Bowl of Cherries

"Bowl of Cherries" -- oil on canvas 24x24" -- Margie Guyot

After suffering out in the 90+ degree heat and humidity, doing the 2 recent plein air paintings, I was happy to retreat into my relatively cool studio!  It's the height of cherry season here, although most of Michigan's cherry crop was ruined this spring by a late frost.  Most of the cherries in the stores are imports from Washington state.

I ate a lot of cherries while painting this!

I ran out of big canvases, so decided to do something smaller.  Art supply stores in NW Michigan are few and far between, so I get most of my supplies online.  Shipping "oversize" canvases has become crazily expensive: there is an extra $110 oversize delivery charge.  Even after paying the extra fee, there's no guarantee of getting your order intact.  Last year I was working in my garden when I heard a strange sound.  I looked up to see a delivery guy DRAGGING my two boxes of canvas all the way down my gravel driveway!  He said he didn't feel confident enough to back his semi down my driveway.  He didn't care that they were ripped to shreds by the gravel.  Yes, I got a refund, but still -- you'd think by paying $110 extra, you'd at least get your canvases delivered in good condition.  I don't know how I'll get more.

Some things I never tire painting.  I love the old tablecloths!  It's fun to just toss them onto the table and leave them stay mussed up.  Painting folds is challenging -- but fun!  And the pink glass bowl -- yikes! -- it's really hard.  But what else is there to do?  Weed in the garden?  Wash floors?  Hah.