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CUMBERLAND COUNTY COLLEGE: PAINTING 

Painting I - Mid-Semester Project



MID-SEMESTER PROJECT

Due: week 7, no exceptions

Instructions

1. This project accounts for a significant portion of your grade. It is expected that you
    will invest the time and effort needed to do a good job of it.

2. Do two paintings of an apple as described below.

3. Each of the two paintings is to be 12" X 12" using one of the following formats:

• They may be done on two separate canvases, each 12" X 12" or larger, or…
• Use a 12" X 24" or larger canvas divided in half, with each 12" X 12" painting occupying half the canvas.

4. It is critical that the paintings be done in the following order:

• Grid version first (complete this painting before doing the realistic one)
• Realistic version last (complete this after doing the grid version)
• Place an apple on a plain background and direct a strong light at it.

5. Place an apple on a plain background and direct a strong light at it.

6. Grid Version

• Using pencil, divide your canvas into 1" squares (12 squares across and 12 squares down) – when done it will look like graph paper
• In pencil, sketch only the general shape of the apple and its cast shadow – no detail
• Paint the first square

• Choose a square on your canvas and carefully study the equivalent area on the apple (it is easiest to begin along the outer edge of the apple or at some distinctive landmark)
• Mix a color similar to the overall color of the area of the apple that you have examined
• Paint the color you have mixed into the appropriate square
• Paint the next square
  • Choose a square next to the one you have just painted
  • Study this same area on the apple, carefully comparing it to the area just painted
    • Compare relative value; is it darker or lighter and how much so
    • Compare chroma (brilliance); is the color purer or duller (grayer)
    • Compare temperature; is the color warmer or cooler
    • Compare hue; is the area redder, bluer, more green, more yellow, etc.
    • Mix a color for the second square based on your comparison
    • Paint square two
• Continue by painting a square that is next to one of the two squares already painted
• Complete the painting by comparing one area to the next and painting each new square until all the squares are painted
• Special Notes:
  • Squares which contain both a part of the apple and part of the background should be a single color that approximates what would happen if apple-color and background-color were mixed together in the proper proportions
  • No two squares should be the same color; each square should be different and should accurately represent its equivalent spot on the apple or its background
  • Fill in all squares, including the background

7.  Realistic Version

• Once you have finished the grid version, paint a realistic version of the same apple.
• Spend time observing carefully and make the painting as convincing as possible.





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