How to Paint a Morel Mushroom
- 1). Set up a still-life display using the morel mushrooms that you have picked. Cut out a side of a cardboard box with a pair of scissors or craft knife so that both the front and back sides are open. Drape fabric, like a table cloth or sheet, over the box so that it provides a colored, patterned or textured backdrop and floor to your still-life arrangement. Display your mushrooms in isolation by lying them on the draped fabric, or, alternatively, place your mushrooms in a decorative ceramic bowl or plate. Include additional objects such as other food items, flowers, plants, kitchen utensils or any other object to complement and contrast with your display of mushrooms, if desired.
- 2). Sketch a preliminary study of your still-life display. Observe your still-life closely and draw a rough outline of the shape of the mushrooms and other aspects of your still-life onto your paper, using a No. 2 graded pencil. Draw in the details of the cave-like patterns observed within the mushroom and details contained within other objects, if applicable. Shade in the areas of light and dark using your softer leaded No. 1 pencil to add more depth and form to your quick preparatory sketch.
- 3). Lightly redraw in pencil your still life-life composition onto your stretched canvas.
- 4). Apply a base coat by applying a thin layer of a light neutral hue, in a paint medium of your choice, to your canvas with a large flat or mop brush and leave to dry. Clean your brush by dipping it into brush cleaner and then rinsing it in water and using an old cloth or a piece of absorbent kitchen roll to dry the bristles.
- 5). Use a medium-sized round brush to mix a color on the paint palette to match what you see as the lightest color contained in the mushrooms. Paint a test strip and hold that up against the mushrooms to check your color mix is the correct tone. Apply the base coat to your entire mushroom.
- 6). Mix a color to match what you see as the darkest mushroom shade and apply that to your painting. You will see how your painting is starting to take shape.
- 7). Mix what you observe to be the mid-tones in your mushroom and blend them in between the light and dark shades within your painting. Look at your still-life and check to see if some areas of your painting require more darker tones or lighter highlights to represent areas of reflected light.
- 8). Paint in the background of your still-life to complete your composition. Use a smaller round brush to paint any intricate detail into your painting.
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