“Pepper Abstract” 5″ x 7″ oil on canvas
Summer vegetables continue to catch my eye. If I don’t eat them, I paint them! Sometimes I can do both!
This spontaneous abstract still life came about one afternoon when I needed a break and decided to go painting something. Utilizing what I had around the kitchen, I basically plunked these down on the table in my studio and started. As I sat looking I began to wonder about the background area. What was behind my small little set up was a wall of some of paintings. I decided to use that as the inspiration, instead of adding something else.
What I found by simply pulling general shapes and colors from the paintings on the wall was a camaraderie between the subject and the background space that seemed to work without much effort on my end. I liked the white foreground area as an offset to the brilliant colors – taking a little bit of that into the background space for unity seemed like a natural evolution for this small painting.
There’s so much I receive from the experience of painting. Taking a break from some other responsibilities of the day to paint helped re-orient my being in way that was quite meaningful and satisfying. I’m also grateful that there’s generally something hanging around my house that can serve as an interesting subject upon which to reflect.
