 |
| Banana 1, Pastel and Colored Pencil over Watercolor, 8 x 5 on 140 lb paper |
 |
| Banana 2, Pastel and Colored Pencil over Watercolor, 8 x 5 on 140 lb paper |
|
 |
| Banana 3, Pastel and Colored Pencil over Watercolor, 8 x 5 on 140 lb paper |
|
 |
| Banana 4, Pastel and Colored Pencil over Watercolor, 8 x 5 on 140 lb paper |
|
|
This little set is the first artwork I've made since mid October. It was time to get going again.
I wanted to play with a split complimentary color scheme, so I used a yellow subject with a red-violet background and a blue-violet background, and a blue subject with a red-orange background and yellow-orange background. I was really nervous about making blue bananas! I worried that they would be unrecognizable. My banana browned significantly between when I started the set last night with Banana 1, and when I finished it this afternoon with Bananas 2, 3 and 4. I started feeling like my artwork actually smelled like bananas by the time I was done. I think the smell helped me make them more natural, along with the browning.
I first did a watercolor wash for each of the paintings. Then, I sketched my banana quickly in pastel and completed and under painting with Prismacolor Pencils, using complimentary colors (violet for the yellow bananas and orange for the blue ones). I also sketched in some detail with dark brown, raw sienna and burnt umber colored pencils. I went over the work with pastel, then added more detail once again using colored pencils. The shadowing also began with colored pencil, but ended with pastel.
