It is easy to see, when looking at these grapes, that the five elements of shading played an important part in creating them. While the grapes closely resemble a sphere, the reflections are much more extreme and will vary from one grape to another. This looks more complex but is much easier to paint than the overly controlled surface of the spheres. The highlights here do not blend out and disappear into the other tones. Here, they are stark and can be created with a swipe of the brush.
Paints
Cadmium Red Medium, Cadmium Yellow Medium, Ivory Black, Prussian Blue, Titanium White
Brushes
no. 4 sable or synthetic round, no. 2/0 sable or synthetic liner
Other
mechanical pencil
STEP 1 Paint the Base Colors
Begin by lightly drawing three stacked circles with your mechanical pencil. Fill in each one with Cadmium Red Medium, using a no. 4 round brush.
STEP 2 The Awkward Stage
Mix a touch of Ivory Black into the Cadmium Red Medium paint to create a dark red mixture. Apply the shadow edge to each grape, using a small round brush. Be sure to leave reflected light around the edges. Blend and soften the tones by brushing the darker color into red. With the darker color, be sure to create a shadow where one grape overlaps another.
STEP 3 Finish
Using a small pointed brush, such as a no. 2/0 liner, add the shiny look to the grapes with light highlights of Titanium White paint. Use brushstrokes that follow the round contours of the circle.