3302 Odd Apple

In 3302 Odd Apple, from the Jerry Yarnell Inspiration of Painting PBS television series, Jerry guides intermediate artists through a beautiful water-mixable oil painting lesson featuring a rustic still-life arrangement of colorful apples spilling from an overturned wooden basket. This intermediate-level lesson is approximately 155 minutes and is painted on an 18 x 24 canvas. The finished painting features a collection of rich red apples surrounding a single green apple, creating an interesting contrast in color and giving the painting its distinctive title. The weathered wooden basket, scattered fruit, delicate grasses, and softly blended green background complete this charming country still life.

One of the most important features of this painting is the realistic appearance of the apples and the beautiful contrast between their red and green colors. Jerry teaches how to develop the rounded shapes of the fruit using carefully blended colors, highlights, shadows, and subtle variations in value. You'll learn how reflected light, darker shadow areas, and carefully placed highlights help give each apple a convincing three-dimensional appearance. The single green apple provides a natural focal point among the surrounding red apples, while the soft background allows the fruit and wooden basket to stand out. Jerry uses water-mixable oil paints, which provide virtually the same rich colors, smooth blending, and working characteristics as traditional oil paints, but allow thinning and cleanup with water instead of requiring the harsh solvents commonly used with conventional oil paints.

As the painting progresses, Jerry demonstrates techniques for creating the overturned wooden basket, including its curved wooden slats, metal bands, weathered wood grain, and realistic surface textures. Special attention is given to the relationship between the basket and the scattered apples, using overlapping shapes and carefully placed shadows to establish depth and dimension. This step-by-step water-mixable oil painting tutorial also explores how to develop the delicate grasses surrounding the fruit, create natural-looking shadows beneath the apples, and blend the soft green background without distracting from the main subjects. These fine art techniques help bring the different textures of fruit, wood, metal, and vegetation together into a convincing still-life composition.

Odd Apple is an excellent lesson for intermediate artists who want to improve their skills in painting realistic apples, colorful fruit, wooden baskets, weathered wood grain, highlights and shadows, and traditional still-life compositions. Jerry's step-by-step instruction combines these important fine art techniques to create a beautiful rustic painting filled with rich colors, natural textures, convincing depth, and realistic detail. Artists will also appreciate learning how to achieve the smooth blending and traditional painting effects of oil paints while enjoying the convenience of water-mixable oils without the need for harsh painting solvents.

Jerry Yarnell instructional painting videos are available on DVD or as Digital Downloads. (No Shipping Charge for Download videos).
CLICK HERE for More Information about our Digital Downloads