If you’ve been wondering whatever became of those pencil studies of citrus fruit, here’s a peek at the final result. This old-fashioned fruit crate label was commissioned by Mobile Botanical Gardens to promote a slate of upcoming events celebrating citrus. Like the labels of old, the image measures 10×11 inches. It’s all in colored pencil, using a “speed pencil” technique that I love — all the shading is done in an “underpainting” layer using just Dark Umber pencil, then the color is added at the last in a single layer. The wonderful shadows and highlights are simply the result of the umber drawing showing through the color. Below, the peeled orange is still in the umber stage but the shiny satsuma orange next to it has already received a layer of color… just a single layer of orange pencil! Thanks to the textures and shadows already shaded beneath, you get a lush and complex result. It’s a great alternative to the traditional slow layering of different colors to build depth.
valwebb.com 
You continue to inspire. Can’t wait ’til the culinary herb class. Meantime, I loved the Mobile Citrus Label and the technique you described. I tried one of my own and though I didn’t layer enough of the umber the idea came through loud and clear. I will give it another try. Carole J
Yay! It’s really a wonderful technique. Can’t wait to see how it works for you.
PS to the comment above. Checked out the Mobile Botanical Garden pages and saw your label. Terrific! Citrus is my favorite thing from soaps to facials to zesting my sourdough blueberry pancakes. I put lemon or orange in everything (almost) … Will be checking back for the recipes! Job well done! Carole J