aksimonart

Bearing Fruit or Vegetable?
Day 30



© A.K. Simon 8 x 8 colored pencil


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I think I mentioned before that I like to draw so sometimes I like to make these tight little colored pencil drawings. This particular plum tomato was so cute with its potbelly sticking out just basking there in the sun that it begged for a picture. My daughter, Sarah, decided in her junior year of high school that she wanted to have a raised garden. So my husband gathered all the tools, bought all the wood, had dirt shipped in and the planting commenced. (So what if we had to have the cable restored after the rebar pierced it clean through - we had our garden.) I had my doubts about weeding and how much her garden would add to my burden but I was the ever supportive mom - encouraging - you know the drill. By mid summer I loved that garden. Sarah's interest had waned and the weeding and watering became my chore, but I have to say that there is something endearing about watching something grow from a seed or small plant (you get the connection here right?). So, the title for this piece is about bearing fruit and the simple messages that come to us from the garden. Things like nature and nurture that apply so much to our own human relationships. So, that summer Sarah and I learned a little about each other. I learned that sometimes something I dread may turn out to be something I love, she, that nature can be pretty tough to figure out she doesn't have the worst parents on the planet. Hubby, well, he's still wondering how that cable got moved into the line of construction. And, have we ever figured out if it is a fruit or vegetable yet?

At the risk of being even more wordy, I make these drawings on panels and varnish them. I use alcohol and Q-tips to blend in some areas. I also just blend color on top of color to achieve some of the really dark darks. And yes, my mind really does go in these weird directions sometimes.