Still life with cut lemon

I decided to paint still life, keeping at least some traditions of classical still life paintings. It should be transparent water-bottle, lace drapery, some fruits and – certainly - a cut lemon. It’s a lot of oil pictures of still life, but I want to try oil pastels.

Oil pastels seem to be “unmanageable”, usually they don’t permit artist to mix more than 3 colors, they “aggressive” to light colors – I think it is impossible to fix oil pastels painting by coating the wrong item by paint. But how impressive oil pastels are!

What a grateful painting is an oil pastels painting!

I am starting my next oil pastels’ picture – it will be still life with lemon.

Pastels are ready; piece of blue cardboard is fastened.

Here is the composition I would like to paint. I will not follow this picture exactly – I am dreaming of painting a peel lemon in this small bowl.

Let’s start.

I am painting all the picture items at the same time, step by step, returning again and again to the same subject.

As usual I am starting by white color, and then add some light colors – permanently to “feel” the general composition.

White drapery is a handmade peace of embroidery. I am trying to make it semi-transparent.

Light areas will be warm, shades will be cold. I am adding some warm color to show volume of embroidery and folders.

Mandarin, lemon, peeled mandarin and mandarin segment are painted keeping the same rule – light is warm, shade is cold. Glares and reflexes are also warm. Reflex is darker than glare.

My picture looks like this now

Let’s stop for today.

Still life with lemon by oil pastels (continuation)

I start the cut lemon painting from white. In case of mistake white color will serve as a background and help to take away the wrong color of top layer. I didn’t find any other way to fix oil pastels paintings.

I add some light colors but also take care of light to be warm and shade – cold.

To reproduce the fibrous structure of lemon pulp I make short strokes by oil pastels chalks.

I reproduce the round form of fruits using the general rules of painting light and shade. Sharp touches of oil pastels chalks reproduce the structure of fruits’ surfaces - porous of mandarin rind.

Remote fruit looks not as bright as the front one.

Here it is my “tool” to paint clear and distinct lines – it is a piece of transparent plastic. I cut it in accordance with the shape of the line I need, apply to the picture and use like stencil. Here I am correcting the edge of small bowl with fruits. Color of porcelain bowl also was corrected. I added orange and yellow reflexes from nearby fruits.

Step by step I am painting glass water-botle, keeping in mind that colors viewed through glass, seem to be more dark and bright.

For several times I was changing folders of drapery lying on the table.

Here it is the final variant.