Simply Painting/Painting Simply

Two Figs & a Strawberry
Acrylic on Canvas Panel
6 x 8 in/15.2 x 20.3 cm
Copyright 2013

Although Fall/Autumn has officially arrived here in the northern hemisphere, I wanted to post my painting from earlier this Summer when everything was blooming and bearing fruit.

At that time, I was working on several small still lives in both acrylic and in oil; this one in acrylic: Two Figs & a Strawberry.

The point I'm making is that the subject of a painting does not have to be an elaborate set-up or some breath-taking natural phenomenon, such as a canyon or waterfall. It can be as simple as two figs and a strawberry. The figs came from my backyard, and the strawberry from the local grocery produce department.

The other aspect of simplicity is how you apply paint to the canvas. I was just reading about the techniques of John Singer Sargent, and how he mastered the economy of form and brushstroke. He knew how and where and in what value and color to precisely place each brushstroke. He placed each one deliberately, nothing more.

I will make every effort to employ his method in my future paintings.