"Fruit Plate" by Ann Hart
Transparent Watercolor, 10 x 14 on 140# Arches cold press paper.
1. This is my reference photo, a simple composition with just three elements - the background, the plate and the pear. I love the design on the plate (hand painted, I'm sure much harder to do on china than for me to do on paper) and the lovely pear shape and color against the blue. On the right, with my drawing transferred to the watercolor paper, I masked the edge of the pear and plate and used plastic wrap to protect the big area. The wrap adheres nicely to the dried masking, I just trim the excess away with a sharp X-acto.
2. Background: I first thought that a colorful background would be fun even if a bit busy with the plate design, that's why I took the photo on a zippy quilt. But I decided that a wooden tabletop would serve my purpose better. I did this in two layers, drying in between and allowing the orange to show through and suggest wood grain. The masking allowed me the freedom to brush right over the plate and pear.
3. Flowers: With the background dry, I removed the masking and did a first pass on the plate. With the second pass I added the details and shading, a subtle cast of color on the plate and a blue wash on the pear where I know I want green later.
4. Pear: I wet the pear and did the speckles first, wanting them to be diffuse and softened further by the layers to come. Then a yellow wash, leaving highlights and mingling some reds and violets on the darker edge. I did dry and rewet as I applied deeper color to better control the blending. I lifted and softened the highlights, detailed the stem.
5. Final details: I added color to the plate softening the flowers a bit to settle them down. I lifted some reflective highlights to add dimension to the plate.
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