Gourds x 2

Over the Christmas period, there was not too much time for painting as the studio becomes the guest room. I did notice, however, that the bowl of gourds that I had given me were starting to deteriorate with the central heating. This seemed quite unusual as normally they last a lot longer. The result was that I decided to do a couple of still life paintings of them whilst they were in reasonable condition.

There were two distinct types.....some really quaint miniature gourds and some more traditional sized ones.

I started with the little ones and selected a couple of little pots to go with the, together with a ripe fig which I thought helped the colour composition. I loved the lumpiness of the skins on these little gourds and put quite a lot of effort into getting them right. The result is quite a tight painting, but I am pleased with the result.

I am not sure about the funny shape of the striped pot, so I have had another look at the original, and it seems ok on the painting. I can only assume that the photo was taken whilst the paper was still damp and slightly buckled.......Sorry about that !

'Miniature Gourds And Pots'

Fabriano Artistico Extra White Not paper and watercolours

30 x 20 cms

I wanted to try to get the second painting a little looser, so I piled the larger of the gourds into a lovely copper pan that I have used quite often in still life paintings, because of the gorgeous colours of the copper. The skins of the gourds were much smoother, so there was not the need for so much attention to detail and I was able to paint the whole picture with simple washes. A completely different effect which I hope you think works.

'Gourds and Copper Pan'

Fabriano Artistico Extra White Not paper and watercolours

30 x20 cms