The first stage of this painting was to create a drawing from a photo I took of some candy in a dish on a very sunny day. I set up the still life on our lanai while it could be washed in the crisp morning sunlight.
Next, I scrubbed the back of the drawing with a Chunky Graphite Stick (can be purchased at CheapJoes.com). It's important to scrub hard and deposit a lot of graphite on the paper, so when the drawing is traced onto the watercolor paper, almost no pressure is required. This will prevent indentations in your paper from pressing too hard. These depressions can collect pigment and create ugly marks and lines in your painting.
I tape the drawing along one edge to create a sort of hinge. Now I can trace the image onto my watercolor paper, and lift the drawing occasionally to view my progress. Again, when tracing, use a light touch!!!
Remove your drawing and fold it in half. You may want to use it again sometime!
If you would like to join us in painting this piece, for $5.00 you can order the printable reference files from my etsy shop:
www.watercolorgirl.etsy.com.
Even though the drawing is on the watercolor paper now, there is still another step before paint is applied to this piece. I wanted to mask the areas of absolute white (the paper will be my white), which I need to save. If I mask these areas, they will be preserved and I don't have to be quite as careful when laying down the wet washes.
To mask, I use a small container that holds a bar of soap and some water. You can use dish soap also, but I like the bar of soap because it is a little thicker. My second small container holds a tiny bit of masking, just enough for the current project. This protects my fragile masking fluid in its larger container. Masking dries out quickly, so I like to keep my larger container closed, except for pouring a small amount into my little container that I work from.
I use a small, cheap brush. Don't ever mix masking fluid or its water, with your watercolor paints or brushes. Any masking that gets into your water tub can eventually get into your good brushes and ruin them forever.
I saturate the brush with the soapy mixture by brushing into the very wet, thick bar of gooey soap. Then, I dip into the masking and apply a small amount at a time. Again, dip into the soapy mixture, pick up a little more masking and apply. The soap keeps your brush from getting saturated with masking fluid. The brush will stay soft and workable for a long time. The last thing I do is scrub the brush in the soapy mixture one last time. I don't wash out the brush, I just leave the soapy mixture in it. My masking brushes last a long time!
Allow the masking to air dry. If you dry it with a hair dryer, the heat can make the masking sink into the paper and it will be more difficult to remove.
Okay! Now it's time to dress up the table a little. First, I used a one-inch flat brush with very soft bristles. I loaded it with clean water and gently pulled a puddle of water over the entire table, including the areas of shadow under the dish painted earlier. The only things I left untouched with water were the actual dish, and the candies both in the dish and on the table.
Today I want to begin working on the sparkling colors in the glass candy dish. I will be using the same colors that I used previously: French Ultramarine Blue, Permanent Alizarin Crimson, Winsor Red, and New Gamboge. Because the colors will be a bit diluted as I work, I want to begin with strong, wet pigments. Stir up some of these colors in the corners of your paint wells and have them ready to go. Pay close attention to the values shown in the reference photo so that you can get them right the first time. With this method I don't want to have to go back and paint another glaze of color if I can prevent it.
Normally I layer colors, but today I am going to "charge" wet colors into one another. I want these colors to be strong enough that I won't have to add any layers of pigment later, but I want them to be wet enough that they will blend together and be transparent. I have used French Ultramarine Blue in the areas where the strongest shadow is, Permanent Alizarine Crimson, Winsor Red, and New Gamboge for the other colors. Before I begin, I want to be sure my pigments are very wet, and well-mixed, so they are ready to dip into for the process of "charging".
To begin, I dip into the French Ultramarine Blue with a number 10 round brush. I can't emphasize enough the importance of WET pigment. I lay a small path of pigment (not more that a 2-inch length) and quickly clean the brush and dip into the next color. I lay the next color next to the blue, just barely touching the colors so that the blue runs into the next color and softly blends. Continue this process until an area is filled in. Pay attention to the values and shadow shapes so that your areas make sense. Be bold and use strong, wet pigments. Allow this to dry.
The first stage of this painting was to create a drawing from a photo I took of some candy in a dish on a very sunny day. I set up the still life on our lanai while it could be washed in the crisp morning sunlight. 
Even though the drawing is on the watercolor paper now, there is still another step before paint is applied to this piece. I wanted to mask the areas of absolute white (the paper will be my white), which I need to save. If I mask these areas, they will be preserved and I don't have to be quite as careful when laying down the wet washes.
I use a small, cheap brush. Don't ever mix masking fluid or its water, with your watercolor paints or brushes. Any masking that gets into your water tub can eventually get into your good brushes and ruin them forever.
I have not meant to ignore my blog lessons, but I have to admit that I have been side-tracked by a long-running project. By long-running, I mean since 2001!!! I started this quilt back then, and have worked on it off and on for many years. Recently, seeing how close I was to completing it, I picked it up and worked hard to complete it.
The finished piece! Once I sign a piece I don't allow myself to touch it with a brush again. You can see a larger image of the final painting on my website. 
It's time to add some drama to the table.
Now it is time to step back and take a good look at this painting. I want to be sure I am not overworking some areas. I like to keep the painting at the same stage of development throughout.
Today I am using a variety of reds from my palette to develop more depth in the cherries. I used Permanent Alizarin Crimson, Perylene Maroon, and Winsor Red primarily.
Quinicridone Gold and Burnt Sienna are the colors of the day! I am using them to add some gold cast to the glass jar, especially at the bottom where the colors are darker because of the way the light is hitting the objects. I used a touch of this color at the top of the jar lid also. Notice the soft edges inside the jar. Some areas of glass will have crisp lines where the shadows are deep, like at the edge of a shape in the glass (notice the letters). Other crisp edges of color can be found around where the light hits the glass directly. All of the other areas will have soft transitions of color by using clear water. Wet edges are soft edges. Dry paper will create crisp edges.
Back to painting the cherries! I want the cherries to look round, so I need to focus on the values, shadows, and the direction the light is coming from. I also need to be sure that I am painting the shadow SHAPES correctly. Since we are creating the illusion of a three-dimensional subject on a two dimensional surface, the sure fire way to accomplish this is by correctly using color, value and SHAPE.
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