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.