'Grapefruit and Clay'
18 inches x 28 inches
oil on canvas
unframed
$4500
oil on canvas
unframed
$4500
Of the three paintings in my Citrus series, this one features the grapefruit, the most complex flavor among the three fruits featured. The bright and clear color of a grapefruit is hard to beat, while its bitterness lends refreshment and cleansing. The clear glass bottle and the clay urn both bring to mind the act of carrying water, while the fan (and fan-mimicking shapes) also suggests a cleansing by wind or fresh air.
Red can often be a stimulating, agitating color. In this still life I intended to incorporate the burst of the red grapefruit into a painting that incorporates many lesser reds as well as golds, while having a sense of balance, stillness, and calmness remain. According to Degas, red on red is the most fascinating color combination. While it might not strike the viewer initially, the number of reds on and near each other in Grapefruit and Clay is the central color mystery here, balanced by the cooler teals and blues.
You may also notice the motif of triangles, both large and small, complemented by many echoing curves. My goal was balance but not symmetry, in a simple composition with the strong silhouettes and purified background notable in the works of one of my Boston School influences, Robert Douglas Hunter.
Red can often be a stimulating, agitating color. In this still life I intended to incorporate the burst of the red grapefruit into a painting that incorporates many lesser reds as well as golds, while having a sense of balance, stillness, and calmness remain. According to Degas, red on red is the most fascinating color combination. While it might not strike the viewer initially, the number of reds on and near each other in Grapefruit and Clay is the central color mystery here, balanced by the cooler teals and blues.
You may also notice the motif of triangles, both large and small, complemented by many echoing curves. My goal was balance but not symmetry, in a simple composition with the strong silhouettes and purified background notable in the works of one of my Boston School influences, Robert Douglas Hunter.