How does an artist translate what she or he sees into a painting? It isn't as simple as plunking down two apples or looking out the window and then copying what you see.
This lesson is all about what goes into making an interesting painting. It will show you how to effectively arrange your subject, how to accurately sketch the subject onto the canvas, and how to successfully develop and finish the painting. Our subject will be a simple still life.
This lesson is divided into four parts. In the first part you will learn how to make your painting interesting and then apply what you learn to the arrangement of your chosen fruit or vegetables. In the second part you will learn how to draw your objects accurately onto the canvas. In the third part you will be guided in the painting of your still life; we will use what you have learned about color and shading in the previous lessons to paint fruit that looks as if you could pick it off the canvas.In the final part I will demonstrate standard painting procedures and paint a still life.
Excerpted from The Oil Painting Course You've Always Wanted by Kathleen Staiger. Copyright © 2006 by Kathleen Staiger. Excerpted by permission of Watson-Guptill, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.