As the colder weather is now here, I turned to one of my favourite warmer subjects to sketch and paint: Positano, Italy. This drawing is from a photo I took of the beautiful lemons at a grocery store in town… and I luckily got a fair bit of the town in, … and in focus.

While I’ve been doing the smaller #inktober sketches, I’ve been working on this drawing too but in short bursts. I finally finished it up, getting some advice again from my watercolour teacher, Shelley Prior, on colour balance. I had originally made the small lemon crate (bottom left) the only splash of blue in the painting and it was creating too much attention. Shelley suggested I take down the intensity of the blue and also “blue up” a few more spots to balance things. It definitely made a difference. Sometimes when I’m painting from a photo I will paint it very literally and forget some of the composition fundamentals – I get carried away, or more like transported, by the image and the flood of memories it produces! And this is why I need classes and good instructors!

I’m counting this drawing as my #inktober 10th. I haven’t posted the 9th yet, but I decided posting a bit of warmth and colour might be just what’s needed on a chilly October day!

The Lemons of Positano
(6″x9″ on 140 lb watercolour paper)