Long ago one of my pursuits in studying painting was still life studies, usually quite small, many 6x8 on gesso board. Still life gives the artist the luxury of an unchanging subject, especially if the lighting is controlled too. These tiny studies were ways to explore all sorts of things: color, composition, light, and more.
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| "Orange Study," oil on panel, 4x6 |
This particular painting was the result of perhaps an hour's study and painting. I was interested in how to produce a believable orange in oil paint. It's not as easy as it might seem. If you look at the painting you'll see many colors in the surface of the fruit, most of them more yellow than red but many more red than orange. There are many colors, from very dull reds to brighter reds and a range of in between colors. At the brightest spot on the orange we see bright yellows. In the shadowed areas on the left some very dull greens appear. While it's possible to remember and imagine an orange and perhaps even paint one believably, painting one from life is considerably more useful.
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