[Mason Jar with Plant Cuttings (Ordinary Objects series) 2011. watercolor on paper. 5x7"]
"If we start from the principle that painting cannot be the exact reproduction of nature and that art is essentially a choice, it is evident that the non-essential must be sacrificed to the essential, the form of the idea."
- J.Martin-Barbaz, The Holiday Painter
The other day I was sitting on the sofa and kept glancing at this mason jar in which I've rooted cuttings from one of my plants. It was there on the windowsill and looking quite ordinary. I gave myself about an hour to paint it, and for a while it was not coming together. Several contrasting aspects made it both interesting and a bit difficult to render --- the clear glass mason jar with its highlights, varying thicknesses, and impressed patterns, holding a twisted network of fecund roots, and stems and leaves of rather delicate shapes and colors --- a composition of opposites. The small dimensions and short time frame provided limitations I enjoy working within, and forced me to put down on paper only those elements that were essential to what I saw.
