Oil on Paper | 6” x 8”
If you’ve been reading my blog for the past year, you’ll recall the familiar look of this battered tennis ball in the Ball! Ball! Ball! composition. This was done on paper, while the original was on canvass board. I definitely prefer the teeth of the canvass board because it allows for a more textured look, lending to more realism in terms of teasing out the hairs of a well used tennis ball.
The palette was simple, but I never got the clay court orange just right. I’ll have to experiment before doing it again on a larger scale. The green of the ball itself is a base of Permanent Green Light, straight out of the tube, with variations of Cadmium Yellow Light and a touch of red. The shadow side of the ball is more traditional green from Ultramarine Blue and Cadmium Yellow Deep.
Lastly, a comment on fine details. This ball doesn’t look like a tennis ball until the final white seam is added. It’s amazing how a very simple object such as this ball doesn’t come into focus until the one identifying element has been added. Without the seam, they’re all just yellow green fuzzy balls.
Art Bern 
very nice, Bern! like it even better than the original one from a few months ago. time to raise your prices!.?
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Thanks for the feedback! I was surprised to see the difference between the two and I agree that the recent composition is a bit better…. or maybe it’s just a better photo. 😀
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