“Blood Orange Slice”, Acrylic on Canvas Panel, 5x7
I have always loved fruit. And I’m not talking about eating it (although I enjoy that, too).
Like - even as a kid, I loved ALL THINGS FRUIT. I had a shorts/jumper thing that had a fruit pattern on it. I had a set of erasers that looked like slices of fruit. I had tiny hair clips with little fruit charms on them. A huge collection of fruity-flavored Lip Smackers was one of my prize possessions. (I use the word “was” lightly here).
And recently, I’ve rediscovered my love for fruit by painting it. I don’t know why it took so long, honestly. I have been primarily drawn to waterscapes, sky, tropical settings and unique perspectives thereof. So I suppose I’ve just been focusing on getting better at that stuff. But I digress.
So my first project was a close up of a blood orange slice. I had so much fun doing it, and my Mom claimed it as hers before I was even done. So - she got the finished product for Christmas and it is now hanging in her front hallway. (Thanks, Mom!)
This has inspired me to attempt more fruit. Thanks again to my lovely Mom, I got some teeeeeny tiny square canvases for Christmas. I got the idea to paint them all silver, and paint various tiny fruits on them. There are 6 total, and I have about 3 of them done.
I started by painting them silver, using a pencil to draw basic shapes and filling those shapes in with white. Then, one by one, I did an “under-painting” for each one - using the darkest (or close to it) color in my reference photo. From there, I just started adding layers of light, dark and detail.
Silver-painted canvases with basic shapes.
Here are a few progress pictures - The Lemon, Kiwi and Orange are done. The Blueberries are about 80% done, Cherries are at about 60% and the Strawberry is still just the under-painting.
Finished collection coming soon-ish!