Persimmon Rain

Original Sold

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On the street leading up to our house in Fairfax, California, a persimmon tree hangs over a neighbor’s fence. At the time I painted this, my husband, Joe and I had been living in this neighborhood for several years. Every fall, as I went by it, I thought I want to paint those persimmons.

In the autumn of 2005 I got brave and knocked on the door of the persimmon’s house and introduced myself. I met our neighbor Gen Racek, who now passed away, was a spry 90 then. Camera in hand, I asked if I could take some photos of her persimmons.

It had just rained, so I had the added benefit of water drops for enchantment. One of the images jumped out of the set of photos. The imperfection of the leaves and the splotch on the side of the persimmon made it so interesting. Then there was that on drop at the tip of the leaf – perfectly placed.

The leaves were a challenge. I had no idea what I was doing. I just stayed with them, looked carefully at the image and tried to paint what I saw, approximating the intense detail of the tiny veins of the leaves with dabbles of my brushes.

My friend Brenda fell in love with this painting even before it was finished. She said it reminded her of her deceased mother’s love for her. The original now hangs in her dining room – it became the first painting I sold. Brenda’s response to this painting and her support of my making art has propelled me forward as an artist.

October 2006 – 22″x22″ – Watercolor on paper