Louise De Masi Art School

In this two-part intermediate tutorial, Louise guides you through painting three green apples resting on a striped tea towel. This simple still life is a great study in creating form through subtle colour and value changes while also tackling the folds, shadows, and repeating pattern of the fabric.

You’ll build the apples gradually using wet-on-wet washes and glazing, keeping the colours fresh and luminous while developing their rounded form. The tea towel introduces a different challenge, with stripes that bend, narrow, widen, and disappear as they follow the folds in the fabric. Careful observation and brush control help create the illusion of soft, draped cloth.

You’ll also explore cast shadows, complementary colour, soft and hard edges, masking fluid, and subtle colour variation. The stripes may require a little patience, but they’re an excellent exercise in slowing down, observing carefully, and allowing your brushwork to become more confident as the pattern develops.

• Building the round form of apples with layered wet-on-wet washes and glazing
• Mixing fresh, natural greens using Transparent Yellow, Phthalo Green, and Transparent Sienna
• Creating cool greys from French Ultramarine and Transparent Sienna
• Introducing subtle violet into shadows to complement the green apples
• Painting convincing cast shadows with gradual changes in value
• Controlling soft and hard edges to describe folds and form
• Using masking fluid to preserve small highlights and delicate stems
• Painting stripes cleanly and confidently on dry paper
• Following stripes as they bend, narrow, and change direction across folded fabric
• Preserving the white paper between stripes as part of the pattern
• Using value and directional lines to lead attention towards the focal point
• Simplifying a detailed patterned subject by concentrating on one small area at a time