Teacup with Plastic Lemon, oil/canvas panel, 7" x 5" is another small painting exploring play. I love my daughter's plastic play food, especially its vibrant palette and shine. To my eyes, it hardly resembles food at all. But when I set out to paint these mock lemons, oranges, corn, grapes, etc., I discover something almost authentic in their essential forms. When rendered in loose brushwork, these objects start to become real. Perhaps this sort of gestured authenticity is how small children see the world, too. Could this be why my daughter has an uncanny ability to recognize essential truths about so many things and people? A lemon is a lemon is a lemon.
2 comments: