Wednesday, August 21, 2013

'All Things Southern' Feature: "Just Peachy"

"Just Peachy"
16"x12"
Oil on Panel
 
What do peaches & barbecue have in common?  Rivalry!  (Oh, yeah, and they're both delicious!)
Just say your state has the best and watch it fly!
 
So, we all know Georgia is the Peach State and in Atlanta on New Year's Eve "The Peach Drop" rings in the new year.  Did you know South Carolina - according to an article I read - is nudging Georgia out in peach production?  Here in Alabama our claim to "peach fame" resides in Chilton County.  Stop by Durbin Farms or Peach Park on your way up or down I-65 and grab a basket...or a peach milkshake!
 
We just love them down here....peach cobbler, peach ice cream or sliced and tossed in a salad.  Then there's the peach festival where Miss Peach is crowned, and Miss Junior Peach, and Little Miss Peach, and Real Little Miss Peach....and... 
 
I find them really hard to paint because the skin is sort of mottled and ranges from yellow-green, to bright yellow, to orange, to reddish-pink, to purply (Purply is too a word!)  Then you also have the 'peach fuzz' issue which gives a lavender gray highlight to some areas.  If you put too much highlight they can look glossy like an apple and then, boom, you've lost your peach.  It's been a subject for many artists including some of my favorites Pierre Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, and Van Gogh.  Sure would have been nice to run into one of these guys at Peach Park so I could ask them how they handled it! :)

If you are interested in purchasing this painting, please click here for information:
http://barbaradavisart.com/works/1247065/just-peachy
Thanks for looking!

2 comments:

Sharon L. Graves said...

My maiden name is Durbin. I'll have to check them out. We usually go to Atlanta at least once a year. Purely is a word. I've never tried to paint peaches, but I understand all the issues you mentioned. Yours are great.

Barbara said...

Sharon - it's about halfway between Birmingham and Montgomery on I-65. If you're in the area, you've got to get a peach milkshake! Yum! Maybe y'all are related! ...and I tend to make up words especially when I'm painting and talking at the same time. Those verbal abilities get a little skewed when I'm painting and words pop out like "peachish" "pinkyish" "orangier". Crazy! :) Glad you understand!