Twirling Ribbon and Little Pumpkins

Studio Set Up Little Pumpkins

In late summer, painters sometimes lament that there is just too much bright green in the landscape.   We look for any other color than green and play that color up - to the extent possible anyway.   This year was different;  the lack of rain in New England has had an impact on the look of the landscape and the amount of green.   The tips of the leaves have prematurely turned a dry yellow.  Even the sound of the landscape is dry and "rustling" instead of moist and quiet.  

In the vegetable garden, the watering restriction has affected the amount and size of the tomatoes.  We didn't get too many tomatoes, like most years!

Monochromatic Underpainting

The pumpkin variety I planted seemed to thrive despite the arid conditions.   These pumpkins were not the monster-sized, county fair type pumpkins that require lots of water, but rather, the small ornamental variety called "Jack-Be-Little."   Approximately twenty-five little pumpkins were harvested from a mere six plants. I decided to set up a still life with several of these little fruits.

Twirling Ribbon - Stage Two

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 attempted and rearranged before arriving at this arrangement.  A monochromatic block in was completed first.  In the stage two photo, see the mid-tones, some blues and oranges.

I applied a transparent dark wash onto the bare canvas.  The monochromatic stage photo above shows 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.

Stage Three with Real Bittersweet

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 "not so great" spot, 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.   The complete, or at least nearly complete painting is shown.

Twirling Ribbon and Little Pumpkins

The last issue to address with a luminescent painting like this is capturing a quality photograph.   The extra oily glow makes it difficult to get a good, shine-free image.  A polarized filter and low light setting helps.    This image isn't too bad, but I'll probably work on getting an even better image.


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