I was mentioning to my friend Ellen that deciding on a subject to paint would be the hardest part of this challenge and she suggested painting the same subject using several different mediums which I think is an incredible idea. You will be seeing this again (and maybe again) during the month. I'm especially excited to try this in oils.
This was done in pastels. I put pumice gel on a black panel which made it an uneven gray/black color. Then, I layered dark blue, dark green and brown in the background and blended it using water and it turned a nice, smooth, rich black. The under colors of the onion were handled the same way but I wanted it to have more texture so I layered additional color on top without using water to blend. The green was stumbled on the background and I added a few strokes of rust to indicate the surface on which the onion was sitting. I added the swish of the lighter color to lead the viewer's eyes back into the picture.
Chiaroscuro Onion
Image Size 8" x 10"
Pastel
