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I enjoy painting still lifes.  Especially when one of the subjects within is lemons.  There's just something about lemons (and most citrus fruit), that I love -- shape, color, texture.  How can you not love a lemon?!  Especially if you cut it open and smell that delightfully delicious fresh citrus scent.

We're at the end of our citrus season in Arizona.  Knowing this, I decided to do one more painting with the few remaining lemons on my tree.  I did my setup and I was off.  My first attempt at capturing my setup was okay, but just okay.  It lacked something, even though the lemons I'd massed in looked great.  I left this painting session knowing that I was going to have to do something to get this painting to work. 

"Oh, the Glow!", 12" x 12", Original Oil on Gessoed Birch Panel

Several days later I arrived in my studio and looked at my lackluster painting.  I only had one hour to paint, and I really wanted to move this painting forward.  So, I decided to "throw it all to the wind."  I decided to paint with abandon and have fun.  My first move was to mix up a rich dark blue/green background.  I placed it next to the jug and WOW, I could see already that the rick dark next to the warm, thick, light paint looked amazing.  I quickly painted the background and the warmth of the lemons and jug stood out just looked beautiful.

I stepped back at one point, looking at my painting after the background was adjusted, and said, "Oh, the glow!"  I was delighted.

Moral of the story -- Don't always play it safe. -- throw it to the wind, and paint intuitively!  You'll probably be very happy with the results and have some fun in the process.