Basket of Peaches (Mini)

Advice of the day: Never buy peaches unless they smell peachy.  

I look forward to the middle of summer when they're the perfect combination of sweet-tangy and softly-firm. 

This is a mini-version of a Basket of Peaches that I painted before.  I did this little one for the art exchange group that I'm a part of. There are a dozen or so members that are from a few different countries and a few different states in the U.S.  Most of the members are people I know nothing about, but this quarter I was paired with Nelvia. I can't for the life of me remember exactly how Nelvia and I became connected, but we've enjoyed a blog-friendship for a long time. Now we have a piece of each other's artwork!

Original Oil Painting on 5"x 7" Canvas Board
[GIFT - Artist Exchange]

Basket of Peaches on Blue

There's just something about a basket of fresh peaches that gets me every time.  I want to pick one up and take a deep breath to smell it.  If you see beautiful peaches in the grocery store, go ahead... sniff one.  If you don't smell a thing, put it right back where you found it. If the vendor at the farmers' market has peaches, go ahead... smell them. Then hand him your money and let him put them into your reusable cloth bag. 😉

This isn't the first time I've painted a basket of peaches.  My inspiration is "Basket of Peaches" done by Joseph Decker in 1885. It is my favorite painting in Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.  His may be worth a million dollars more than mine, but I love them both.


Original Oil Painting on 11"x 14" Wrapped Canvas
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TWOGETHER - Artistic Collaborations

Such a fun project! 

Before I explain these two paintings, first you need to read the letter below to understand how they came about.

Ahhhh...

Clever!

My painting partner Julie (You'll have to have a look at her paintings. Click JujuBee Paints to have a look.) was invited to be a part of this upcoming exhibit. All we had to do was think up a great idea... tick... tock... chirp... chirp... nothing... and the deadline for submissions was drawing closer and closer.

Then... Ah ha ha!!! An idea appeared!

• 1st - We decided that we wanted our paintings to have some commonalities... similar theme or type or size or color palette.
• 2nd - We talked about logistics of being able to complete this project and set some goals.  We'd complete first phase in the first sitting and commit to finish the next part by the end of the week.
• 3rd - We settled on doing a fruit still life and  looked through reference photos.  When we came across the spilled basket of peaches and remembered that we'd seen a spilled basket of strawberries, we knew that was it. (Ok, I also had a photo of a spilled basket of limes, which I almost picked, and a spilled basket of cherries.  Clearly I have a thing for spilled fruit... I do know why... It's because I so love the painting at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art by Thomas Decker.  Click. A trip through the museum isn't complete without taking a minute to stand in front of it.)
• 4th - We basically turned our backs on each other and began the backgrounds.  We didn't discuss what colors we'd use or what style we'd paint in.  Now, we weren't in any way trying to trick each other or to make it difficult for the other.  We each decided what we thought would look the very best with the subject that would come next.
• 5th - At the end of the evening (ha ha ha) with lots of giggling, we switched canvases.  Julie went home to put the basket of strawberries on my background, and I put Julie's background on my easel to put the basket of peaches on it.

Eeeekkkk!!!! Switch-er-oo!!

Thank you to Jan Brandt for inviting Julie to participate!

Thank you to Julie for inviting me to be her collaborator!

Basket and Peaches by Helen Eaton

Background by Julie Brandt

Basket and Strawberries by Julie Brandt

Background by Helen Eaton

Original Oil Paintings on 11"x 14" Wrapped Canvas

Both paintings will be on display and for sale at TWOGETHER at Jan Brandt Gallery in Bloomington, Illinois.

Basket of Peaches

Does this image remind you of something?

Does it make your mouth water for the taste of peach?
Does it remind you of when you got to pick fruit with your grandpa?
Does it cause you to want to stop by the farmers' market?
Does it remind you of another painting you once saw?

I hope so... That's my goal... I want my paintings to provoke an idea, a thought, an emotion, a reaction...

My dad and I picked these peaches from two little trees beside his house in Tontitown, Arkansas.... pick, wash, peel, slice, eat!

I've got to give credit for my inspiration here.  "Basket of Peaches" done by Joseph Decker in 1885 is my favorite painting in Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.  Mine may be worth about a million dollars less than his, but I love it just as much!

And, I better give a little credit to the peach trees and the farmer who takes care of them. (Thanks, Dad!)

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Just Peachy

Do they look good enough to eat?

They are... they were!

I hope this is the first in series of peachy still lifes.  

I've written about and often painted about our family garden.  Gardening is one thing my family knows and lives in the summer.  And, this year has provided a bountiful harvest that just keeps coming. 

Spring came early with no late freeze, so every branch on the peach trees was loaded.  What fun to fill a 5 gallon bucket of gorgeous, perfect peaches within 10 minutes!  
(FYI - that's my dad.)

Next comes the washing... sorry, but organic isn't a word that can be used to describe our garden... we have to wash off the same stuff that keeps the bugs off and the worms out.
Then comes the peeling, sprinkling with Fruit Fresh, and freezing.  Peel... peel... cut... cut... take a bite... peel... peel... cut... cut... take a bite...

Oh, but there was another step this year.  Set up some still life pictures to capture these peaches!  I'm fortunate to live in Northwest Arkansas were we have the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.  Of all the famous, beautiful, huge, priceless paintings there, my favorite is one called "Basket of Peaches" done by Joseph Decker in 1885.  It's fairly small and not showy.  The first time I saw it, I knew I wanted to do my own basket of peaches.  I like to imagine that not long after the Civil War, Mr. Decker saw the knocked over basket, stopped whatever important job he was doing and captured that simple image.  I realize that his is worth about a million dollars more than mine... but I love them both!

"Basket of Peaches"

Thomas Decker 1885

Visit a lovely, yummy Etsy treasury (collection of related art pieces and vintage items) celebrating Peach Harvest.

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