Battle of the Fruits

Miniature #17- 20
Oil on canvas board
12"x16" oil
January 17, 2009

There's part of me that screams, "Cheater! You can't s-l-o-w-l-y release one painting and number it as four separate entities." On the other hand, this was intended as four separate pieces -- they were clumped together only because I didn't have small canvas boards left. I actually drew four neat rectangles and intended to demarcate each corner with black boxes, but on a spur of the moment, I merged the backgrounds. It looks so much freer and spontaneous this way. I hope you enjoy. I haven't been doing "real" work for 6 days, so in the next few days, there will be less art and more catching up to life.

Battle of the Fruits: Cherry

Miniature #20 (part 4/4)
Oil on canvas board
12"x16" oil
January 17, 2009

Even though there are three of them, if this was a battle, cherry would lose. They're the ones I'm least satisfied with in this arrangement. To my credit, I was really tired by the time I started the cherries and I was sick. I planned to come back and finish this when the first layer dried. However, I left the cherries on the counter and in the space of 48 hours, they had gone to mush. :( Next time, I need to get those pink-orange cherries instead of the black ones -- I like the taste less but the appearance more.

Battle of the Fruits: Banana

Miniature #19 (part 3/4)
Oil on canvas board
12"x16" oil
January 17, 2009

Bananas are my favourite fruit. I refuse to listen to that high starch, diet-killer talk. Bananas are great and will one day rule the earth. I love the shadow of the banana stem. It looks like a nice ballad -- if ever one could see sounds. When I have time to spare, I like to slice my bananas before popping each piece in my mouth using the knife. It creeps my male friends out. Oh.... well. You can't please everyone, but guys, I hope you still like the painting.

Battle of the Fruits: Kiwi

Miniature #18 (part 2/4)
Oil on canvas board
12"x16" oil
January 17, 2009

I always wanted to paint a realistic kiwi with the dull, muted browns and the deep earthy greens, but as soon as I start, I lose control and render this loose, shiny, jewel-like fruit. Kiwis just refuse to behave!

Battle of the Fruits: Apple

Miniature #17 (part 1)
Oil on canvas board
12"x16" oil
January 17, 2009

In case you're wondering why I have been posting so frequently recently. It's because I caught a nasty flu and didn't leave the house. However, I'm too hyperactive to stay nice and put in bed, so I alternated regularly between painting at the kitchen table and crashing on the couch watching mindless TV. I painted so much that I actually ran out of my miniature canvases. :( So, I split a large one in four. This is part one of the series. This style is looser than I usually am but I nevertheless like it.

From Beauty to Beauty

Miniature #16
Oil on canvas board
7"x9" oil
January 17, 2009

This is an earring stand -- once again borrowed from my flatmate. On that note, shoutout to Emily. I LOVE YOU. Your things are fabulous. If it wasn't for you, all I would ever paint is stuff I find in the fridge and would otherwise stuff in my mouth. Each of the swirls coming from the head are metal bars you're suppposed to hang earrings on. Since the stand is pretty and my Emily is pretty, I'm calling this painting "From Beauty to Beauty." The ballroom gown is absolutely lovely. The part I like the most are the peacock feathers. The photo fails to capture the iridescent green/black layering of the feathers. It just looks plain black here. What a shame! You've got to see this in person.

With Love, Mom

Miniature #15
Oil on canvas board
7"x9" oil
January 17, 2009

With Love, Mom
I borrowed this hairband from my flatmate. It looked so lovely and girlish. It is actually the peachy beige I painted the background in but my camera failed to capture the colour exactly. :( I started this painting intending it to be monochrome and nostalgic but it seemed to want to be chirpy and bubbly so in popped the fabulous pinks, purples, greens. It's not an expensive hairband, but it looks soft and silky -- the kind of thing a poverty-stricken mother would spend her last penny on to give her little girl. Awwww....

One Man Down

Miniature #14
Oil on canvas board
7"x9" oil
January 14, 2009

I absolutely hate wasting paint. If they are mucky colours, I'll tone canvas with them, but what do you do when you have a plateful of beautiful, shimmering oranges, yellows, and reds? Well, you peel the orange you just finished painting and start a new composition! Eating and chores just had to wait. The colours were calling out to me. The way the light penetrated the two slices at the left and made them glow is simply magical.

Unwrap Me

Miniature #13
Oil on canvas board
7"x9" oil
January 14, 2009

This was really fast to paint. This painting and the next one took a total of 3 hours altogether. This is coming from someone who spends that amount of time or more on one painting over several days, waiting for each layer of paint to dry. The result here is less refined, but juicier and more emotional. I also used a fatter brush. My favourite part is the ring of peel and its shadow. They look like they're dancing.

The Lucent Pear

Miniature #12
Oil on canvas board
7"x9" oil
January 12, 2009

I make a point never to eat anything I paint since I'm a messy artist and tend to get paint on my clothes, my skin, and my models – and truthfully, turpentine and linseed oil don’t strike me as very tasteful condiments. This is the same pear as in last painting. I loved it so much I simply had to paint it again but this time on a lighter background. I like how snug the pear looks, all cuddled in a lush blanket. It probably knows I won’t eat it – it will simply sit on my desk, all lovely and inspiring… and eventually rot.

The Shadow Pear

Miniature #12
Oil on canvas board
7"x9" oil
January 12, 2009

I loved painting this pear. The story of how I acquired it is rather amusing. I must have picked through a dozen pears to find the right one with a nice pink blush to it. The people behind me thought I was crazy. (It reminds me of that time I bought a slice of designer cake to paint and nearly cried when the lady at the counter broke the decorations at the top. She just couldn’t understand why it would matter so much, and I didn’t have the heart to explain).

This was really fast (and fun) to paint – maybe only an hour if you disregard setup and cleanup. I love the contrast of the saturated blue in the background and the reddish shadows on the pear.

Cup-O-Egg

Miniature #11
Oil on canvas board
7"x9" oil
Sometime between September and December 2008

I actually like this painting quite a bit. The background is very rough, unfinished, fluid. I especially like the yolk mixing with the egg white. The yolk was barely broken (accidentally) and slowly seeped into the white as I painted, creating a wonderful protein mist. For those who don't know my living conditions, I like to live light and compact. I have 2 types of recipients to drink from -- coffee mugs and wine glasses and only the latter is transparent. So, though the choice of container was due to material constrictions, I quite like the look. It reminds me of an awkward bar drink.

Thrusting Banana

Miniature #10
Oil on canvas board
7"x9" oil
Sometime between September and December 2008

The title seems suggestive, but the meaning is truly innocent – this painting reminds me of a walrus jumping from a platform into a pool. Can’t anyone just see the flippers and hear that delightful sound? This plate is absolutely beautiful so I’ll need to show it off on its own someday. Concerning logistics, I wanted the banana to look just right so I kept on biting it hoping that Providence grant me something interesting. At one point, the fruit got so short, I had to peel a second one and start all over again. No wonder I’m not hungry after a painting session!

A Green Delight

Miniature #9
Oil on canvas board
7"x9" oil
Sometime between September and December 2008

I don't feel 100% satisfied with this so I didn't want to post it at first; however, I haven't updated in so long that I might just as well show people the botched painbtings. I don't think I got the flesh of the apple or the triangular highlight just right yet. On the plus side, I'm really satisfied with how the bowl and its shadow came out. It's a pretty ordinary white bowl, but I love the blue shadows inside it.