In this watercolor project, we'll be painting a few Granny Smith apples, sitting on a windowsill in the kitchen, with patterned tiles beneath the sill. We'll be using various techniques, including transparent layering, mingling, glazing, and a little salt, at the end this time, for texture.
Use these 7 different pigments for this project -- Aureolin Yellow, Quinacridone Gold, Quinacridone Rose, Quinacridone Magenta, Cerulean Blue, Cobalt Blue, and Sap Green. Substitute with something similar, if you need to.
Prep 3 colors on your palette, to be used for the wet-in-wet underpainting: Aureolin Yellow, Quinacridone Rose, and Cerulean Blue . . .
Wet your paper with clear water. Then paint these three colors, in "stripes". Since we're painting wet-in-wet, there should be no hard edges to these stripes . . .
Let this dry on a flat surface. While this is drying, find your reference material. I set up 3 green apples on a window sill and took some pictures. You can set up your own "still life", or work from these photos, or from my drawing . . .
When the underpainting is completely dry, do a pencil drawing. Start by drawing a straight horizon line, about a third of the way down from the top. Measure and use a ruler for this line. If it's not level, it will look as if the apples are going to roll off the ledge. Now, draw a few apples, sitting on this line. Add a few more horizontal lines to indicate a window sill, and then draw a simple pattern underneath the sill . . .
Clean off the middle of your palette, and now mix up a simple Yellow wash. Paint each apple with this yellow was, wetting each first with clear water. Then, paint some of the pattern shapes Yellow . . .
To the Yellow wash on your palette, add some Cerulean Blue, to make a Green. Also, prep some Sap Green, mixed with a little Cerulean Blue. Wet each apple separately with water, and mingle these colors in each apple. Then, mix a Cerulean Blue wash, and paint some of the pattern shapes with this Blue. Paint this Blue over some of the Yellow shapes, too, in order to make a Green . . .
Clean off your palette, and mix a wash of the Quinacridone Rose. Paint the windowsill with this Rose wash. When that is dry, paint another layer of the same Rose wash on the middle shape of the sill. Then, use this Rose to paint a few more of the pattern shapes. If you paint the rose over some of the Blue shapes, it will make a Violet. When you paint the Rose over some of the Yellow shapes, it will make an Orange . . .
When this is dry, paint a wash of Quinacridone Gold over the windowsill, to warm it up. Then, use the same wash to paint a few more pattern shapes and the lines between the squares . . . (you could also leave the shapes between the squares unpainted)
After that is completely dry, paint a few darks in the apples -- right at the bottom of each (Sap Green plus Cobalt Blue), and the stems (Magenta plus Blue plus Quin Gold). Use the dark magenta to paint a dark under the windowsill, to give it some dimension. Now, paint some magenta pattern shapes. Paint some shapes within the shapes. No need to draw these first, unless you want to.
To finish your painting, paint a glaze (pale wash) of Cobalt Blue over the patterned area. When there is just a sheen on the paper, sprinkle some salt on the wash and let it dry.
When that is completely dry, brush off the salt . . .
This final Blue glaze subdues the pattern a little, and the salt gives it a subtle, "weathered" look. Your focal point should be the apples and not the pattern. If they complete with each other, you need to tone down one. (There can't be two stars of the show.)
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