Sometimes it's the simple things that inspire a new painting. These oranges and the pear came out of just a couple of evening painting sessions. I like to use simple organic objects for teaching drawing, and I was using the pear to introduce a young art student to watercolors. I fiddled around with some watercolors of these fruits myself, but I really wanted to get the full brilliance of the orange color with oils. So I pulled from my pile of prepped and toned little gessoboards, and aimed my lamp, and went to town. Finding the cool colors in the shadows of the orange is more of a challenge than you might think. I am used to painting the earthy colors of horses and other animals, and it is so fun to approach a subject with bright color.
The pear is a simple study of light and shadow, and an attempt to convey the texture and volume of the pear. I love the shape of pears as a still life object. They have much more personality than an apple. I think this merits another trip to the grocery store produce aisle.
