Worked on everything but the background for a few hours this morning. This should be finished in two to three weeks. A few weeks after that I will “oil up” this little painting which is just putting a few drops of linseed oil on a piece of cotton and rubbing the entire surface of the painting. The oil will help. A couple of months after that I will varnish the painting.

Started adding two more grapes. They didn’t look right. Worked on the glass and did a little work on the linen at the base of the glass. Put a bluish red glaze over some of the darks of the grapes. Did a little work to soften some edges. The pear needs quite a bit of work.

Worked on the apple, grapes, glass, and foreground linen. The glass looked kinda dirty and it has always looked like it was floating. I’m getting it dialed in. At least I think I am.

Did some work on the background and a little work on the pear. Need to apply a purplish glaze over the grapes, followed by grape highlights, spend a couple of sessions on the apple, pear, and glass, finish up the linen in the background and foreground in one or two sessions, and add any finishing touches. It won’t be long. Creating what is called a “lost edge” is a difficult thing to pull off. The left edge of the apple and pear are very sharp and look a little unnatural. It’s a difficult thing to barely soften edges so objects don’t look like they’ve been cut out and pasted onto the painting. I think I’ll be able to improve the edges.