Negative shape painting

From this:

 

 

To this:

With negative shape painting.

 

 

A Long Gap -- and More Practice

How can I explain my prolonged absence from the blog without a laundry list of pitiful excuses? Is earning a living and attending to the daily ups and downs of life enough reason?

Anyway, I am back and slowly returning to the rhythm of creativity. With no formal art training, one of the hardest things for me is to practice the discipline of drawing. So during "the break" (that is what I prefer to call my absence!), I decided that I would devote much more time to drawing before putting medium to ground.

The still life that I share here was inspired by a visit to a local farmer's market. North Carolina's long growing season allows for local produce to be enjoyed well into the fall. Among the most enjoyable bits of it involve tomatoes, especially heirloom tomatoes. Grown au naturel, they have all the imperfections nature intended -- including the surprise sweet-and-sour taste of a fresh fat fruit that is far from grocery-store perfect.

I arranged the large heirloom tomato next to sundried tomato halves (NC grown, of course) lit from the side. I drew a rough sketch that I could not finish in the few minutes I had so I took a number of photographs from which I completed the sketch.

Stay tuned for the completed painting.

One Apple: A Small Study

Apples come in so many shapes, sizes and colors but there are some quintessential elements that make the fruit readily recognizable. Perhaps this is what makes apples so attractive when grade school children practice their early artistic skills.

For the more mature of us, apples can be challenging and rewarding at the same time. In this small study, I have tried to use a limited number of colors and few brushstrokes to schieve the likeness of an apple. This is in practice for a bigger still life I intend to do but which scares me each time I face the canvas. Though quite elementary, doing this piece has helped me get greater confidence.

One Apple, Acrylic on canvas board, 5"x7", not for sale

Hot and Sour

A recent post from Carol Schiff, in which she confessed to being a still life painter all along encouraged me to experiment with my first still life. The inspiration for the contents came from my other creative endeavor -- cooking. Like my mother, I have never followed recipes which allows a lot of freedom to experiment with combinations of flavors and foods without regard to a "rule book" (kind of like art in a way).

I mostly do Indian, Italian and modern American style cooking, often blending various ethnic flavors with traditional dishes. Needless to say, hot and sour flavors abound in my kitchen. I avoided working on this painting while hungry so as to avoid salivating over it! It kept reminding me of a dish I make sometimes that consists of pasta with sun-dried tomatoes tossed with chilli oil and lemon juice dressing. It truly is to die for.

Anyway, here is my first still life attempt and I would love to hear your comments.

Hot and Sour, Acrylic on gesso board, 11'x14', $100 (unframed)