Bowl of Cherries

Bowl of Cherries   watercolor   10 x 14

was an "in search of" painting for me.  The previous two works were experimental, with an attempt at channeling the processes of two of my hero watercolorists.  Both were on the minus side of satisfactory...perfectly presentable, but not me.  While I did manage to stretch my boundaries, and to understand other ways of interpretation, I longed to be in my own skin.  Just as in life, it seems to take only a short road trip to appreciate the comforts of home.

The set up was lit.  The subject drawn and mostly understood.  All of the qualities that I most value seemed to come together.  The background was originally a watery beautifully-painted blue.  But as I am also an oil painter, and because I highly value the richness of dark values, another wash was added....and I was happy as a clam.  Imperfect edges.  Lost and found qualities.  The subtle description of the woven cloth. Drippy paint.

I was happy to be home.