The Fig Leaf

I just checked the temperature gauge in our shady backyard - it reads 105!  An email alert informs me that the heat index is 122 - it's best to stay inside... and of course, do a little painting.

I subbed again in the watercolor class this past week.  There is a beautiful fig tree next door to Barbara's house - the leaves are amazing as is the fruit (for those who like it).  Tuesday's still life suggestion was a fig branch, some figs, several peaches, a basket, some grasses and a table cloth.  I am trying to simplify - so I just painted a few of the things offered.

I love the color, shape and texture of ripe peaches (I also LOVE the taste!), but from where I was sitting I could only see one peach.  Then there was the fig branch - LOTS of leaves - I singled out one with an unusual shape.  I sketched in two of the figs in my preliminary drawing and I was ready to go. I got a good start on it in class and tweaked it a bit this afternoon.

Many of my artist friends paint standard size paintings so they can use the same size frames.  I find that after I paint something I like to look at it in different ways and often end up cropping out a part of it (or one time I even turned it upside down) to make it more interesting.

 So, I tried The Fig Leaf in a couple different mats - I think I like it better cropped.

I am also thinking about changing the title to highlight the peach instead of the leaf... maybe something like 'Summer Sweetness.' Well, that's not quite right...yet.  I'm open to suggestions...