Autumn brings with it a beautiful array of colors and textures. At my local farmers’ market, a new crop of persimmons will be available in a variety of shapes and colors. I usually come home with a bag full and put them in a favorite dish. I love how the contrast of colors and textures play off of each other – orange-red against blue-green, smooth against rough.

I was eager to give 丹尼爾史密斯 胡桃墨水 a try, as I am particularly fond of inks with warm tones. The idea of drawing the persimmons with Walnut Ink was appealing, especially since it’s lightfast and will not fade.

I drew my persimmons with Walnut Ink and a bamboo reed pen (I like the line variation I get with this tool) on 140lb cold press watercolor paper. My favorite technique for drawing is continual line contour. I keep my pen on the paper for the majority of the drawing.

TIP:  Before you begin drawing, soak the tip of the bamboo reed pen in 3 inches of water for 20 minutes so it will hold more ink longer.

After putting fresh watercolors into the center of my palette. I work on a dry surface and mix the colors on the paper. You’ll notice the Walnut Ink moves a bit…I like that. If I touch the line gently, it will move a little and if I scrub the line with my brush, it moves more. The persimmons are a mixture of 漢莎黃中號, 蒽醌猩紅 和 喹吖啶酮焦橙色. The stem and leaf area is 喹吖啶酮金 和 法國群青.

I painted the plate with 鈷藍綠色. I intentionally disrupted the details on the plate with my brush because I want the lines to diffuse. I don’t want the lines to be in sharp focus, especially since the majority of the plate will be affected by shadows from the persimmons.

Shadows are my favorite subject! The presence of light defines form and gives life to a subject. I begin my making two puddles of paint on my palette – a mixture of 喹吖啶酮焦橙色 和 喹吖啶酮玫瑰, plus some 帝王紫. I start by painting the form shadows on the persimmons with the Quinacridones, then quickly move into the cast shadows on the plate with Imperial Purple. I want a soft transition between the objects and the colors.

For the final stage, I use Imperial Purple in the background. Before the passage has lost its shine, I touch a small amount of 酞菁綠松石 into the area. Final touches are added to the foliage area. Hope you enjoy painting your own farmers’ market favorites!