Art masterclass            

From The Artist, the monthly magazine for amateur and semi-professional painters, giving practical instruction in painting and drawing in watercolour, pastels and oils, as well as news of art events, exhibitions and competitions open to leisure artists; www.theartistmagazine.co.uk   

A simple still life

By Tim Fisher

You will need…

• 3B pencil
• Kneadable putty rubber
• White cartridge paper drawing pad
• A well-lit window sill or a lamp to provide a light source

I found this simple arrangement of apples waiting to be turned into a pie on our kitchen window sill. To improve the lighting, I positioned a desk lamp to the right of the picture.

Step 1

To draw the bowl, hold the pencil lightly between your fingers and draw a few ellipses without taking the pencil off the paper. Your eye will start to tell you which group of lines resembles the shape of the bowl. Next, rather than drawing the fruit draw the shapes between the apples. Use a vertical and a horizontal line, as shown, to help position the shapes; erase them carefully with the putty rubber when you have completed this stage.

Step 2

Start to draw the forms of the bowl, shadows and fruit. It's often easier to draw a broken line, rather than a continuous curve. Your finished drawing will also look better.

Step 3

The only white areas are the highlights on the fruit. Lightly, with the side of the pencil, add tone all over the drawing other than the highlights.

Step 4

Look for the places where dark areas meet light areas. Gradually increase the tonal contrast of the drawing by adding more tone to the darker areas. In some parts of the image the tones appear almost black, so press quite hard with the pencil to get the deepest shadows.

        Apples in a Bowl by Tim Fisher

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