White Peaches

White Peaches   oil   12 x 9 x 1.5

Still life paintings are versatile.  An artist can include as many or as few objects as possible to match his/her aesthetics, to  provide for a design that is pleasing and strong, and, also, to allow for a glimpse into what that artist deems important enough to paint.  While still life paintings are not my focus, I still enjoy the playfulness with color and design that a still life provides.  No exact likeness is required.  Objects can be altered and/or eliminated.  If anything, they are an arena of experimentation and play.

In this case, I chose to give homage to white peaches that my husband brought back from a trip to North Carolina, knowing that their subtle taste is exquisite to me.  I chose to pair them with a bunch of white daisies that we had plucked from the garden.

In most of my previous floral and fruit paintings, I have used a grayed down compliment for the background.  Over the years, I have come to enjoy the earthiness that comes from using browns in floral works.  For me, it is an antidote to the overindulgence of the sweetness inherent in the subject matter, as well as a way to use darker values, which I tend to like.  In this case a mix of violet and brown did the trick.  I am satisfied.

Sunflower Pair Redux

Sunflower Pair

Sunflower Pair Redux

Not often, but every now and then, I go back into an older work, because of the small voice in my head that whispers, "What were you thinking?"  My goal here is not to create an award-winning work, but to try to problem-solve in a completely different way.  Doing this is a bit like dancing while wearing a ball and chain, as there is little continuity, the rhythm being completely disrupted.  The work on the left is color-driven.  While the colors are electric and amiable to me, it lacks the distinction and simplicity that I now look for.  The work on the right was reworked, only from memory while trying to channel a better design.  Doing so simplified the work.  It is more easily "read".  Am I happy?  Well....I enjoy both about the same, to tell the truth.  But I am more satisfied having worked through this issue.

To redux or not to redux.