Radish in Self Quarantine

This little radish made me think of self quarantine. It reminds me of each of us as we navigate the pandemic these days. Why? It arrived here in our home after a recent curbside grocery pick up at the local food coop. The radish had been surrounded by its fellow radishes. But then, it came to our home. But wait…before I continue, let me remind you about this blog.

Favorite Things

This blog is a part of a series called “Favorite Things.” I love to draw and paint and, each week, I share a small painting with you. So, if you think you might enjoy seeing a new painting and blog post each week, please sign up here. In addition to a glimpse into the technical process of oil painting, I share thoughts about current events as well as other goodies. Like what? Lately, I have been thinking about the pandemic obviously! And, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd earlier this summer, I have been thinking of black lives matter. So, I share black artists here, too.

Isolation versus Quarantine

Well then, you may be wondering why this painting is “Radish in Self Quarantine” rather than “Radish in Isolation?” I decided that this little radish is a positive sign of someone who is proactive about this pandemic. Therefore, this little radish does not have COVID-19. So, isolation is not a requirement here. Rather, this little crunchy red vegetable has concern about exposure. Don’t we all?

So, to be extra safe, the little red radish decided to head into self-quarantine for the 14 day period in this CDC publication. I confess to developing an affinity for this radish as I painted it. It had such a lovely red color and just a smidge of green where the leaves used to be. And, at the end of this root vegetable, there is a delightful “pig tail” swirl. That swirl even cast a shadow!

Let’s get to color

This week I used …gasp… ten colors! This is nearly twice the number of paints I have used over the past few weeks. But, ten is less than half the number of paints I used as a student at Studio Incamminati in Philadelphia, PA. By the way, spread the word, Studio Incamminati now offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. See this link to learn more.

Here’s a list of the colors I used: Burnt Umber, Permanent Rose, Cadmium Scarlet, Raw Sienna, Cadmium Yellow Pale, Cadmium Green Pale, Cadmium Green, Cerulean Blue, Quinacridone Magenta and Cremnitz White. Now I bet I know what you are thinking? You are thinking, “Julie, you are painting a reddish object on a light background. What the heck do you need all those colors for?” I know I know! You’re right. I guess I could have tried to use fewer colors. But guess what? I actively used every single color in the list above, except for one color.

Guess which color that might be? You’re right again! I even wrote about my lukewarm feelings for Cadmium Yellow in a previous blog post. However, I loved having all the other colors to create a soft gentle shadow falling away from the radish and the range of reds that created the roundness of it.

More Color

While we are talking about color, let’s talk about the paintings of the amazing Kerry James Marshall. I learned about his work this spring during an online workshop about composition. His work combines a desire to paint what he knows with a solid knowledge of art history and its lack of black figures.

He uses a colorful palette to create his acrylic paintings. And, he uses three different black paints in his figurative work: carbon black, mars black and ivory black. And, according to the New York Times article in the link above, he shows variations in these black paints by adding, not white, but yellow ochre, raw umber and two unnamed blues.

More than Color

“One of the reasons I paint black people is because I am a black person …” he says. “There are fewer representations of black figures in the historical record …” Kerry James Marshall has enriched the world of art with his paintings. During this interview on NPR, he says, “The hope was always to make sure these works found their way into museums so they could exist alongside everything else that people go into museums to look at.”

Expand Your View

As the curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art in LA says “If whiteness is the only form of beauty you see, you are operating in a pretty small universe.” So, keep Kerry James Marshall’s work in mind, the next time you search for modern artwork. And, if you go to New York City (I’m imagining a post pandemic trip, you?) to visit the Met, be sure to check out Kerry James Marshall’s painting on view there. You will see beauty in a whole new light!

For Sale

This sweet painting entitled “Radish in Self Quarantine” is for sale for $195. You can click on this link to see a larger version of the painting and to see a link to purchase, too. Thank you for looking and reading here today. What tips can you share to manage the world in which we live these days? I would love to hear from you, both practical and artistic ideas, in the comments below.