A Process

"Trio" Oil on canvas, 9x12"

I love to see the progression of a painting from first sketch to finished product. I don't know why, but it's so fulfilling for me. 

I started this at my dining room table about a month ago, and finished it in an afternoon, taking TPC (Terrible Phone Camera) photos along the way. 

I'd actually planned to paint some pears for a long time now - it's such a ubiquitous subject, but they're beautiful! And tasty. Truth: I did not paint pears for so long because I kept eating them first.

My underdrawing. Filling in basic lines and shadows.

Here you can also see my little homemade pochade box - just a small wooden cigar box from our local thrift store, reinforced in the back with some cork to keep the top from falling back.  I love painting out of this thing! It's so easy! I have some plans to make a better one for our trip to Europe next summer.

Filling things in... I love this step. All those unresolved lines and brushstrokes... it's so expressive.

I kept it to a limited palette of Yellow Ochre, Sap Green, Titanium White, and Burnt Siena, I believe. 

"Trio" Oil on canvas, 9x12"

Such a fun and simple painting. I would definitely like to do more like this... next time I have uneaten pairs available.