Sunny Work In Progress on a Cloudy Day

Wintry weather is in the forecast on this gray Maine day, but the still life I am working on is warm and sunny.

This is one of those pieces where I really am enjoying all of the contrasts and connections going on.

The very orderly arrangement of stacked plates and perfectly centered tomato is overlaid by the odd angles and indistinct shapes of the cast shadows. The soft, fleshy tomato appears even more ripe in contrast with the cool, hard ceramic surfaces. And, of course, it's hard to miss the hot reds versus cool blues!

The bottom plate's geometric details seem to reach out and connect with the linear shadows, while the little top plate's design mimics and surrounds the tomato's contours. And then there's the middle plate: its slightly sculptural texture hinting at those lobular shapes on the tomato, as the fence, earth and clouds illustrate quite literally where it was very recently growing.