Carambola Dreams

It was early January. A brisk afternoon, maybe in the 50's? It was the perfect time for some plein air painting.

It's true what they say about painting from life vs. a photograph. I'm reminded of this whenever I'm out in the field and can really capture the play of colors and light.

The only thing I COULDN'T capture in the initial session was the fluorescent glow of the fruit. That involved a few glazes. LOL

One could ask what is up with the ladder: I was actually carrying the ladder out to the tree to pick fruit when the inspiration came upon me. So how could I resist? It's a really old ladder, too, practically vintage.

This painting, for me, represents the abundance of harvest. It's practically unheard of for a harvest in January. It's something that only Floridians and Hawaiians experience, I imagine. To be fair, this starfruit tree fruit 2-3x per year. It's about 7 years old.

About 1 week later the frosts hit, making all of the remaining fruit fall, as well as all the leaves. This was a lucky grab bag of awesomeness that I came upon, and I'm thankful for it.