vase takes care of itself once you add the pattern. The pattern or design actually helps to describe the form of the vase. Next I mixed some other glazes for the vase which consisted of Viridian Green with a bit of umber to tone it down. There is also some blue - Cobalt in the flowers as well as yellow. Then using a liner brush, I accented some of the smaller flowers in the design to heighten the sense of detail in the painting.

I used some Naples Yellow and a touch of white to scumble in highlights on the pears (there's a bit of Sienna too) and then used some Naples Yellow, white and Raw Sienna to scumble in highlights on the satin cloth. Some more of the same mixture was used to heighten the stems of the pears and create the stems on the grapes. Lastly, I added a highlight to the vase. Viola! The finished piece. Second session elapsed time, 45 minutes. Phew. The grapes look a bit purple here. Having some trouble with Photoshop today.

"Peonies and Pears"
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