03. Still Life – Yellow & Blue

MATERIALS NEEDED:

1. The same still life objects used in your Black & White still life
2. The same fabric back drop used in your Black & White still life
3. The same light source used in your Black & White still life
4. A 12″x16″ gesso-ed board
5. small container of medium (liquin or linseed oil)
6. container of cleaner (baby oil or odorless mineral spirits)
7. rag
8. Prussian Blue and Cadmium Yellow Medium oil paints
 
PROCESS:
— Mix a variety of greens with your blue and yellow. Make at least 3 shades that range from the yellow to the blue.
— Tone the canvas
— Loose sketch with pencil/charcoal/mineral spirits
— Put in your darkest darks
— Then move up in key/value until you get to the brightest brights (remember that your pure yellow is your highlight)

TIPS:

The DRAWING is the most important part.
The 2nd most important part is the CONTRAST.
The 3rd most important part is COLOR.

— Remember to paint the light.  For example, if you are painting an orange, avoid a hard edge on the orange – there should be an orange glow (or in the case of this green painting, an accordingly colored glow).
— Figure out which object will be your focus, and work on that, then secondary objects can be less defined.  Less defined means less highlight, they can fade into the background (you can add some background color to the object), color will be less bright/saturated, and the edges can be blurred).