Green Heirloom Tomato by Jonathan Aller

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"Green Heirloom Tomato"

5 x 7 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I have not painted these little gems in a while. The color of this heirloom caught my eye right away. They have such intense pure colors. What I enjoy most is the subtle values between the colors from one area to the other, painting that is challenging and rewarding once it's achieved. Painting light wrapping around this form is challenging but very educational to try. After painting this tomato my wife added it to our dinner which was as delicious as it looked. 

I started with the drawing stage by just using a bit of raw umber on the brush. Thinking of it as one would draw with a pencil. The pressure you apply to the brush it effects the value and intensity your marking will be. Once the drawing stage is complete I add local colors to the whole painting. This allows me to see how the painting will look in the completed stage with the colors I am thinking of. The next stage I then start to fill in the middle to darker values to all the objects in the painting, from the wooden board to the heirloom tomato. Then I add the lighter value forms to tie everything together. With this technique, especially being in alla prima, one has to has to be careful with the amount of paint being applied from the initial stages. Remember fat over lean, you want to start thin and get progressively thicker towards the finishing. I am also conscious of how many pressure I apply to the brush, as stated before I think of it as drawing with a pen or pencil. The lighter the pressure the lighter the value will be, the harder the value the darker the value will be. This also allows you to control smoother transitions. 

Thank you for stopping by and viewing. Cheers!

Forelle Pear Oil Painting by Jonathan Aller

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"Forelle Pear"

5 x 7 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

I haven't painted pears in a while and thought it was time to re visit these beauties. I also wanted to go back on how I painted pears when I first started to do alla prima paintings a couple years ago. It's minimal amount of paint on the brush kind of like drawing with a pencil, you do not want to put a dark hard line with the initial mark. This painting is an exploration of my technique old and new.

I started with a thin application of raw umber for the drawing stage.  I am not worried about details just the placement of major shapes and the lineation of shadow shapes. Then I painted the background in. I usually like to paint this area first, this allows me to now worry about it when I am painting the main object in the painting.

Once the background was filled in I then painted in the wood, I applied a thin amount of paint to cover the base. I think of it as how one would when drawing with a pencil. I do not paint in the darkest darks or lights lights, just an in between value to give form to the object. Then I paint in the darkest values. I still have not applied any lighter values just concentrating on the middle to darker values.

Once the darks are painted I then start to paint in the middle to lighter values. Once the base is at a level I am satisfied with I move onto the pear. The initial stage of painting the pear I apply a thin layer of paint in the shadows, I do the same with the lights. In this stage I am only concentrating on big form modeling, how light wraps around the form. I mesh the lights into the darks to make the form turn, softening edges to show more of the turn. I am not worried about details at this stage just worried on applying a thin layer of paint and making the form turn with generalized colors.

Once big form modeling is working I then start to work on middle to darker values. As I mentioned before I am applying the paints very thin, this allows me to control values the same way one would control a mark with a pencil. I like to build into my darks as well into the lights.  This approach is time consuming but gives you control on how much subtle values shifts you're needing.

Hope you enjoyed this painting, thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

"Fruit Tart" by Jonathan Aller

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"Fruit Tart"

6 x 6 in

Oil on Canvas Panel

Hi everyone first I wanted to let you guys know I'll be giving a demo on Wednesday, April 27 at Blick art material store in Edina.  If you'r around the area you should drop by I will be there from 1-4, this is for the 100th anniversary of being open.  There'll be live music and also great food, I might be to distracted to paint with all the food. 

This is another attempt to paint these delicious treats, I had to do this one because of the kiwi's and strawberries mixed into the usual group.  The colors and textures made it so much fun to try to paint, its always great to push yourself and achieve textures you'r not familiar painting.  There's also a lot of subtle value shifts in the body of the fruit tart, its great practicing these techniques it sharpens your skills in many ways.  Needless to say I enjoyed every bite when completing the painting, it's always a great incentive to finish.

You can see the making of this painting on my blog:

http://www.jonaller.blogspot.com