Spring has Sprung! …Well, in our minds anyway. WIP Fruit and Tulip Still Life
Recently a couple artist friends and I got together for a little painting session. Here is the process!
On my way to our painting date I swung by the grocery store to grab some painting inspiration. Though the weather is still yucky here, the produce at the store had all the colors and smells of spring that I longed for. It didn’t take long to find an assortment of colorful fruit, tulips, a red onion and one turnip to be our still life subjects.
Here is what we came up with. Immediately I snapped a photo before our lighting shifted. So thankful I did! Shortly after ward the tulips began their journey towards the table.
Working from life is tricky. Things like drooping tulips, moving light sources, etc. keep you on your toes. Mentally finding (and maintaining ) a place to frame your painting can be difficult but the process of painting from life is so rewarding.
After about 4 hours in front of the still life, this is what I had accomplished. Mommy duties demanded that I stop for the morning. Thankfully I got enough information on the board to feel ok about it.
The following day I was able to put some more work into the painting. One thing that the camera did not pick up on well when I shot the reference photo, was the glow and warmth that seemed to radiate from the objects as they bathed in the sunlight. From memory I tried to emulate this glow which I am sure resulted in some artistic license… but hey! It’s my painting and I’ll do what I want to. lol 
I really had fun putting lots of paint down. Building texture almost felt like sculpting in a small way.
This little turnip was so cute, and the jars of jelly just absolutely gorgeous how they filtered the light. Below you can see a close up of the pears and onion. Reflecting and translucent color was one of the main themes in this piece. I really enjoyed playing that up.
And the final result…
This painting is 11×14 oil on board. Thanks for following along!
Thanks to Kimberly Bustillos for allowing us to use her table yet again as well as that lovely gurgle pitcher. 
Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.
Tags: Art, Artist, flower, Fruit, Green, How To, Karen, Oil, Painting, Still Life, Tutorial, Whitworth Gallery
What beautiful inspiration. I feel the glow of the sun and I think you captured it well. Thanks for sharing the journey.
Ashlie, Thank you for following along!
So glad you like it!