Secrets, Secrets

"Secrets, Secrets" 5x7 Oil on Panel

I loved painting these three orange slices.  As I placed them on the the cutting board, they kind of spun around a little bit and it looked like the two on the left were in a conspiracy together against the orange slice on the right.  This small piece of art focused on broad brush strokes and bold color.  I really enjoyed using the yellow orange and the voilet together.  Lots of fun.

Jostling Line

"Jostling Line" 5x7 Oil on Panel

Last week I very much felt like I was bumping up against a glass ceiling.  Not so much in the feminism way, but in that I felt like I was overreaching the bounds of my ability.  I can see through the barrier into what I want to be doing, but I need another leap before I can get there.  My skills just aren't quite where I want them in order to tackle the next level.  Eh, so it goes.  I figure that I can either mope around, or push through and work through it until I find the next "ah ha!" moment where my understand enables me to tackle what I want.

My biggest frustration?  People.  I've been working on several pieces that just seem to fall apart.  Take for example, this one:

There are a lot of things that I really like about it.  I really like the composition.  I really like the body language.  I did okay making sure that the colors didn't go muddy, and I like the way that I resolved the background.  But the skin tones are awful.  Totally awful.

As a result, I'm going back to the basics.  I went to a figure drawing class yesterday, and this week I am concentrating on drawing from life.  Things like fruit help me stop for a moment and just practice mixing color.  I'm able to stop worrying about producing something grand and just practice.  Plus, I usually really enjoy the way they turn out.  So, for the rest of the week you'll see some basic still life setups and exercises I'm pulling from other places.  But don't worry, it will be fun!

Respite from Prayer

This painting is from a scene that was in Chinatown a couple of weeks ago.  There is a Hindu Temple, and I saw this gentleman resting in the shade, waiting for his service.  Even though I was walking around at 5pm, it was hot.  

I wish you all a wonderful weekend, and I hope the sun isn't too hot for you as well.

Dragonfruit Left

Last dragonfruit of the week, and last little tidbit of knowledge.  The real name for this fruit is the Pitaya, and surprisingly, they are native to Cental America, not Southeast Asia.  They grow on cactus like trees, and from what I can tell, the big supplier to this area is Vietnam.  The red dragon fruit seems to come from Vietnam, and some of the white variety (white on the inside) might come from Malaysia or Thailand, but the bulk of what I see is Vietnamese.  Wikipedia has a pretty good article on them here if you would like to see some more pictures.

On a side note, although at some point I will want to sell these paintings, right now I'm really just working my way through things.  Nothing is automatic.  I have to think very hard about every color I mix, about every brushstroke that I take.  Half the time, my colors turn out totally muddy and awful.  I've seen quotes from other artists about how the life of an artist is to subject oneself to constant frustration and feelings of self-doubt.  I can definitely commiserate a bit.  I usually finish a painting and have this amazing feeling, akin to a runner's high, where I feel like I got it, I understand it.  Then I walk away from whatever it is that I've done, and I take another look at it, and I start to see all the things that are wrong.  Take, for example, the first version of today's painting:

Do I love the colors?  Yes, they're fun, vivid, bold.  But the piece overall was just a mess.  I was kind of in a groove when I did this one, and so I think I got a bit cocky and didn't think about the composition before I started.  As a result, the fruit looks like it is falling off of the picture plane.  Everything is sitting in the bottom right hand corner, and your eye has no reason to look at the rest of the image.  So, in the end, I totally wiped it off and came back the next day.  Giving my eyes a rest can have a wonderful effect.  I thought it through more carefully, and my finished product (first image) I think was much better than the first.  I still have such a long way to go, but I'm totally enjoying this.

Dragonfruit Right

Here is the second in my little Dragonfruit series.  This painting better shows the inside of the fruit.  Believe it or not, the inside color really is this crazy fuchsia color that I thought only existed in a Crayola box.  When you open it up, it also has hundreds of tiny little black seeds.  This is nothing like watermelon seeds.  As far as I know, you just ignore them and eat them.  Gives it a bit of a crunchy flavor.  

Dragonfruit Mania!

I have been having so much fun with the fruit I got this week.  One of the first fruits that I found when I visited Singapore last summer was this crazy creation - Dragonfruit.  Between this and Rambutan, I am wholly convinced that much of what was going on in Dr. Seuss's head was not some LSD-lanced dream, but based on some things that you can actually find here on Earth.  Besides being some of the most beautifully colored fruit I have ever seen, I just love how organic and "out there" the fruit is.

This painting is of one that has not yet been cut in half.  They truly are a beautiful hot pink color with lime green spiky tips.  I remember my mother telling me something about how garish nature is, and when you are bringing things into your home, they can't be as saturated.  I can see her point, but everything in moderation, in my opinion.  I certainly wouldn't paint a room the color of a dragonfruit, but you could throw in a cushion or two!

Look Left!

Look Left 12x12 Oil on Panel

Yesterday I was down on Orchard, and I saw this family come across the street, and stop and wait at a crosswalk.  They were patiently waiting for the signal to turn, but as I looked at them, I was just struck by the way they were standing there.  The girl was at that magical age just before she is suddenly embarrassed to be seen with Mom and Dad, much less holding hands before crossing the street.  The little boy was just totally content to have both parents holding his hand.  Quite honestly, it reminded me a lot of my childhood.  It was lovely to see, especially because you see so many kids out with their nanny, much less a whole family out and about together.  Kind of cool.

Ready for Rain

Today was a mostly cloudy day, which kind of bummed me out, because I went to Orchard Rd. a bit early to try and snap some good pictures.  Of course, because I was kind of looking to take pictures, the conditions were less than stellar.  Nevertheless, I saw this worker waiting to cross the street and I couldn't help but think of the past rain we've had on Orchard.  Two floods in the dry season!  Who'd have thought? Well, needless to say, at least someone is prepared for rain!

Pomelo Dreams

Okay, I give in.  The mystery fruit is a Pomelo!  After I finished this final painting, I gave in and tried it.  Oh my - simply wonderful.  It tastes like a grapefruit without any of the bitterness that you would normally associate with grapefruit.  The variety that I found was actually a little bit on the sweet side - heavenly!

Grapefruit I Am Not...

So when I cut this fruit in half, I was totally surprised.  I was expecting it to be a white center, like the Wikipedia description, but this guy was mostly pink.  So the fruit had this wonderful pink and green color scheme going on.  It was nothing like watermelon, closer to what an unripe grapefruit would look like.

Anyone figure out what fruit this is?  It is native to Southeast Asia, and frequently comes from Thailand.  One of its nicknames is the King of Citrus, due to its massive size.  They can weigh up to 4 lbs (2 kg).