Melons

24 x 30 Oil on Linen

Like the painting in the previous post Melons is more conceptual than narrative. Yes, the melons were fun to paint and the painting can be enjoyed as a lively depiction of a variety of colorful, juicy fruits of the vine. For me, however, this piece is all about the composition. Circles and spheres moving in space. The cantaloupes are spheres, one in the process of being bisected, another with a sliver missing. The watermelon is half a sphere as is the honeydew, which becomes a circle as it turns to look straight out of the canvas. The bowl is also half a sphere, a bit elongated and turning to tell a joke to the watermelon which blushes and responds with a big belly laugh. All of these rounded forms create a visual playground. A roller coaster for the eye, going up and over and around, in and out of the painting. For those who can see beyond the obvious this is one of the most playful paintings I've ever created.....

The Open Melon

18 x 20 Oil on Linen

The Open Melon is not a painting about an open melon. It is a conceptual piece that explores the use of warm and cool colors in a painting. When I am painting landscapes I find myself repeating a pattern, the cool blues and grays in the sky dominate the top half of the painting and warm earth tones prevail on the bottom half. So I decided to see what this arrangement might look like in a still life. Artists have always thought this way. Whistler titled his famous painting of his mother Arrangement in Grey and Black. Rembrandt could have called his portrait of Jan Six an arrangement in red and black. You can find other arrangements in Monet's water lilies or Turner's late seascapes, Morandi's still lifes or a Hals portrait. Perhaps Gilbert and Sullivan said it best “Things are seldom what they seem, skim milk masquerades as cream”.....