Cornus capitata Fruit, SBA Assignment 7

Evergreen Dogwood (Cornus capitata ) which is native to China and the Himalayan mountains

This strange fruit brightened up the dreary winter day as I walked through my neighborhood and spied it on a small tree. Who can resist the cheery red fruit with the bright evergreen leaves?

In photos I have seen, the Cornus capitata fruits seem to vary a lot as far as the bumpiness of the skin goes but the fruits from this tree were relatively smooth so I drew them as I saw them. I submitted this painting for Assignment 7 in the SBA course I am taking, which was to be a study of fruit.

I am continuing on with my approach of using a limited palette of pigments to mix the shades of green and the shadow colors.  I used a wash of yellow under the red of the fruit to give them a glow and a slightly peachy-tint.

Cornus capitata or Evergreen Dogwood, is not native to the area where I live but is grown in cultivation here.  It is not very common at all, in fact I have not ever even noticed one before.

Addendum: Tutor’s Comments & My Reflections:

When I did my first two watercolor assignments, a collection of eight different leaves, then a collection of seven flower heads with stems but no leaves included, I realized that leaves could stand alone as a composition, but the flowers seemed somehow naked and incomplete.  They needed the contrast of leaves to show their color and texture to best effect.  They needed something to dilute their sweetness so that their flavor could be more fully appreciated.  I decided that I would try to find a fruit specimen that included leaves for this assignment for the same reason.  I thought it would show the fruit to better effect and tell more about the plant.

Unfortunately because of the time restrictions of the assignment, I couldn’t afford to spend too much time searching.  I checked the fruits at several local markets, and none had leaves remaining.  I decided I would like to paint the fruit of our native Dogwood tree, Cornus nuttallii, but could not find any good fruiting specimens.  Finally, I ran across this odd tree that was fruiting in my neighborhood and decided that I needed to press on–I had found a nice combination of fruit and leaves growing right around the corner!

My tutor liked my choice of subject and the way it was displayed.  She liked my tonal values, shading, highlights and cast shadows, noting that the fruit looked rounded and 3D. She liked how the fruit on the tree was placed and shaded, although the fruit at the bottom should have been placed closer to the twig in order to lessen the white space in the middle of the page.   Also, she thought the painting would have been improved if I had not cut the leaf on the far right in half (I had in mind that the mat would cover that edge as if the stem were emerging out of the frame, but failed to mention that to her in the information I sent about the painting).  She thought my painting technique was good, and edges were crisp.

I got good marks and encouraging comments from my tutor so was pleased.