A Different Point of View

"Carla's Garden", oil on canvas, three 16" x 20" canvases

What I love most about commissions is the fine balance they challenge you to keep; the balance between your vision and your patron's, and honoring both.
The above piece was commissioned by a friend whose new apartment is centered around a color scheme of earthy greens and taupes, and who has been a part of the food business her entire life. She knew upfront that she wanted paintings arugula, brussel sprouts, and asparagus, to center her apartment. The rest was up to me.
I played around with several compositions, my most challenging being the one for the asparagus. Most of us have seen paintings of the beautiful stalk of asparagus, violet rubberbands and all, centered in the middle of a canvas. To be honest I painted the same composition initially, just to see, and found what I was expecting: it was boring. So, after much hair pulling and stomping and sketching, I found this composition. Almost abstracted, in your face proximity, and still keeping the traditional violet rubberband, this asparagus has some punch.
Not leaving out the other two, the paintings of brussel sprouts and arugula are meant to flank the asparagus, and are painted with the intention of allowing the eye to rest with their not-so-close compositions and energetic paint application being applied mostly to the actual subject.

I delivered the paintings to Carla yesterday, and much like their owner, hip with a side of tradition, they fit perfectly in her new home.

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