Painting a Day – Japanese persimmon

Art, daily painting, For Sale, Nature, Pastel | October 2, 2006 | By

4″ x 4″ pastel on paper

SOLD

Last Sunday we went to our local farmers’ market and I picked up quite a few unusual fruits from specialized growers. This little fellow is called a Japanese persimmon – a Fuyu, to be more precise. Unlike many other persimmons, it is short and round and looks a little bit like a tomato. I don’t know when it will get sweet but in the meantime I’m going to have a good time painting and drawing it. The oranges, golds and greens in the skin were a powerful lure.

Occasionally I’ll add a bit of pastel to a watercolor to enhance certain colors, but I haven’t done too many lately.

The Tujunga sunset (below) was my first attempt to get back into it (in June) after far too many years.

The good thing about letting your pastels sit around for a awhile is that they don’t dry up, fade or show any signs or deterioration. The bad thing is that your fingers get rusty. But that’s what learning’s all about, and I’m enjoying the process.

Have you revisited a medium that you put aside long ago? What did it feel like when you started up again? Vaguely familiar like riding a bike? Or strange and foreign?