Peppers are a fun subject to try out my understanding of light and shadow.  If you distort their shape, nobody knows or cares.  I tried to limit myself to one hour of painting, not including the initial sketch on the canvas.  The shadows in this first try are too sharp, but it was fun to throw color into the background.  I also need to plan my compositions more carefully.  The peppers were placed a little too far to the right in my sketch, so the orange one got cut off at the edge.  I do really like the yellow one though…

I’m really looking to improve my time and be less timid with color use in shadow areas.  I am still falling back into trying to draw what I see.  Gestural painting involves the collective shapes of light and shadow.  I am trying to loosen up and not trying to be realistic.  It is a challenge to move on.  I tend to want to over paint instead of get the brushwork accurate the first time.  A timer is a very effective, though nerve-racking device.

This little trial (4×6) took almost two hours!! I will try to finish at least one more study before my class this week…Here it is.  Still a failure as far as time goes.  This took a few hours instead of thirty minutes.  I like it.

This one took a few hours too and I think it’s awful except for the little cup:

This one below was finished in less than two hours: