No. 27, 30 Day Challenge, Black Acorn

I found this little black acorn in the local park. I don't know anything about it but it's a lovely little thing, so I thought I'd paint it before it withers away. It's tiny.... only about 1.5cm across! It has to be my favourite subject so far... so simple and quick to paint too!

Black Acorn, found Longton Park, Sept 2013

  Colours: First I laid down a wash of Manganese Blue Hue and Cobalt Violet, leaving the centre of the brightest highlight clear. I added a  light wash of Indanthrene Blue and Permanent Carmine. A small amount of Aureolin was added to the same mix and added a couple more washes laid down to achieve the velvet black colour, the first wash was added while the previous layer was still damp so that the edges of the shine at the base and around the highlights remained smooth and soft. I added a little French Ultra Green Shade and Violet Dioxide to the right hand side for reflected light.  Detail in the form of fine lines was added to the acorn using a size 1 brush using the black mix. A very small amount of Raw Umber was added at the base of the acorn. For the cap I used a mix of Raw Umber and Cobalt blue. The stalk I used raw Umber and Perylene Maroon and a very light wash of  Manganese Blue Hue in selected places  for the highlight.