My first project with the new still-life stand was another Bennington Peaches study. Zip-ties hold a mirror that gives me a perfect top-down view of the peaches on the blue plate.

Here’s the underpainting on an 8″ x 8″ stretched canvas.

I started by covering the canvas with a random pattern of middle value acrylic colors, including French Ultramarine, Burnt Sienna, and Burnt Umber, all lightened with Titanium White. I also painted the sides of the canvas with black acrylic paint.

When this was dry, I started the oil underpainting using water miscable oils. First I established the outlines of the peaches, the plate, and the core and cast shadows using Burnt Sienna. I then painted in the shadows using a combination of Prussian Blue, Terra Verte, and Burnt Sienna. A final step was to lightened the table with a bit of Titanium White.