"Yellow Pepper in the Sun"

**If you click on the picture and then right click on it, click "view image" and you can magnify the image.

We started the spring semester in watercolor class today and I decided to do a short study on shadows and how to get the wash smooth and free of lines.  I picked a very large shadow just so it would be hard!

We started painting the pepper wet on dry and used New Gamboge at the top.  The red highlights were done with a mix of Cadmium Red and Winsor Yellow.  Make the mix deep enough so it won't dilute too much with the New Gamboge.  We also added green highlights with Cobalt Blue and Winsor Yellow.  Again don't add too much yellow so as to make it too weak in color.  Basically the pepper is a variegated wash, working your way down the pepper.  After it dries if the color is too weak, wash over the whole pepper with New Gamboge, covering the red and green areas too.  If those red and green areas need to be increased in color or if it isn't blended properly you may also add those in again too.  Be careful not to overlap the reds and greens or mix them together too much because you will create a muddy pepper because they are complementary colors.

Next the stem.  Remember to keep the white highlight on it.  The shadow area is a mix of Ultramarine Blue and New Gamboge....keeping it a little on the blue side.  Use a little Winsor Yellow in the light areas and blend it a little with the green.

The shadow is achieved with Cobalt Blue.  I added quite a bit of reflected light from the pepper into the shadow mainly because that was what was actually there.  It was a very bright day.  Notice how blue the shadow is....it was really like that too.  A lot of light from the sky reflecting into it.  I started wet on dry under the pepper with New Gamboge, then added Permanent Rose under that in order to transition into the Cobalt Blue without it becoming green....(a little trick).  Then continue down with the blue all the way.  After the shadow dries if it shows some lines and isn't smooth, which mine did, I wet the whole area with water and redid the blue area (wet on wet).  It completely smoothed it out.  You may also redo the yellow/rose area if yours is too weak.

The whole pepper got a scubbing with a scrub brush, highlighting the light areas and it's done!