plate no. 1425

Still life with green apples and pears

Forrest Bess, 1948

oilExpressionismstill lifestill lifeapplespearsfruittablebackground

some experience helpful

Recreating this painting will help students practice layering colors and creating texture with visible brushstrokes. It also encourages simplification of forms and understanding of basic color relationships.

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 placement of the apples and pears.
step 02
Block in the background with a thin layer of yellow paint.
step 03
Establish the dark areas of the table with brown and ochre.
step 04
Begin layering the colors on the apples and pears, starting with the base tones.
step 05
Add highlights and shadows to create form and dimension.
step 06
Use thicker paint and visible brushstrokes to add texture.
step 07
Refine the details and adjust the colors as needed.
step 08
Add the red and ochre vertical lines in the background.

color palette

primary · yellow ochre · green · brown · red

secondary · white · raw umber

Mix greens by combining yellow ochre with a touch of brown and white. Achieve the brown tones by blending raw umber, yellow ochre, and a small amount of red. Use white to lighten colors and create highlights.

techniques

·layering
·dry brushing
·scumbling
·color mixing
·impasto

common pitfalls

→Overworking the colors and losing the texture.
→Making the forms too realistic and losing the expressive quality.
→Not paying attention to the color relationships between the objects and the background.
→Creating mud by overmixing colors.