Using a larger 22 x 28″ canvas, it was important to plan out the composition carefully. This still life plays up a complimentary scheme of orange and blue. What would look nice with a bunch of little orange pumpkins? Blue things, of course. A rustic blue pottery vase, a clay pot, blue hydrangeas and a spool of blue ribbon were the elements that seemed to harmonize. Several set-ups were stirred up and rearranged before arriving at this arrangement. A monochromatic block in was completed first.

I applied a transparent dark wash onto the bare canvas. The monochromatic stage photo in my blog above the wipe outs that established the structure of the painting. This stage was worked over the course of two days while the transparent wash was since workable.

Since this was a studio still life, the painting method used was “indirect.” The indirect method means many thin paint layers of paint were built up over time to achieve a luminous glow that resembles a classical realist look.

Once the painting was at Stage Three, it needed something more. I placed the painting on the floor and positioned a length of fresh bittersweet over the front of an awkward area in the middle of the painting. I liked it how the bittersweet masked the “clumsy” spot in the middle, so I painted it in as a way to unite the two sides of the still life. Over the next few weeks, additional layers were built up warm glow to the lights and blue glow to the shadows.