If I had to do it all over again, I would have done it differently. What, you ask? No, not my first boyfriend, though that experience probably would benefit from some improvement if I could re-write it! Wait…do I even remember it correctly?!

I do digress…If I had to do it all over again, I would have thrown out the pear. The offending fruit squished and exploded slime all over when I reached for it. Now, to clarify, I LOVE pears. But exploding pears? Not so much. And my freshly mopped floor? Not so clean anymore. So this painting reminds me of my volcanic pear incident. As I’m painting it, though, I’m thinking smell and taste, and all this I love. But I wouldn’t have grabbed the super-ripe pear, had I known. This painting, however, has been a bit of a bear…er…pear problem. How to make fruit colorful when in a shadow? It’s tough. Here’s the process: My photo reference is from Portland Saturday Market (LOVE this place). It seemed out of season for the spring(?), but a few pears were there in all their glory. Sunlight sang through and spotlit a group in front of the rest. Detail, below, of their container:

Detail area of pears in cardboard box

The painting has been a struggle. Mostly because of the shadow areas in the back. I want to spotlight the foremost pears by “killing” the back pears. A recessive wash seems to deaden the whole area. Also, in the handle area of the box, pears poke through visually. Maybe a little too much?

Pears mid-way through

Kind of cool, this photo above. Galleries and exhibition foundations remind artists to crop and clean up our photos. This one is out on my patio and shows pavers, chairs, table, and hence, the scale of my painting. I’m keeping the crop out! BAN THE CROP. Just kidding. Only for now. Okay, after re-working, here is the final photo of my painting. I have a critique-group meeting this week, in which I’ll present the painting and probably result in a change…a bit…but for now, here’s the finished piece. 🙂

Sunshine in a Box. 22×30. Watercolor on plexiglass.

So here’s to you, you pears! Ban the squishy pears (which these weren’t) and ban the crop(ha!). It’s been fun. I love the cut-open pear and the brightness of all the pears in the sunshine(hence the title). In person, those front pears SING in the painting. And, of course, I love the container. I’m a big container-person. This one, this cardboard container with fake wood painting is wonderful. As for the reason I’d do it over? Never grab an over-ripe pears with freshly-mopped floors.

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