More vegetables - tiny eggplants
Another one for the “Draw a Vegetable” Challenge!
I had a terrific dish at a recent potluck and meeting of the Botanical Artists Guild of So. California. The hostess gave out the recipe to everyone present and I filed it away as something I wanted to try. Today, I saw these baby eggplants at the market and decided that I would give it a try. It includes small tender eggplants, italian parsley, diced tomatoes, calamata olives, garlic and some spices - all mixed with the hands and baked in a shallow pan. But like a raccoon who must wash everything before eating it, I often feel compelled to draw or paint it.
This was sketched in my Superdeluxe Aquabee workbook, 9 x 9, 90# weight. I learned some things from it that I’ll take into consideration in doing a real painting. The best thing I learned was which colors to use to get that eggplant color, and I figured out some ways to get the colors to mingle on the wet paper.
Oh, man, I love these eggplant paintings! I keep starting to buy eggplant just to paint (because I really don’t like it to eat) and you’re about to be the straw that broke the camel’s back … wonderful!
Karen long live the humble eggplant. I’m crazy about this watercolor! Now I have to get me some egg plants too!
I love your eggplants. I can’t tell you how many times I ended throwing something away because it went bad before I finished the painting. We grew some last summer and had wonderful eggplant parmesan. Jean
You must use good quality gesso. The stuff I have is left over from my youngest’s school art days and is awful. I wouldn’t get a result as nice as this with it. Those eggplants look great. I could just about reach out and pick one up.
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Karen, sorry, I was thinking this was the painting experiment you did in your coptic workbook??? But now I read you comments more carefully, I don’t think it can be. Sorry for the confusion.
What great eggplants! You have much more interesting fresh produce around than I do! LOL. I love seeing these snippets of everyone’s lives.
Terri, the one I did in the coptic workbook is the sketch of the woman, which was for yesterday. Today’s painting sketch was done in the superdeluxe aquabee (SDAB) sketchbook, which is an all-media journal, 90# weight. It’s not as good as real watercolor paper, like 140#, but it doesn’t bleed through at all.
Great colors !! I love your sketchbooks!!
What a lovely illustration. You really captured the aubergine colour and shine. I love recipes that include eggplants/aubergines.
These are AWESOME, Karen — they leap right off the page with luscious vitality!!
Oh, Karen, these are gorgeous! I love the glow you’ve achieved and they are just the right colour. I like watery watercolours, and think it is a master who can achieve that effect without it just looking a watery mess.
Wow, Karen, These are just gorgeous! Bravo, bravo!
Belinda
Great Eggplants Karen - they look so plump! I love eggplant parmigana - one of my favourite dishes ever!!
these are really beautiful
Althought I dislike eggplants, you made it a temptation.
Karen, I can see how reserving the white works for the shininess — these are great! thanks for you comments on my aubergines, and I’m going to keep working on them!