Ginny Page
Second Prize is a two-page editorial feature in American Art Collector magazine
My Inspiration
My inspiration came from my own beautiful garden whilst spotting the very first summer berries ripening in the sunshine. I harvested a humble total of five perfect little fruits that I collected in my favourite little hand-painted china bowl. I loved the bold, black, shiny “bobbles” that made up the plump, juicy blackberries, and under closer inspection I noticed that the raspberries had a rather different texture in comparison. More fluffy on the surface, dusky pink and covered in teeny tiny slightly hooked hairs. So intricate and dainty. Light is able to penetrate the hollow raspberry and create a warm glow unlike the more solid form of the blackberry. The colours of the berries matched elegantly against the pretty green, yellow and violet shades of the hand-painted flowers on the vintage bowl. The joy of painting life’s simple pleasures!
My Design Strategy
The design here was incredibly simple although I did spend time fiddling with the all-important light source, the composition and where exactly to place the berries. I added a blackberry leaf to give a contrasting texture, to “break“the ellipse shape of the bowl and to give a little more height. The underside of the leaf was more interesting than the front as it showed the deep-ridged veins and the muted blue-green pastel shade complemented the handpainted leaves on the bowl. I also liked the finely frayed stalks of the leaf and unripe berry that curled and twirled in different directions. The water drops were “flicked on “at the last minute with a paintbrush. I just love painting water drops, basically!
My Working Process
I carefully prepared a 6mm MDF panel with eight thin layers of gesso, sanding, spitting (yes spit) and polishing between each layer until I got a beautifully smooth surface. Next I drew an accurate drawing and sealed it with fixative to avoid the pencil lead mixing into my paint layers. I always start by blocking in the background first to identify the shapes. Then I start to block in the rest and gradually add more detail. I allow at least eight hours drying time between each translucent paint layer. I always use a restricted palette of five colours but not here. I broke all my own rules and chose random colours with unpronounceable names—amongst others phthalo green and quinacridone magenta!