A Little Apple Still Life

I've been painting some small watercolors for the upcoming "Fine Works in Miniature" exhibit at Artistree Gallery here in Woodstock.  Here is the beginning of the first painting--the lightest yellows over a pencil drawing of the three apples....

Next come the oranges, greens and reds.  The middle apple is still at the beginning stage and the closest one is almost complete....

Moving along, the apples are completed....

Finally, the apples are grounded with shadows and "a place to live".  And here is the finished product!

"Three Cortlands"

watercolor - 7" x 7"

The Process

I just completed a painting which you can see below in an early stage. Here,  the landscape has been brushed in quickly. 

As I continued, I brightened the sky and added details to the under painting.  I decided to balance the composition by adding a limb so that the tree would seem to "pose" for her portrait.  Here is the finished painting....

"Sap Buckets on Calendar Hill"

acrylic on canvas - 14" x 18"

Below is the photograph I took on March 17th and used for the painting.  As you can see, the painting in its finished state, differs substantially from the photo.  I was so tired of interpreting gray winter skies in my "Posted" series that I decided to crop out the background and change the mood with a blue sky.

There is a great advantage to working from photos.  When it is too cold to paint outdoors, I can work in the studio and change the landscape to suit my taste.  But I look forward to getting out to paint en plein aire soon as spring arrives and the weather warms up.