Two Pears

Two Pears, 5 inches by 7 inches, December 2010

Sold! Private collection, Baltimore, Maryland

When I picked out these two pears, I thought they were more or less the same color, but setting them up for a study revealed so much more variety from one to the next.

Two Bartlett Pears

Two Bartlett Pears, 5" by 7", oil on linen board, October 2008

Private collection, Saskatchewan, Canada

While the day grew dark and the rain fell in sheets, I carved out a small study of two yellow Bartlett pears. As fast as they turned from green to yellow over the past two days, I'm sure they continued to grow even more yellow in the few hours I was painting them. I think I'm just starting to understand the nature of shine.

An Older Painting

Two Pears, 11" by 14", October 2007

Private collection, Los Gatos, California

I decided to post this older piece just to see how far I've come in the past year. Again and again I learn about the creation of depth and space and mass. This painting is from a short series where I explored the effect of patterns of color to create atmosphere. The end effect was the creation of vibration in what would otherwise only be still life.

Two Pears

Two Bartlett Pears, oil on linen board, 5" by 7", March 2008

Private collection, Prior Lake, MN

I'm about to start on a small commission, but it will be a day or two before these pears turn the right shades of yellow and red. In the meantime, I carved out a very small study. These little studies are just amazing, sometimes I imagine that I might actually capture the same sense of play and energy in the larger ones. Sometimes I have a pretty good imagination.