Pears two ways
Posted: December 6, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized 20 CommentsPears two ways sounds a bit like a dessert you might order in a fancy restaurant. But mine aren’t poached or served in a pie. These were purchased at the store yesterday, set up in my studio today, and painted both in watercolour and in gouache. I was even thinking of trying them in coloured pencil or transparent inks, but I ran out of time.
Shari Blaukopf's Sketchbook 
I do marvel at the volume you create with an economy of strokes.
I hope you find time for the other media.
Question (something I meant to ask at the peppers demo): when working in gouache the first opaque layer obviously covers your pencil line, so are you then guided by what’s in front of you, with the drawing in your mind’s eye? Kind of a dumb question which I perhaps just answered for myself. 😁
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That’s a good question Alison. The gouache is sometimes a little bit transparent so I can usually see the pencil lines a little bit. But I am also guided by what is front of me too. I think that when I paint in gouache I draw less because I know most of it will get covered up.
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Those both look great, very different interpretations.. Both excellent! Eileen
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Thanks so much Eileen!
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They both look great and very similar. The second one is gouache? The one thing that caught my eye was the little dark marks on the pears. Similar to text on a bottle! Good idea to try the same subject in a different medium. I did my gouache bottle again in Procreate.
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Hi Carmel. Yes, the second one is gouache. And I did the dark marks on the pears a bit like I did the text on the bottle. With a small dryish brush. I would love to see your hot sauce bottles in Procreate. Send them to me!!
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A pair of pear paintings . . . I love the fact that those damned stickers are still on them! Interesting to see the same composition in 2 different media.
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Yes, a pair of pear paintings. I had to leave those stickers on for a bit of white interest!
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It is interesting to see the slight differences in the two paintings. I see that only one has the stickers. Nicely done on both!!
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Thanks Joan. I think I forgot to add in the stickers on the watercolour one, and only noticed once I was painting, and by then it was too late.
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Love the freshness of your paintings! That color just sings! I too really like you painted the stickers, that kind of “real world” stuff adds to the story.
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Thank you so much!
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This is an impressive painting that is much more complex than it initially appears. (Speaking to the watercolor painting, since I know next to nothing about gouache technique.)
Compositionally, I like the way you put the “navel” of the one pear at the very center of the painting! It is subtle. Love the stems pointing this way and that, and the group of pears almost having a rotational aspect. Despite these dynamic elements, the effect is restful, balanced, has a good sense of gravity (the Newtonian kind) and calm.
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Thank you so much Betsy. I love your analysis. I don’t know about you, but when I try to set up fruit, it never works if you are too deliberate about it. I try to place the fruit randomly, let it settle and then see if I like it. If I am too fussy with it, it is not that nice!
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Love both of these! All of your recent adventures with gouache have finally convinced me to give it a try! Alan is buying me a set for Christmas. I know what I will be doing in 2021, besides doing all of your on-line workshops!
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That is the best kind of gift, I think. Give me art supplies any day.
I think you’ll like playing with them Denise!
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Can’t believe you missed the ‘Pair of Pears’ opportunity! Maybe you could make up for it with a rosy red ‘pomme’ next to your laptop … which would have to be a ‘Pair of Apples’?
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haha, I thought of that but I didn’t want to repeat myself because I had already done something similar some years back: https://shariblaukopf.com/2014/10/25/two-pairs/
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Humble apologies! I should have known better!
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I’ve been doing this for too long! And you have patiently been ready my bad puns for too long too.
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