Thursday, July 14, 2011

Fig Trio

I was so excited this past week to find out that we have a purple fig tree in our back yard!  I know it seems like that's something I should have known.  The back corner of our yard has a lot of trees and shrubs and I rarely go back there.  Of course I knew that there was a fig tree there (it's about 20 feet tall so it's been there a long time and is hard to miss).  It's one of many trees that the local birds decided to plant for us.  I guess they thought our landscaping style could use some help.

We have another fig tree that they planted in the middle of our yard that I really like.  It's got a beautiful shape and I love the way the leaves look (on the tree and in flower arrangements) so that's why it gets to stay.   Unfortunately, I don't like the taste of the fruit.  It is a green fig tree and I thought that I was picking them too early or too late but maybe I just don't like figs.

Seeing that we also have a purple fig tree made me happy because I thought that surely they would taste better.  Everyone has told me how good the purple ones taste.  I always assumed that the tree in the corner was also a green fig tree because I  had never looked at it when the fruit was ripe.  When I saw that they were purple, I couldn't wait to taste them and also paint them.

Well... they were fun to paint and I really like the shapes of the figs but they taste worse than the green ones!  My friend that loves figs was over yesterday and she tasted one and also said it was terrible so it's not just me.  Why couldn't the birds plant a fig tree that makes good tasting fruit?  At least they are pretty for painting although I think I like the look of the contrast between the inside and outside of the green ones better.

This is a palette knife painting on a 6" x 6" panel.  I really like the look of this size and shape of painting and how they look in the floater frames with the painting mounted to the front so that none of it is covered.  I wanted to be a little different with this one so I painted it rotated 45 degrees and it will hang this way.  Here's how it looks in the frame:
 Fig Trio
Image size 6" x 6"
Oil on canvas board











9 comments:

  1. We've had some interesting things pop up in our yard too, thanks to furry or feathered critters, including some gorgeous mystery flower bulbs that we haven't been able to identify. It's a shame that neither of your freebies have good fruit though! At least you have good subjects for painting. I like the diamond format and your frame is a great choice.

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  2. Fantastic work Nancy! very beautiful and unique! Gorgeous colors and composition!
    Oh and this painting looks absolutely awesome in frames! :)

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  3. Who knew? LOL Thank you for the mini lesson in figs. I've never tried one except in Fig Newton's and I don't care for those cookies. LOLOL But they sure made you one pretty painting, Nancy, and I love the angled placement!

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  4. I love this little painting..great color and shadowing. I tasted this fruit and think we need a sweet one to like it? I have a beautiful little Cherry tree in my backyard which produces a lot of cherries...however, they are sour and not too good...but at least the birds like them! Also, love the way you hang this painting..!

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  5. Thanks Deborah. Yes, it's good that figs are such an interesting looking fruit. Maybe I will develop a taste for them. My friend makes fig jam and I do like that. Of course, anything with sugar added usually gets my attention.

    Thanks Mikko. I think I will try this diamond format again. It's different.

    Thank you Sherry. Yeah, fig newtons are the one cookie that I can pass up.

    Thanks Hilda. Too bad about the cherries. That would be a good fruit to have in your yard. I find that I do best with citrus because you don't have to pick them right away to beat the critters to them and they are easy. I've planted plums, nectarines and peaches but they haven't fruited yet. Maybe if I gave them more water and a little fertilizer....... Fruit trees have to thrive on neglect to survive in my yard. Even though I love to garden, I forget the basics sometimes.

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  6. Very nice of the birds to help you landscape your yard! Hopefully they will plant another fig tree that will have better tasting figs! I really like the diamond shape of the painting, and the purple and red hues.

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  7. They keep planting fig trees all over our yard but I pull most of them out so I'll never know if they were giving me some good fruit or not.

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  8. Nancy, this is great and good for you for the different shape - wonderful!!

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