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| Stem to Stem oil/canvas 20 x 10 x 1.5 |
One year ago mid-morning, I shot lots of photos at a local farm that puts on fabulous fun Halloween displays to tickle the fancies of children and adults alike. Until now, I have included pumpkins in many still life paintings, but this time felt drawn to render a row of pumpkins....a row of $5 pumpkins, as they were lined up according to size. This project became rather tedious as my goal was a vertical wedge of orange, rather than individual pumpkin portraits. As I worked it became harder and harder to tell them apart, to separate them. The crevices in-between became more and more important. The rhythm throughout became a bit of a tangle. The intense colors urged me on. The stems (hats? hair?) with their twisting, turning and varied directionality was the turning point. I chose to leave the $5 signpost out of the work... that touch of commercial seemed just too vulgar compared to the beauty of the skins, the shells.
The work has been drying for several weeks now. I am quite pleased.
