Strawberries in Still Life

Stawberries

11x14 acrylic on canvas

Here's another still life I painted for the upcoming "Red Show" to be held at Rail Walk Studios and Gallery in Salisbury, NC. I began this painting by first, arranging my items. I knew I wanted to paint these delicious strawberries...for one, they're red...two, it's almost Valentine's Day, and I always think of my wife's chocolate covered strawberries that she makes. Plus, I get to eat them when I'm done painting. Ellie, my 4 year old daughter thought that eating them after the painting was done was just too long to wait...so, after my numerous warnings not to touch the objects, and while I wasn't looking, she swiped a couple of juicy strawberries. Needless to say, I just about turned into Mr. Hyde.

I also needed another element in the still life so, I found this little cup and saucer in the china cabinet. It would make a nice contrast with my dark fabric I had draped.

The painting began with a painted sketch of the scene using cadmium red medium...just to lay out the composition and key in the values...the darkest areas will be straight red from the tube, and the lightest areas were a red wash...just to get rid of the white canvas.

Then, it was just a matter of painting my darkest darks first, working my way to the light colors and highlights last. Within a few hours, it's done!

The art displayed in the show will be used to raise funds for the American Red Cross. The show will start Feb.2 and run until March 31.

For more information on the Red Show, contact Rail Walk Studios at info@railwalkgallery.com .