Queen Pom and Princess Persimmon, oil on panel, 8×8 inches (Available to purchase here)
There was something regal about these two, hence the name, despite the queen sitting in a soap dish, not a throne. I started out thinking “values and planes” and then, as usual, got seduced by color and detail. I did manage to keep some of the planes I saw in this pomegranate (which was becoming more faceted as it became more elderly, having been painted a few times over the past couple weeks). However, I’m not sure the painting actually benefitted from leaving the planes (or so many of them) visible.
Below is a photo of the set up and below that the two previous pom/persimmon paintings that were a nice warmup and introduction to the subject, though perhaps not terribly successful in terms of paint application, composition and/or drawing.
Photo of setup for Queen Pom4 Poms on a Black Plate, oil on panel, 8×10″3 Poms on a Black Box, oil on panel, 8×10″3 Poms on a Box painting on easel and still life set up
Pomegranate, Persimmons, Brick, Oil on Arches Oil Paper, 10×10″
(SOLD) This painting went through so many changes. I started it before I got the awful cold that kept me out of the studio for over a week. I lost my focus while painting the cloth draped in the background and at the end of the day scraped off the afternoon’s work. When I came back the next day, my foam core shadow box had collapsed and was on the floor along with the drapery and the LED light that I’d perched atop on a piece of plexiglass. Fortunately the brick held steady as did the fruit.
That accident gave me the opportunity to try a different background. I removed the white paper I’d been using to cover the black walls of the shadow box and painted the now darker background. I had fun painting the persimmons and the brick and I think I did a good job understanding them; the pom not so much. It should have a more geometric, boxy shape, not be so rounded.
Below are the stages in trying to get this thing painted, along with the set up as it changed. Click on an image to see full picture, scroll over images to read captions.
Persimmon and String Beans, oil on panel, 6×6 inches
This was one of the those magical paintings that just worked from beginning to end. Maybe it was painting on Gessobord, which I love, or maybe it was because I tried to stay really focused. It’s available here on Daily Paintworks.
I was careful to paint the string beans from the garden and their leaves first since I knew they would change quickly. I stopped when I found myself getting tired or losing focus and took a break. And I closely followed my pre-planned goals for each session.
See my session chart for Persimmon and String Beans (pdf) with all the steps, plans and session images or see the images of the steps below without details. One new step I added this time was studying the nearly finished painting in Photoshop on a large screen before declaring it finished and then finding and noting areas that needed adjustments, including completely changing the background value at top.
Let me know if you’re finding these charts or step by steps interesting. I do them for myself but if others find it interesting it’s worth posting them.
Photo of set up (but painted from life)
Session 1A: the drawing on panel in charcoal then restated with thinned paint
Session 1B, painting the green beans since the leaves would change quickly. I started to paint the persimmon but wiped it off when I realized I’d lost focus and needed a break before returning and painting with focus
Session 2, painting everything except green beans
Adjustments/corrections made in Photoshop including darkening the top background
Jana Bouc, Artist 