The Mango Seller

I haven't painted for what seems like an age! I have finished off my "Life in the Northern Cape" Series, so this is not part of that series (please note the lack of the bright blue aqua colour). I am still, however, going through the phase of dripping paint and painting black people as subject matter. I honestly don't know when that will ever change!

But let me tell you more about the painting. My husband and I drive once a month to Johannesburg from Postmasburg (in the Northern Cape) and then return. On the journey, we often pass people selling a range of goods. Just outside of Klerksdorp (in the North West Province), when mangos are in season, there are quite a few mango sellers on the side of the road. This really inspired me and I felt the need to paint them. I took a few reference pics as we drove by and decided to use this boy as the subject matter of my painting. Just to clarify, he is eating from a packet of chips (well, at least that is my interpretation) - my husband requested I put that important information in.

Step 1

So this is the beginning of the painting. I started off with a lot of Raw and Burnt Sienna and Raw Umber (that is the different tones of brown) mixed with a bit of Ultra-marine Blue to make it a little richer. I liked how the different brush strokes on the right started making a 'zig zag' movement, so I developed it further into a road. This adds more depth and perspective to the painting.

Step 2

The painting is emerging here quite nicely (above). I had to tone down the tree that is behind the mangos quite a bit because it was overpowering the painting because it was too dark and strong. I started adding more highlights on the boy and the mangos because they are the focal point. I found that adding highlights that were a light cream colour to the crates on which the mangos are balanced, really enhanced the crates more than using just a straight grey or red highlight. I also thought that making the boys jersey green would add more colour to the overall painting, otherwise it would've been too 'brown' in the overall colour. I like how the Burnt Sienna (orangy colour) is coming through the green areas on his jersey. I struggled a bit with his face, I must confess. But I really like how the jeans have come out - using the cream highlights again was very effective. So this is it:

The final Painting

The Mango Seller

762mm x 610mm (Acrylic on Canvas)

Please note that this artwork has been sold.

All content and images copyright © Christy Tempies, 2017. All rights reserved.