On Friday I went to Jonathan Fairbanks for our first painting session in several months. He arrived with an armload of fruits, vegetables and some wild weeds, plopped them on a table and said, "What are you planning to paint today?" I looked at the bounty before me and instantly made up my mind. Instead of a park bench I had planned on, I selected 3 pears and a weed and found a sunny window. I arranged the purple cloth and then the pears and weeds until I got a composition I liked and felt I could complete in a couple hours before the sun completely disappeared from that window. I enjoy the challenge of working quickly and spontaneously. I always like the freshness of the painting and the honest quality it imparts. I decided to simplify the scene outside the window giving just enough information for the viewer to get what was going on and stay focused on the pears. In the end I was pleased with my choice.
