plate no. 3347

Recollect

Winifred Nicholson, 1973

oilPost-Impressionismstill lifestill lifeflowersvaseslemonstablelandscape

some experience helpful

Recreating this painting will help students practice loose brushwork and color mixing to achieve subtle variations in tone. It's also a good exercise in capturing the essence of a subject rather than precise details.

technical profile

palette complexity

brushwork visibility

value contrast

compositional simplicity

study guide

est. 8 hrs

approach — 8 steps

step 01
Sketch the basic shapes and composition lightly on the canvas.
step 02
Block in the background with a light blue-gray wash.
step 03
Establish the main areas of color for the table and the background behind the still life.
step 04
Paint the vases using light washes, indicating their transparent quality.
step 05
Add the flowers, focusing on capturing their general shape and color rather than individual petals.
step 06
Paint the lemons with varying shades of yellow, adding highlights and shadows.
step 07
Refine the details and adjust the values to create depth.
step 08
Add final touches and highlights to enhance the overall impression.

color palette

primary · titanium white · yellow ochre · cadmium yellow light · cerulean blue

secondary · raw umber · raw sienna · lemon yellow

Mix white with small amounts of yellow ochre and raw umber to create the muted tones for the table and vases. Use cerulean blue and white for the sky. Mix yellow ochre with cadmium yellow for the flowers.

techniques

·dry brush
·scumbling
·glazing
·alla prima
·broken color

common pitfalls

→Overworking the details and losing the loose, impressionistic feel.
→Making the colors too saturated and not achieving the muted, harmonious palette.
→Not paying attention to the subtle shifts in value that create depth.
→Creating hard edges instead of soft transitions.