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Little Red Apples - Pastel Demo

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I just liked the Little Green Apples pastel painting so much that I decided to do another painting of the redder little apples. I will do a demo as I go along. Hope you enjoy seeing how I work.

I'm using Art Spectrum pastel card that comes in 9 x 12 sheets so the surface is a little different from the Kitty Wallis used in the "Little Green Apples.. this can't take quite as much abuse as the Wallis, but is very good and has a consistent surface. I started with the white and decided it was just too white so scrubbed on a little pastel and smeared it with a brush and alcohol again. Nothing special, it won't show except where the top layer of pastel is thin and will add a little interest in the background, maybe.

I then sketched in the placement of the apples with a yellow pastel pencil, you may be able to see a little, then sort of formed the apples with some green pastel to vibrate through the red. I use a mixture of soft pastels.

Next I added the base colors and start the shadows. I like to work all over the painting. Artists that do fine detail, realistic paintings tend to start in the upper corner and work down to keep from touching what they have done or keep the pastel dust from falling on a part already finished. To prevent this, I work with the easel upright and tilted slightly toward me. Gene made me a little tray that hangs on the easel to catch the pastel dust. I also like to work standing up. I can step back easier and don't get too focused in one spot. I still keep a piece of vinyl down to cover the floor and stand on some foam pads to save the old legs! I'm doing this painting in New Mexico in our summer rental. At home I have a rubber mat for use in a machine shop or under heavy loads on a truck.

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I began to develop the apples, working from the back to the front. I use a variety of greens and reds so that the apples are not copies of one another. I began to work on the cloth as well so that I get some of the reds, greens and a little yellow into the background. I began to add a little purple in the shadows.

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