Linda Mann Artist

I decided to work on the orange box next. I painted a first approximation of the metal rivets using raw umber and cadmium yellow. The highlights are naples yellow light, and the darks are raw umber. I tried to get their ellipses right. They are not seen straight on, but are at a slight angle.

I added more glazes to darken the shadow areas both on the right side of the box (the form shadow), and the left side and top (the cast shadow from the black vase). There were some bluish reflections coming in from the window on the right, which I indicated. Next I brightened the reflections coming off of the silver bowl that hit the right side of the orange box. I’ll wait for this layer to dry before I attempt more.

At my next session, I noticed that the reflections on the box from the bowl were not bright enough. I brightened them using pure cadmium orange and yellow. I also saw some cooler reflections that looked almost white. I scumbled these in using a dry brush. The paint catches on just the tops of the canvas fibers, mimicking the look of light bouncing off of the box.  I also strengthened the cool light coming in from the window on the right.

The lightest part of the box, on the left, was still not light enough. I mixed a very bright yellow-orange (much brighter than I thought!). I mixed some transitional colors to blend this new color into the existing ones on the darker right side. It’s not easy to achieve a smooth, even blending of colors. It is essential, though, if the cylinder of the box is to look convincing. It’s also difficult to blend this new, opaque paint into the transparent glazed area on the right. I don’t want to get too much of the new paint into the glazed area, or I’ll loose my transparency. It’s not perfect yet, but I do the best I can, knowing that I can keep refining!