"Apples in Gold"

I bought this little elongated dish because I liked its golden glow, but especially I liked the shape. Then I found out just how hard it was to set up in an interesting composition for a still life where you could appreciate its shape. You see, the bottom is black, so viewed from the side, you don't get the full glowing effect. So, I set it sort of diagonally on a piece of plain brown craft paper where I could look down on the dish. Five little Gala apples sat neatly in the dish turned different directions so as to enjoy slight variation of forms and catch the golden reflections on their shiny surfaces.

Little did I know just how challenging it was going to be to get the "gold" just right - not too yellow, but still brilliant and glowing. That's where glazing really comes into play as it allows you to alter the colors ever so slightly wherever needed. In these cases transparent colors are so useful so that you can see through to colors beneath. This adds to the depth and brilliance of a piece.

One of my favorite warm colors to use to really make something pop is Napthol Red - I especially like Golden's Liquid Napthol. It's quite powerful so I recommend using it carefully.

I started this painting by coating a 12 x 9" sheet of Canson Montval Acrylic paper, wonderful for use with acrylics, with Golden's Glazing Medium and let that dry. It sort of sealed the surface letting colors nicely build up. The initial layers were primarily Liquitex Heavy-Body acrylics with final layers using Golden's Fluid acrylics mixed with their glazing medium.

A key to creating soft edges with acrylics in not using too much water. When painting on paper, I've found it helpful to wrap & tape brown craft paper around a large drawing board, place that on my easel and then use masking tape to position my acrylic paper at a comfortable height to paint standing so that I can move back regularly to see the work progressing. The added advantage is that you can wipe off excess paint from your brush on the brown paper to the side of your work. It's a great set up for me.