This week i try to paint a fruit, a raspberry. It’s the first time i try to paint this subject. My biggest challenge will be to reproduce the plump of all those little balls that form the raspberry !
Here you have my inspiration picture. Yes there is a bug, most likely a stink bug, on the raspberries (click to enlarge) ! So, it’s a branch with some fruits on it, which are at different stage of ripening. I thought that this ensemble would be interesting to paint as it alternates red and white raspberries. For this painting, i’ve tried myself first on a sketch. This first version did help me to identified all the challenge i will faced during the final painting. And i will be able to plan my painting better in order to avoid those difficulties.
Let’s say right away that i do not like my first version. There’s interesting in it, but the fruit are not recognizable at all ! That’s a shame as it is my subject ! The composition is off too, it seems that everything will fall and are unbalanced. And the fruit are way to blurry and rough. There isn’t any plump and roundness specific to raspberries. This is the most important point i will have to work in my next painting !
Watercolor raspberry in video
In this video, i’m exploring one way to create raspberry in watercolor. But a few days after recording this video, i’ve tried another way to create those raspberries. I’ve start with a first wash quite dense in red pigments. Once this wash was dry, i start to paint with just water and a small brush all the small balls forming the fruit. And i blotted the water quite often with a paper towel in order to pick up the pigments out of my paper. And i get this very soft effect. Then i just have to add some details !
SUPPLIES :
Brushes : Raphaël petit gris 803 nº2, Silver Brush Black Velvet 1/4″ dagger shape.
Paper : Arches rough.
Colors : Ultramarine blue (Daniel Smith), Viridian (Schmincke), Quinacridone gold (Daniel Smith), Permanent alizarine crimson (Daniel Smith), Winsor red (Winsor & Newton), Scarlet lake (Winsor & Newton), Burnt sienna (Schmincke).
And here you have the final painting (click to enlarge) :
