Step-by-step oil painting

First I bought a couple of oranges and cut them with a knife. I actually cut out a bracelet and put it on my wrist and took a couple of photos. Then I painted a sketch (oil on paper). The sketch is made from a slightly different angle compared to the oil on canvas which you will see further down.  

Many people ask me how long it takes me to make one painting. I did the sketching in the end of May, and the framing was done a couple of weeks ago, which means it took almost 4 months (!) from idea to finished art piece. 

Starting on the first layer after outlining the image. I used the grind system as usual. 

To the right: Palette for the orange. A little hard to see, but the colors include white, yellow, red and blue. 

Below: Painting at Brogárn :)

Fooling around with the sketch and the oil painting. Look at the difference in size!

I know the lighting is bad, but here I've applied the background pattern (which is the same as a Hermès scarf), and also some shading. 

And voilà, here it is, hanging at the Art Museum of Wermland!

Of course you are free to interpret the painting as you want to, but if you want to read about my idea behind it, here it goes:

Have you ever craved that "it" thing? I would definitely add the orange Hermès bracelet to that category. There is this extremely fascinating hysteria of luxury consumption going on, but at the same time we have this other trend in today's society - Do It Yourself (DIY). They are two extremes: shopping vs DIY, and I've combined those two in the same painting. 

How do you feel about consumption? Does it stress you or can you handle it? Do you treat yourself to these things or are you strong enough to resist? Or maybe you don't care at all? 

Remember, if you want a bracelet but can't afford it, you can always make your own ;)