Daily Practice
Journal
I spent most of the day yesterday rendering cantaloupe into preserves -- finished with 30 small jars, a dehydrator filled with both cantaloupe and tomatoes from the garden, and picked another pint of blueberries -- whew.
In between watering the plants and cleaning the kitchen, I painted a very loose cantaloupe to remember the day. I had to paint a bit, and LEAVE, so I could leave it loose and resist my urge to put in any more details. But I"m really happy with the results. I find painting like this far more difficult than any other painting styles I've tried ... I'll have to keep practicing so that it isn't a 'hit and miss' kiind of thing. It was fun, splashy, and honestly, quicker than most of the sketches I've done this week! LOL (And it sure felt good to SIT down to paint after all that stirring of preserves!)
The melons I painted last week are now lightening from their greenish ochre color to more of a tan ochre - so they're definitely going to be cantaloupes -- so far, there are three on the vine and I hope the cats leave them alone -- they tend to play with the grandchildren's rubber balls and these look similiar in size and shape!
I have a quart or so left of cantaloupe pulp and I found a recipe on the Internet for cantaloupe bread that is reputed to taste like zucchini or carrot bread, so I think I'll give that a try if I have enough flour. If not, I'll have to find something else so it isn't wasted.
No rain in the forecast, so more watering today. Meantime, the cantaloupes are in season in the US -- and wow, they are wonderfully sweet and juicy -- try some!
5 comments:
Whew, makes me tired just to think about all that work :)
It is indeed wonderful and loose and the shadow is beautiful!
Your day must have been exhausting and then you still had time to paint.
This has a nice softness to it. Isn't it hard to stop sometimes. You were smart to walk away and leave it as is!!!
Lovely impressionist painting Lin. You do so many styles so well. Whew, you make me tired just reading about all your hard work in this heat. We are still in the 80's (thankfully) but the humidity has returned.
Hugs,
Lorraine
Lovely image of a Cantaloupe - which is not a common subject for a painting.
You also caught my interest with your descriptions of making jam and dehydrating the fruit. I just got a new dehydrator last week, and just last night my middle son and I were talking and he asked about dehydrating Cantaloupe. I'd never heard of that or considered it - quite coincidental given your post here.
Also, the bread sounds interesting too!! Just so much fun stuff!!
This is a delightful watercolor - so fresh and immediate. Hard to imagine working that hard and still painting SO WELL! GREAT!
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