Thank goodness for pears! Their long-keeping quality gives artists something to paint when there’s precious little fresh off a tree. I set up most of the still lives I paint on my kitchen table where strong sunlight streams in through a neighboring window around mid-morning. I really like the pronounced contrasts in light and shadow, known in the art world as “chiaroscuro”. The term developed during the Renaissance and meant, literally, “light-dark.” It started when artists drew on colored paper and added white highlights with white gouache and shadows with dark watercolor. The term quickly expanded to mean any strong contrast in illumination between light and dark areas in a painting or drawing. At any rate, I kind of hooked on it.

6 inches by 6 inches. Oil on gessoed canvas.

Click on image to enlarge.

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