Many, many years later I still smile when I remember Garrison Keillor's
monologue about growing up in his small town
where EVERYBODY grew tomatoes in the summertime.
You can only give away so many tomatoes so many times, so the
locals resorted to sneaking around at night and placing them in one anothers' cars!
I laughed because in the small town in which I grew up
they really did that! There was kind of a unwritten summer competition the
neighbors had. Everyone had grown so many beautiful, juicy tomatoes
which they gladly shared with neighbors. At times, we wondered what we were going to do with all of them! There were some very creative solutions as I remember.
I always enjoy painting tomatoes. Each has their own personality as pears do.
Getting a deep, dark red is a challenge for me, so this time I
added a little black to my cadmium reds or vermilion, and it seemed to work alright.
Black is powerful so you have to add it in small amounts until it is the shade you need.
Have a great week, everybody! Fall is beginning to show itself here
in Arizona with crisper temps in the a.m. and evenings. Yaay!
Goodbye 105 to 110 degree temperatures!!
You made me laugh as I remembered growing up back east and my mother's tomato garden. Was there anything so delicious as a warm tomato eaten right off the bush? Lovely painting!
ReplyDeleteNothing, Susan! Seems like my grandmother and her neighbors were always talking about how high the tomatoes grew and especially what kind they were! What a delightful time it was!
DeleteNot only delicious but the colors on these tomatoes are brilliant!!! Another amazing painting Carol!! Awesome shadows and I love the bowl as well!!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Hilda! The bowl caught my attention when I saw the photo. Something about blue and white together is so appealing. I'm glad you like it!
DeleteThis is beautifully composed and painted, Carol. Wow, you are a wiz at tomatoes. The green stem area looks 3-D. Comes right out of the painting.
ReplyDeleteI like the black added - sometimes using a complement when it is another dark value, can make a dirty looking color.
I shared the tomato story with hubby. He roared
laughing. Good way to start the day.
I'm glad your hubby liked the story. It has really stuck with me all these years. Garrison Keillor is so funny anyway! Thank you for the nice words. I did love painting the shadows of those green tomato tops!
DeleteLove the tomato painting, the tomato colour is always a difficult thing to capture, good idea with the black though.
ReplyDeleteIt's too cool and windy to grow tomatoes here unless you have a greenhouse, would be great to get some homegrown ones.
I agree with your comment about tomato colors. I feel sometimes there is a lack of color range with reds. I can imagine that growing tomatoes there is a challenge. Do a lot of people have greenhouses? That would be something I'd like to have.
DeleteLove everything about this painting, the set up and the few colors , all cast to the foreground by the black background. So clean and modern , lovely piece !
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jane, for your very thoughtful comment! You're correct...my palette was much smaller this time with fewer colors. I liked working that way! Your latest painting is such a knock-out! Love the design of it. Very sophisticated!
ReplyDeleteDear Carol this painting looks good enough to eat. Your reds are just perfect. I love listening to Garrison Keillor. It was not tomatoes here that got snuck to the neighbors...it was zucchini and squash. I have even made a mock apple pie out of zucchini. It was tasty if you didn't know it was zucchini: )! Have a blessed day. Hugs!
ReplyDeleteAhhh, a fellow Garrison Keillor fan! I really enjoy many of his monologues! That was interesting...zucchini and squash. I imagine each area of the country has their own special types of produce that grows in abundance and where one has to find a home for all the surplus. What a wonderful dilemma! Thanks so much for writing!
ReplyDeleteLovely, Carol! Reds are hard for me but you achieved a lot of variety in yours. I love the deep black background that sets them off.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lorraine! Yes, I agree that reds are indeed a challenge! Not only getting a deep value, but playing with the warm/cool relationship. Someone once told me that instead of going deeper, go down on the color wheel. Mix a little purple in with the red. I really was taken with your animals painted for your daughter's wedding. You made some great choices in kinds of animals to paint!
DeleteLovely painting. My favorite part.........the leaves could be dancing. That gives wonderful life to the painting. Nice comments by all on the mysteries of red.
ReplyDeleteI like that idea, Helen and can see it in my mind. You always have wonderful insights into artworks. I find your thoughts all so interesting and often emotional. Thank you for writing!
Deleteeven in my childhood i used to eat raw tomatoes and was famous for tomato lover..your painting of tomatoes is gorgeous .loved it
ReplyDeleteThank you, Baili. Such nice words. I, also, ate so many tomatoes when I was a child. My grandmother had a garden, and she was always kind in sharing. Now, I buy them at the store, and they never seem to be quite as good as the ones fresh from the garden.
DeleteBeautifully done Carol! Rich! Lively!
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you so very much for the lovely comments you left on Tim's painting, I appreciate them so much!
Your painting of Tim was very touching. What you did with the light on his face was very moving. I appreciate your kind words. I enjoyed the process of painting, too.
Delete