One of a kind

 

 

 

Whoa!  Where did this come from?  A magnificent lone asparagus, an inch thick and over a foot high, appearing in a sidewalk garden strip at the end of my block.  Was it a message for me and my next project?  Not vegetable art, but…a single unexpected something.

 

When an idea comes to me, I'll save it for future reference in my sketchbook list titled, "Series and Singulars."  And simply from the vision of the asparagus, I decided it was time to take a break from a sequence of Series – and also from working in black and white – and do a colourful Singular.

 

I knew just the thing.  I'd been intrigued by the cover painting on an art magazine, a simple scene that offered marvellous colours and beautiful hand poses.  By trying to copy just a part of that painting, I could learn a lot.

 

I did a quick lay-in, somewhat in the spirit of my new pal Hashim Akib.

 

The trouble is…this method looks effortless for him, but it can quickly leave me out of control.  I soon felt the composition was out of whack.

 

Okay.  I painted it over and headed back to Square One.

 

Here's the layout, Round 2:

 

…and in progress:

 

And the final:

 

Well, I said it was a study.  And that I could learn a lot by giving it a try.  What's more, by doing it, I've brought that funky plant into my house with no risk of spider mites – Alocasia Polly, sometimes known as the "African Mask Plant."  

 

Do I feel a series coming on?   "Famous Artists with Masks" ?

 

Or "Famous Artists with Funky Plants"?

 

OH, wow!  Late-breaking!!  I knew I'd find a photo of Matisse with his plants (and his lionesque dog???) – and looking for that, I found a whole website on…ta tum!... "Famous Artists and CATS".  Here's Pierre Bonnard – famous for his use of colour…and his cats:

 

I'd better rein this in and get back to that singular asparagus.  My neighbours down the block helped demonstrate just what can happen when something unexpected rises up and heads for the heights.