TIMELINE: May 26, 2010 I did the first layer of the Tomato Mandala, based upon a red tomato I got at a restaurant, which had four connection points. After that I sliced open another red tomato and it had five connection points. Then I tried a Beefsteak tomato, which had 8 connections to the outer flesh, and a Roma tomato has two.
A few days ago I shot and uploaded the finished Tomato Mandala.
On Monday I went to yoga class and my teacher, Constance, showed another student and me her newest drawing, which is 6 feet wide by 9 feet high. I was very excited by it. It is based upon the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. I hope to post a video of her talking about it, later.
So today, I brought my Black Drawings (white pencil on black paper) with me, along with the Tomato Mandala, to show Constance. After class I stopped at the art supply store and looked for heavy black paper to paint on, as my black drawings made me think about how nice these mandala paintings might look on black paper. I was walking up to the counter to purchase a large sheet of black paper when this pad of black paper caught my eye. It is SQUARE! Perfect for mandalas!
I had purchased a yellow tomato and an orange one, so when I got home I cut them open and Lo and Behold they had each only three connections. So amongst tomatoes, I have seen two, three, four and five, as well as eight connection points.
Constance offered to keep a tally of the number of connections in the tomatoes she encounters, as well. I was planning to go on to my red pepper mandala (3), but this got me going.
The heavy black paper was not designed specifically for water media, but it took the gouache well, in a thick solution. I have to tip my hat to my sister Betsy, who suggested I might like working with gouache. It took a couple of years to get around to trying it, but I am really enjoying it tremendously.
These gouache paintings are what I call my vegetable mandalas. I sent for framing materials from American Frame and put them together today. I will be hanging them at the Houston Iyengar Yoga Studio, where Constance has a small space that is used to display individual artists' work.
The Three Stooges used to do a routine at a fancy dinner table. They are served artichokes, and one says, "what IS this thing?" the second one says, "yartichoke"; the first one replies, "So should you!" It makes more sense if you say it aloud.
Someone asked me recently, when they saw this painting as it was then, was it all one one big sheet of paper, and the answer is, yes, it is. In fact, the sheet of watercolor paper (300 lb. Arches Aquarelle) extends well beyond the painted area. The edge is visible at the top, just above the tube of paint.
I have to let the layers dry now, or suffer the consequences. Some colors are bleeding into one another, which I do not mind, but to preserve freshness I have to let the painting rest. If it was acrylic that would be a very short time, but with gouache it takes a little longer. Using the hair dryer is also a no-no with gouache.
Some bell peppers I have seen have three lobes, and some have four. I had the preconceived notion that each sort of fruit and/or vegetable had one geometric shape, but at least for fruits, such as tomatoes and bell peppers, there are variations. I believe the flowers are consistent, but that belief may also be corrected, who knows?
This piece is 6"x6", gouache on aquabord. I was struck by the similarity of the strawberry and leaves to the image of the Sacred Heart.
The square black paper is really too lightweight for gouache painting, so I thought I would make square drawings using white pencil. 
TIMELINE: May 26, 2010 I did the first layer of the Tomato Mandala, based upon a red tomato I got at a restaurant, which had four connection points. After that I sliced open another red tomato and it had five connection points. Then I tried a Beefsteak tomato, which had 8 connections to the outer flesh, and a Roma tomato has two.
Osprey posted her weather, which is amazingly different from mine, so I am putting mine up too. The tomato mandala is just for fun.
I know Van Gogh would understand what I am about to say. I have very little motivation to paint, and I have not had much motivation for years now.
Osprey posted this fabulous drawing site, and I did a drawing of my computer desk, the area between my keyboard and the monitor. It was fun and interesting to see what it put in when I scrubbed the mouse across an open space in "sketchy" mode (light grey surface of desk). Left-click on the drawing to see a much larger view of it (nice to see the details).
Yesterday my Faithful Dog Bear and I went for a walk in another part of The Neighborhood, and we found ... This Thingie. Embedded in the top of a storm drain, it was mysteriously spiraling, filled with concrete that did not match the drain cover itself, and made of what looked like tar. If you know what this is, you can keep it to yourself, because I LIKE IT!
