Still life painting of nectarines and walnuts, wood panel

Still life painting with nectarines and walnuts

I’ve just finished a new still life painting on wood panel (Belle Arti). I tried to inject a bit of drama with dark shadows and produce a painting reminiscent of old Dutch still life paintings. The distinctive dark wooden frame further enhances this look. My palette contained almost exclusively Old Holland oils:

cadmium yellow pale, ultramarine blue, cadmium red, alizarin crimson, permanent rose, Naples yellow light, yellow ochre, raw umber, burnt umber, Van Dyke brown, flake white.

I applied my usual technique, starting with thumbnail sketches and moving the objects around to correct the composition. This was followed by a thorough grisaille/verdacchio value study. The painting was completed by applying several layers of glazing. Nectarines show a dazzling pallette of colours in the pink/red/yellow range; I have tried to achieve this by glazing with permanent rose, alizarin crimson and thin layers of the cadmiums using liquin as a medium.

This still life painting will be shown at French restaurant RetroBistrot in Teddington.

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