Colourful Apples in Perspective

Colourful Apples in Perspective

8" x 10" pastel on paper

This painting took all of April if you count the planning time. The Spotlight challenge theme was on atmospheric perspective. Most of the references were landscapes with rows of receding blue hills, something I've always liked and enjoyed painting. I just didn't feel like doing the obvious and chose the one and only still life reference, three apples in a row on a white table. 

The far apple was actually the red-gold one, the front apple a red-purple in the reference. My first thought was to reverse their colors and exaggerate atmospheric perspective, since the yellow was quite warmer and brighter than that front apple. So I switched their colors, worked it out, did the first layers on non sanded paper and ran into a lot of days when my back went out. Other than tiredness and pain, I can't say why April was that slow.

I finished and posted this on the very last day of the challenge but at least did it!

Maybe I'll do more in May. I hope so! It's hard getting back in the rhythm of daily sketching and painting when the elevator's out and I keep overdoing it.