After doing a third apple painting, I realized I wasn't seeing anything that looked like progress. So, I took a couple of days to review some of the very basics and decided to give myself a break and switch to a different subject. This time it's a bell pepper.

To my eye, this one is an improvement, in that it does look more dimensional. This is because I limited myself to just three values. That is to say, the same green for the color of the pepper, but three versions of it, a light, a middle tone, and a dark. After it was initially painted, there was some blending done, but not much. I really needed to simplify things so I wouldn't have to think about too many things at once.

Not something I'd want to sign and frame, but at least I now feel I'm making some headway. It's going to take quite a few more of the little paintings to get where I want to go, but I'm on the way.

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL