Peaches and the Great Pot

20 x 25 Oil on Linen

A few times each year I get to sit back and watch myself paint. I saw this earthenware pot in a shop while looking for a wedding present for my niece. It was obviously not right for her yet I kept going back to it. Elizabeth asked if I had found a present yet, "No" I replied "but I found a great pot to paint." Needless to say we bought it and the name great pot stuck. When we got back to the studio I was very anxious to paint, quickly grabbed a few things from the kitchen and threw a still life together. I took a canvas from the rack and started to work with the paint left over from the day before. From the first stroke it all seemed quite magical. The paint had an excellent consistency, rich and thick, not at all gummy or runny. The canvas took the paint beautifully, not slippery or dry, just the right amount of grab. Even the brushes, which I curse daily, did everything I asked them to do. It was fabulous, effortless. I saw my hand moving back and forth from the palette to the painting, yet I felt like it was not me doing the painting. My every thought appeared instantly, my every whim a brushstroke. I sat on my stool and watched the painting materialize. The peaches deliciously colorful, the grapes luminous gems, the drapery loose and free as it drops over the front of the table, the perspective of the basket magnificent, the great pot lived up to its name, the background effortlessly set off the objects before it. What a splendid show...and I just sat by and watched it all happen...then I walked over and gave myself a pat on the back.....