Painstaking Process

“Silver Cup and Red Plum” was created through a traditional, layered painting process that has guided still life painters for generations. The arrangement was composed under controlled lighting to observe how illumination moves across reflective metal, gathers within the plum’s surface, and settles into the folds of the cloth beneath them.

The work began with small preparatory sketches to explore proportion, balance, and the quiet relationship between the cup and the fruit. A painted color study followed. This smaller rehearsal helped establish the harmony of warm and cool tones and clarified the overall atmosphere of the final composition.

Once the structure was resolved, the composition was lightly transferred to a hand-primed panel using soft charcoal. Only the essential shapes were marked. The details were left open to emerge naturally through slow, attentive painting.

A monochromatic underpainting was then developed to define the values, light patterns, and structural relationships. This stage created the architecture that would support the later layers of color, ensuring that both the reflective metal and the plum’s soft luminosity would appear grounded and cohesive.

With the underpainting complete, thin layers of transparent color were applied using glazing techniques. This method allows light to pass through the paint film, creating depth and optical mixtures that cannot be achieved with opaque layers alone. The cool sheen of the cup, the rich reds and violets of the plum, and the subtle variations in the cloth all depend on this careful buildup of color.

The painting took shape over many days of focused work, each layer adding refinement and depth. The final result is a piece shaped by patience, precision, and the enduring discipline of close observation.