Still Life with Persimmon and Chestnuts

This painting is the realisation of an aspiration that is over a decade in the making. I learned how to paint persimmon fruit in a botanical art class and was working on it at home. I had put in over 300 hours and the work was extremely detailed. Unfortunately I went into a trance after a 12 hour straight sitting and a blues spirit ended up perched on the branch. I was unimpressed and abandoned the work. It wasn't until many years later that I found some spectacular looking persimmons which inspired me enough to paint them again. Also in the meantime I learned that left of field things that happen in the creative process can have some interesting if unexpected results that other people derive enjoyment from. And this is very important! However this acrylic work has retained its integrity as a purely representational painting in the contemporary style. The edges are a mixed media surface treatment with silver foil and semi precious stones, a feature that is becoming known as my signature style. This feature covers the sides of the canvas so that no extra framing is required. One of the beautiful qualities of this style of border treatment is that the light emanates from the edges of the painting onto the wall in certain lighting conditions. This work has previously been exhibited in the Small Works Exhibition in January 2022 and received coveted recognition through being featured by the Brunswick Street Gallery on their Instagram page.