Looking For New Stuff

"Imported Olives"

oil on linen on panel, 8" x 10"

As a painter looking to grow, I am always seeking ways to get the paint on the canvas in a more appealing way. I find myself browsing in places I otherwise would not . . . .such as the Good Will store . . . .to find interesting objects, too. Yesterday, I found a few things. These came from another store. I found them interesting because they presented new challenges. A ball of string . . . .very interesting texture and the size appealed to me as a possible interesting contrast object in a painting. This lop-sided, goofy shaped dish with its unusual markings and colors offerred some other possbilitities in the area of shape and pattern. Then, as if I had come to this market with this purpose in mind, I found myself looking for something tall and slender that would offer a compositional balance. When I saw it, I immediately knew it. But what a dumb thing it was!! A jar of olives? Fer gawd's sakes!! And a ball of string? What possible relationship could these two things have? Welllllll . . . . . .the colors of the label offer great interest against the warms of the olives and the ball and bowl. And the rectangular shape of the label in the painting will make a nice counterpoint to the curvilinear shapes in the rest of the painting.

"What the heck!" . . . ."Go ahead and paint it. The only thing I have to lose is a small piece of linen . . .and I can always paint over that, if I want to."

So I did. It is in a frame in my living room (where most of these end up to dry and to continually watch and re-evaluate). And I can't take my eyes off it!!