Description
Late in the summer of 2009 I visited Mike’s yard to see what his zinfandel grapes were like when they were nearly ripe. BJ and I climbed all over his hill in the evening light, having to climb under the netting draped over them – more sugar in the grapes and the birds want them. The light was just so lovely on this one, coming through in bright shocks on the left.
I was working on this when BJ died. In a strange way, painting this was harder than painting BJ. In resuming painting it, I am moving on with life. I finished it on vacation in Tahoe, where BJ was a big part of our time here – his incredible dock jumping and our morning hikes on the mountain trails. Another layer of acceptance. This is my third painting of grapes. I love the leaves in this one – each leaf is quite different from the other and they come in from the corners framing the cluster of fruit – which is softly cast with the green light on the darker side. New life shines in the shadow.
July 2010
