Pear Study

8x5.5 mixed media of my pear, drawn today before I ate it.  At first it was too pretty to eat.  After studying it awhile I got out my black Pigma Micron 01 pen and Strathmore Visual Journal for mixed media and drew the whole pear.  Then I cut it in half until seeds visible, and drew that along with its end and other sections including the core.  Then I took apart the seeds and sketched those.  Crosshatching was done for dark areas.  Media used was ink, watercolor, and colored pencils; the CPs were "color-sanded" into wet areas with fine grit sandpaper so the tiny specks you see are CP pigment bits.  When dry, I stamped 'pears' in black ink at the top and flicked wet paint spray.  An enjoyable Bartlett pear for sure after studying it first.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith

Red Anjou and Yellow Bartlett Pears

16.5x20 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper of red and yellow pears that I set up and photographed last Sunday in a yellow and green ceramic compote.  Yellow is the one color you cannot darken so it is a really difficult task for the artist to manage getting values down to the levels they should be seen.  There is also nice bounce light into the pears shadows as well as the dish coming from the southeastern window sunlight.  Altogether the colors interplay well with primaries red, blue and yellow with cool greens in a small supportive role.  This work was done for Painting Friends October pears online challenge.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.