"Mlle. Poire 2013" Oil on canvas 8 x 10 Every Christmas I feel the urge to paint a pear or two. While all pears share their elegant shape, at solstice I become compelled to locate and immortalize the perfect pear-- that is, that rare store-bought edible with a glowing blush, a striking assymmetrical stem with a leaf or two, and no bruises. And yes, I do know that most painters would simply imagine this pear but I am a realist painter (go ahead, say it: I lack imagination), so off I must go to the fruit counter in search of The One.
Now choosing the best pear at Loblaws is no job for an amateur: one has to select the finalists and then eliminate the runners-up one by one. Last year after I had painstakingly chosen Mlle Poire 2013 (an absolutely gorgeous gal if I do say so myself), a man who must have been watching asked if I would let him have the second best. I had to explain that Pear #1 needed an understudy (see "The Elusive Dollarama Blue" 7/7/14) and that I would probably end up by painting them both. He said he thought they already had nice colours. It went downhill from there.
Being a painter isn't for sissies, although still life does allow you eventually to consume the sitter .
We're off now, Jon to the river for a few hours of teasing salmon and I for a walk with my camera in this gorgeous Scottish mist. May you have a Christmas that warms your heart.
Now choosing the best pear at Loblaws is no job for an amateur: one has to select the finalists and then eliminate the runners-up one by one. Last year after I had painstakingly chosen Mlle Poire 2013 (an absolutely gorgeous gal if I do say so myself), a man who must have been watching asked if I would let him have the second best. I had to explain that Pear #1 needed an understudy (see "The Elusive Dollarama Blue" 7/7/14) and that I would probably end up by painting them both. He said he thought they already had nice colours. It went downhill from there.
Being a painter isn't for sissies, although still life does allow you eventually to consume the sitter .
We're off now, Jon to the river for a few hours of teasing salmon and I for a walk with my camera in this gorgeous Scottish mist. May you have a Christmas that warms your heart.
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