Dinner Veggies - Still Life Demo

Dinner Veggies, 6 x 8

Still Life Demo: Line and Mass Block-in
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I did the following demo for my still life class and thought I would share it here. The "Line and Mass Block-in" is a pretty traditional method of starting a painting, but sometimes it helps to see an example. So here it is broken down. (And no, the canvas is not blue... it's white. I am not quite sure why it photographed that way.)

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Step one: Plan composition and sketch large, basic shapes

using dark neutral mix of alizarin crimson, french ultramarine and raw umber.

Keep paint fairly dry to enable painting back in (soupy paint will make this difficult).

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Step two: Step back; correct drawing and composition if needed,
and begin massing in large areas of values.


Step 3: Continue massing in values and make final adjustments to composition
(better to make changes here before beginning with color.)
Paint directly into this underdrawing when adding color.


Step 4: It is important to maintain the massed in values as color is added.
Painting directly into the underpainting, add color and work from dark to light.
(Sorry, no progression shots of the color.)