Demonstration: Apples in a bowl

Reference photo

You will need …

• 3B pencil

• Kneadable putty rubber

• White cartridge paper drawing pad

• A well-lit window sill or a lamp to provide a light source

'I found this simple arrangement of apples waiting to be turned into a pie on our kitchen window sill,' says Tim Fisher. 'To improve the lighting, I positioned a desk lamp to the right of the picture.'

Step one

 

 

 

 

 

To draw the bowl, hold the pencil lightly between your fingers and draw a few ellipses without taking the pencil off the paper. Your eye will start to tell you which group of lines resembles the shape of the bowl. Next, rather than drawing the fruit draw the shapes between the apples. Use a vertical and a horizontal line, as shown, to help position the shapes; erase them carefully with the putty rubber when you completed this stage.

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Step two

 

 

 

 

 

 

Start to draw the forms of the bowl, shadows and fruit. It's often easier to draw a broken line, rather than a continuous curve. Your finished drawing will also look better.

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Step three

 

 

 

 

 

The only white areas are the highlights on the fruit. Lightly, with the side of the pencil, add tone all over the drawing other than the highlights.

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Step four

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look for the places where dark areas meet light areas. Gradually increase the tonal contrast of the drawing by adding more tone to the darker areas. In some parts of the image the tones appear almost black, so press quite hard with the pencil to get the deepest shadows.

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Develop your still life skills further by using solid watercolour sticks to paint cooking apples on a plate with Tim.