Apples

It all started with a Facebook self-challenge: An Apple a Day. I wanted to paint in a series to explore composition while developing an in-the-studio-daily habit, and apples seemed like a good shpe: fairly uniform across types, simple, with individual little details to play with. Little did I know that I would fall in love. For the first time in my painting career, Whimsy visited my studio, dragging Humor, Ink, and Acrylics along with it. After awhile, they all bought toothbrushes and moved in. I don’t get to paint flowers or Apples often right now, but I treasure the times when I do.

Paper—the brand, the type, the shape and size—is whatever I pull out of my remnant drawer. Hahnemuehle is becoming a favorite brand for its high quality and durability. Brushes are all types and sizes of the Richeson 7000 Quiller Watermedia brushes. It is my choice of paints that is different here. Not only do I use my M. Graham and Stephen Quiller watercolors, I also include India ink and Brera Acrylic paints in most of my Apple pieces for their darker blacks and their own particular qualities as mediums. As always, my Quiller Travel Palette and I are inseparable. I can find my triads and complements with a glance, leaving me free to imagine and paint and feel.