Don't Mess with Me - enhanced

 The last week or so I've been working on a series of small paintings, 6"x6", of fruits and vegetables with patterns in the background.  I originally started painting them because I had 4 small canvases and wanted to do something fun and simple one day.

When Chris came out and took a look at them, he hung them up next to Don't Mess with Me which also has a strong pattern in the background and suggested that I surround the canvas with 20 small canvases like that with fun and funky patterns.  The model's expression is so strong that she still dominates the scene, but the fruits and vegetables give the viewer LOTS to look at and delight in. 

Today we talked bout how to build the frame and think we'll make it like a shelf into which the small canvases slide.  We may leave a few of the openings empty for the purchaser to fill him/herself, or maybe we'll put real fruit into it.  It's very fun playing with the ideas for it.

 

The picture here gives an idea of sort of how it might look, but I've only done 11 small canvases so used some of them twice in this image.  I wanted to be able to see how I like it to see if it it needs tweaking or not.  This version of it will be 45.5"x45.5" when finished.

Chris is going to have to develop some more woodworking skills to create the frame for it!  I also figure I could sell the smaller fruits separately during a show if anyone were interested.  I think it's always wise to have some smaller works available for purchase.

This piece is quite different from anything else I've done, and I don't really think it's the start of a new direction, but it's very fun playing with a new idea and taking it to its (natural?) conclusion.  It's wonderful brainstorming with Chris and see where our combined imaginations take us.