Don't Forget the Garlic

Garlic Bulb   oil/canvas   12 x 9 x .5

 I am always drawn to the beautiful forms of fruits and vegetables.  Sometimes it seems a bit silly to aggrandize such humble subjects.  Over the years and hundreds of exhibitions under my belt, I believe it is safe to say that there are not all that many paintings of this genre.  There is one that stands out, however....it is Van Gogh's "Red Cabbage and Onions". Recently, a small article caught my eye.  In it, the writer(?) acknowledged the presence of garlic in the work, despite being left out of the title.  

In this small monochromatic (relatively) work, my goal was to share fluidity, transparency and opacity qualities in oil paint.  As a painter in both the oil and watercolor mediums, I enjoy the crossover feel when employing the methods used by each....a hybrid, so to speak.

After all, don't we live in an age of hybrids?  

Outliers

Outliers   oil/canvas   14 x 11 x .5

 We hike a lot.  We also notice trees a lor.  Our favorite walks take place at a reservoir close to our  home.  Trees that are vertical, healthy and upright abound.  Then there are those in the midst of being uprooted and have been caught in the hooks of the verticals, waiting to fall.  Vertical, to us, seems correct...all alive and well.  Horizontals are restful with a lack of energy.  (kind of like falling asleep on the couch at the end of the day)  But those diagonals give us pause....those forms caught in the interim between alive and restful.  So..........these outliers cling to vertical, yet lean towards the fall.  Are these trees leaning into the earth or into the water?  Tension.  And yet they cling.

A bit like us humans.

This painting was referenced by a photo taken on one of our winter outings.  While I do not paint many landscapes, the tension of these trees is undeniable.

Onions and Garlic

Onions and Garlic   oil/canvas   11 x 14 x .5

We cook A LOT at our home.  And so it follows that fruits and vegetables are always available and truly a visual banquet.  I have always loved the richness of these paintings with a darkish background.  And, if you have seen my work over along period of time, you will note that I do not like said subjects as a "mise en scene" scenario.  ( no bowls, napkins, draperies, etc.)  And so, these veggies have been thrust into a bit of a visual conundrum.  They were observed on a lit tabletop but pushed almost into a vertical presentation of my liking.  Vertigo, anyone?  It works for me.