Artists & Illustrators - UK (2021-04)

DEMO

D

uring the lockdown, I am surethatI amnotalone

in finding myself returning toa favouredmotif

within my paintings. Those ofyoufamiliarwithmy

work will know that painting citrus inoneformoranother

is one of the subjects that makes a regularappearance.

During the winter months these fruitsadda splashof

colour to our lives and I like to thinkit doesmuchthe

same within a painting.

The bright hue and varied shapesofthefruit,whichwe

can peel, tear or slice, provides us withsomebeautiful

forms and textures. The addition of adirectionallightcan

assist in creating a mood. It is worthexperimentingwith

top lighting, side light, low light and backlightingtosee

the different feel each one produces.

In this demo I will be sharing with youmyapproachin

rendering these effects. The additionofthesilvercoffee

pot in the set up provides us with a cool,reflectivesurface

that juxtaposes nicely with the roughskinofthecitrus.

I set up close to a window, makinguseofthenatural

northern light. As I am right-handed,I madesurethatthe

light was coming from my left, so thatI wasn’tworkingin

the shadow of my hand. My still life objectswereplaced

within a “shadow box”, which I madefromtwopiecesof

foam board taped together. I placedmyobjectswithinthis

daylit space, moving them about untilI foundan

arrangement that pleased me.

Liz’s materials

•Pastels

A selection of Conté à

Paris, Prismacolor

NuPastels, Unison Colour,

Terry Ludwig and Sennelier

Extra Soft pastels

•Support

Art Spectrum Colourfix

pastel paper taped to

Gatorfoam board,

23x23cm

•Grey Stabilo

CarbOthelloPastel

Pencil

•Blendingtool

•Acrylicpaints(for

underpainting,

optional)

•Pens (forvalue

sketch,optional)

Cool Grey3, CoolGrey 10

and Black,allTombow

ABT DualBrushPens

•Sketchbook

1

I beginbymakinga valuesketch

inmysketchbookusingTombow

brushpens.I usea viewfindertohelp

medeterminethebestformatand

thendrawit usingblackandgrey

pens,whichassistindetermining

valuesforthefinishedpainting.

Next,I turntotheColourfixpaper

andlightlysketchinthestructure

beforepaintingina lightwashof

acrylic.Thisneedstobekeptasa

thinwashsoavoidingfillingthetooth

ofthesupport.Thiswashcouldbe

anopportunitytoexperiment– for

example,byusinga complimentary

colourthatmightshowthroughthe

subsequentpastelandadda

“vibration”tothefinishedpainting.

Likewise,anydripsandsplatters

couldbeleftvisibletoaddinterest.

Allowtheacrylictodrythoroughly

beforecontinuing.

2

Usinga pastelpencil,I drewup

thestructurearoundthedilute

acrylicshapes.I alsouseda blending

toolwhenanareaneededtobe

removedtorework.

I thenpickedoutthepastelsI

thoughtwouldservemewellforthe

demoandgroupedthemasI wouldif

I wereaddingpainttoa palette.

I alwayskeepa varietyofpastels

ofdifferentbrands,sizes,shapesand

degreesofsoftnesstochoosefrom.

I liketoremovethepaperfrommy

pastelsandstorethemaccordingto

hue,saturationandvalue.

Withpastelsselected,I madea

colourstringforthecitrus,thecoffee

potandthebackground,movingfrom

theshadowacrosstothelighton

eachplaneorform.

1

2

VALUE SKETCH

SET-UP