DEMONSTRATION

Oranges in the Sun

▼ STAGE ONE

Having photographed the setup I worked the composition from an iPad so that I had luminous shadows to work with in the studio, as printed photographs often blacken them. I drew the shapes loosely using a small sable/synthetic bright brush with some diluted cerulean blue acrylic. The paint dried almost immediately, so I was able to continue with a watery wash of the same blue over the whole piece. This was simply to knock out the white and to provide a complementary base colour on which to work

► STAGE TWO

Working quickly with a size 16 sable blend bright, I added some base colours diluted with flow improver to prevent the colour separating and to help it adhere. The colour was about the consistency of single cream and the moisture content kept it damp to allow for blending. I wasn’t overly concerned about making a perfect picture at this stage, it was purely to establish some colour. I used cadmium red and cadmium yellow medium for the oranges with cobalt blue and cadmium red for the darker parts of the painting

▼ STAGE THREE

The colours did not take long to dry, so after a few minutes I continued to increase the values and saturation of the painting. Working with sizes 12 and 10 short brights, I blocked in more darks using French ultramarine and burnt sienna, then working with slightly thicker colour mixed with a little matt medium I built up the brighter colours of the oranges. I used matt medium to add a little transparency and to allow for thicker paint mixes

▲ FINISHED PAINTING

Oranges in the Sun, acrylic on Bockingford 200lb (425gsm) Not, 838in (20320cm). I continued refining the painting, adding thin layers of cerulean blue into the shadows of the oranges and creating bold expressive marks with the brush. In parts I used neat cadmium red to increase the brightness of the light. I alternated the process of painting the rim of the colander with the background colour, cutting in and out of the shape and losing edges here and there. I worked the painting gradually towards the light, finishing with titanium white painted thickly to bring in the highlights