Fresh Produce...

Red Cabbage and Leeks   watercolor   8 x 8

Nothing is more visually stimulating to me than standing in front of the produce section of a good market.  All those colors and textures!  One of our painting challenges in class was "fresh produce".  I knew quite ahead of time that I wanted to pair up red cabbage and leeks....the combination suggested by Irish cuisine that is popular this month.  I thought about the color palette in advance.  Of course, red and green are complements, so that is a built-in power factor.  But those two primaries had to be altered....the red towards violet and the green towards yellow. I sketched and considered.  My goal was to create a watercolor painting that was equal in richness to the ones I had done in oils.  This painting practically painting itself.....and that is so rare.  I guess we artists deserve one like that now and again.  I am pleased with this painting....and how often does that happen?