Still Life Roma Tomato

That's a Roma

Susan Abma

5 x 7"

Oil on Canvas
As yet unfinished

Last night I set up a quick still life with a single Roma tomato. I am painting it on a 5 x 7" canvas, simply as an exercise in developing form, or in other words, making the tomato curve nicely around so that it has shape and doesn't sit as a flat object on the canvas.
The lighting is very important, and when setting up any still life, we have to be sure to have good light and good shadow. Without a strong light source, the subject has consistent lighting all over it. That makes it very difficult to establish the form.
In this case I set up the lighting to the left and a bit above the tomato, establishing a shadow mainly on the right side.

I'm going to call the painting, "That's a Roma." Cheesy? You bet - but I just can't think of anything that suits it better - and I am a little punny sometimes, actually quite often if I'm going to be honest.

Yesterday I went to several of the local art supply stores to purchase paint, thinner, canvas and varnish. I am trying Golden's MSA varnish for the first time - it was recommended by one of the store owners who I trust.

The MSA varnish is supposed to be mixed with mineral spirits until it is the consistency of homogenized milk. I am going to apply the Gloss varnish first until the entire painting has the same level of sheen. Then I'll apply very thin coats of Satin varnish until the painting is the lower level of sheen that I am looking for.

I'll try this on several old studies that are well-cured and then post how I feel about the results. If I'm happy with the results, I'll post the 'formula' I used - ie: 1 part varnish to 2 parts mineral spirits, or whatever it works out to. I'll also post the method I used to apply the varnish.