Just finished a new still life painting. My posts will be a mixture of past works and brand new works such as this one. While you're waiting for the full painting at the end of this post, here's some popcorn for you:
Here is the physical setup for the painting. I spent some time fussing with the popcorn to make a 'pleasing' pile, lols:
First stage. After the simple umber block in, squinting to get the basic value relationships:
Next stage:
Next stage. Starting to add some definition in the popcorn bowl, and getting the knife started:
Next stage:
Next stage. Starting to pay special attention to the kernels in the foreground:
Next stage. I realize that I'm starting to lose my way in the popcorn bowl. I jumped ahead too quickly into detail without making sure the overall values are good. So I squint, simplify, paint over:
Next stage. Getting into those cloth wrinkles:
Next stage. Droplets like these are both fun to paint and to view. My wife had to lean closer to see if they were real, which is satisfying ;). Ironically these "parlor trick" areas are the easiest and least time consuming to paint.
And here is the finished painting, "Movie Night" (11x14 oil on panel):
Thanks for reading! -David