STEP 1: BLOCKING IN THE SUBJECT 

• Use a neutral paint color to sketch in your subject. 

• Move from big, simple shapes to smaller, complex ones. 

• You can also mark in subtle tonal shifts or shadows as well. 

STEP 3: PAINTING THE DARKEST PARTS OF THE BOTTLE 

• This painting is a "high key" painting- so it is predominantly light in value. 

• The darks of the bottle are only going to be as dark as the medium-toned values that you mixed earlier. 

• Be extremely sensitive to the temperature shifts! 

• Most of your darks will be cool neutral greens and violets. 

• Also establish a cast shadow. 

STEP 4: ADD THE BACKGROUND COLOR- THIS IS IMPORTANT 

• The bottle is transparent, which means that most of the colors used to paint it are some variation of the background color. 

• Over-exaggerate the background color- use a warm, orange or yellow based neutral. This will help when you add the colors to your bottle, I promise. 

• Establish the background early in your painting so you have something to compare your colors to. 

STEP 5: CONTINUE ADDING WARM TONES INSIDE THE BOTTLE 

• Add the warm background tones inside the perimeter of the bottle. 

• Pay attention to areas that are lighter and darker and warmer and cooler. 

STEP 6: FINISH OUT THE BACKGROUND AND ADD THE HIGHLIGHTS 

• Paint the background all the way to the edges of your paper/panel after you completely block in your subject. 

• Pay very close attention to the outside edge of the silhouette. 

• Some areas are lighter than the background, some darker, and some the edge disappears completely. 

HIGHLIGHTS

• Put in the very  lightest highlights using pure white mixed with just a touch of color from your orange color thread. 

• The highlights will be located where the glass curves in such a way that it reflects light directly back to the viewer's eyes. 

• The lightest areas will be most obvious at the neck of the bottle and around the rim. 

• The darkest areas will be along the bottom of the bottle.