UNDERSTANDING THE COLOUR RED: CHERRIES & TOMATOES.

A STILL LIFE IN WATERCOLOUR & PEN

Today we are looking at the colour red and its different characteristics through a simple still life of cherries and tomatoes.

Cherries are a dark red/purple colour. ( Purple is a mix of red and blue. ) I have used Alizarin Red as this is a cooler red leaning towards tones of blue.

Tomatoes are an orangy red. I have used a cadmium red as this is a warmer red leaning towards tones of orange.

This will be a simple still life using pen and wet-in-wet techniques.

Experiment with your own reds so you understand if it has warm elements by leaning towards orange or cool elements by leaning toward purple.

MATERIALS

Watercolour NOT paper. At least 300g. The painting should be approx. A5.

Watercolour brushes-

Chinese Brush/10 round brush

A waterproof black pen. Recommended 0.5 to 0.8

Tissue.

Two Pots of Water

Colours

Alizarin Red (Cool Red )

Cadmium Red (Warm Red)

Cadmium Yellow (Warm Yellow)

Ultramarine Blue (Warm Blue)

METHOD

Draw out the tomatoes and cherries in pencil on watercolour paper, taking on board their position, the space around them and the angle of their stalks. It doesn't have to be exact. One of my stalks moved while I was drawing this out, for example!!!
When you are satisfied with the drawing, go over it with a pen. Leave breaks in the line where the light hits the fruit on the left. These are descriptive lines.
CHERRIES- Paint alizarin on the right side of the cherries onto dry paper using a Chinese brush or size 10 round brush (depending on the size of your picture)
Drop in some ultramarine at the base where the shadows are. Let it spread itself. Don't fiddle or overload. Use less water and paint with the ultramarine, or it will spread too much. Ensure you leave light areas on the left where the light hits the fruit.
Clean the brush and remove any excess water so it is damp, and while the paint is still wet, soften the edges of the alizarin where the light hits so there are no hard lines. Do not do this with a very wet brush, only damp, or you will create cauliflowers.
TOMATOES-Drop cadmium red on the tomatoes and do the same with the ultramarine with the shadow. Even less than the cherries, or it will spread too much into the red. You don't want purple cherry tomatoes!!
Don't worry about overlapping the pen or the outside of the drawing. The pen shows the shape and form of the fruit. The watercolour gives a lovely loose finish.
STALKS AND LEAVES- When dry, mix the cadmium yellow with ultramarine and paint the leaves and stalks.
When dry, you can add another layer of pure alizarin red to the cherries and another cadmium red to the tomatoes, but only if you want them stronger and brighter. If you are happy with the first layer of paint. LEAVE IT ALONE!

I hope with this simple exercise, you will start to understand the different characteristics of red and how you can mix different reds for other effects. Do try experimenting with other reds as well.

Enjoy! And I look forward to seeing your work. If you have any questions, please just ask.

Marker Girl Marie

Artist and Illustrator

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