Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Sweet, rich and undecided



With shopping and cleaning and winding down a bit (read napping) I haven't spent a lot of time painting or drawing outside of some commissions, but have lots of ideas floating around in my head that I hope to put onto paper soon.

One of these is a drawing or painting of the image above.  This is a Cherry Blossom and they bring with it memories of my father and childhood.  My father was diabetic and would at times would go into insulin reactions and need something sweet quickly to counteract the effects.  There were always a handful of these chocolate cherries on top of the fridge and we knew as children they we were never allowed to touch them.  And we didn't.



While I was picking up something at the drugstore today, I saw a line of these along with many other kinds of chocolate bars by the checkout.  On impulse I picked one up and decided it would make an interesting drawing or painting.  I got it home and took it out of its little box and unwrapped it.  It seems smaller than I remember or perhaps as a child it just seemed larger then.

To reveal the cherry and gooey filling, it had to be bitten into.  The chocolate shell is thick and boy it sure is sweet.  Oh the things I do for art... however, I did break into it and did a quick watercolour sketch as well as taking some photos, so now I need to decide on a medium and move ahead.

And no, I didn't eat the rest of the Cherry Blossom.  Its still sitting in its sticky splendour, waiting for me to succumb, find a willing volunteer or dump it.

7 comments:

Jonathan Manning said...

One bite and I would have into the third package before I remembered to take a picture for the painting! Such will power amazes me! Can't wait to see this finished.

Jennifer Rose said...

I can't stand these lol way too sweet even for me.

you did a great job with the filling in the watercolour :)

Michelle Whitten LaCour said...

I remember these from my childhood too, but they seem a lot sweeter now than they did then. And a lot bigger too! Beautiful painting Jeanette. You certainly captured the sticky sweetness that we used to love.

RH Carpenter said...

I've never heard them called Cherry Blossoms - I like that name :) This is my brother's favorite candy, too. I think they are just too sweet but a painting of one or two would be just sweet enough :) Happy Holidays.

A Brush with Color said...

Those really are SO sweet! Great job--I love seeing the reference. Do you usually paint from black/white photos, if you use a reference photo, Jeanette? I find it's much easier to concentrate on the values if I do that. Nice!!

Jeanette Jobson said...

No Jonathan, these are way too sweet to overindulge. Even a hardcord sweet fanatic would have a problem getting more than one down.

Aren't they just so sweet Jennifer. I figured you're remember them. The filling is so so gooey. Getting the values and light just right is a challenge.

Thanks Michelle, it was fun to go down memory lane with this one.

Rhonda, I believe this is a Canadian candy, but may go under a different name in the USA. Either way, its enough to make all your fillings stand to attention when you bite into one. :)

Thanks Chris. I was playing around with a digital version of this with the black and white to see how it would work out in pen and ink - another pointillism piece perhaps.

When I work from photos, I use both colour and black and white. As you say, the black and white just gives a great reference point for values and takes away the distraction of colour.

Gary said...

Oh yeah, I get a buzz just looking at your painting - very effective. I love your imagination in choosing subjects. This is great.