The Cheerful Mandarin

The Palette

“magenta + sienna = a wall i can never paint enough of.”

“A small still life — a single mandarin on a magenta ground.”

This was a study for a larger still life that never got finished. I kept the magenta background loose and stippled — almost like an old woven wall — so the orange would feel warm and round in front of it. The leaf is one continuous brushstroke, which is the part of small paintings like this I find most satisfying.