"Garden of Eden Beans" - 6 x 6 inches - oil on canvas - SOLD"

Garden of Eden Beans - 6 x 6 inches - oil on canvas

Last weekend I dropped by a friend’s house, and, as we sat chatting at his kitchen counter, a neighbor came by to drop off beans she had just picked from the garden.  She had the beans in a berry basket and I was immediately struck by the color combination of the aqua basket with the green of the beans.   

Before I left, I asked if I could take home some beans to paint as I thought they were quite beautiful.  I gotta be honest, he seemed a bit reluctant to let them go and asked if I planned to eat them (as I assume he wanted to make sure they wouldn’t go to waste).

I had my own berry basket at home (you can probably tell that I like painting these as I’ve done several in recent weeks) so I filled it with my handful of beans, added a few cherry tomatoes and put everything on a dishtowel.

I started with a bright pink wash of acrylic and painted the beans first and then the basket.   I decided on a very dark background to add drama and contrast to the beans.  I had my choice of several dish towels but settled on one with blue stripes as I liked the extra pop of color in my composition.  The painting flowed easily without many sticking points along the way so I was quite happy when I finished.

I was told these are called “Garden of Eden” beans and after I painted them, I enjoyed them immensely!  They were crisp and sweet and juicy.   I ate them raw and loved every last crunch.