Eight Takes

This is something very different, requiring a little explanation.  Eight of us in the Portland Plein Air and Studio Painters had a special project.  We each brought one object and then put them all in a box.  Each one of us got a turn at taking the box home and making a still life.  The box itself was my inspiration.  It is from Zimmerman's Deli.  Here's what the box looks like:

I decided to use the style of the box and then interpret our objects:  an African bust, a straw hat with a flower, a blue bottle, a copper colander, a straw-covered wine bottle, a thermometer, and a scarf.  You don't see the scarf because I didn't actually paint it...I just interpreted the flowers on it.  I did omit one of the objects, a canning jar.  The "rules" were that we had to use at least six.  The box was just an extra bonus.  So, that's my "take" on the project.

My "take" and the seven others are currently on display in O'Connor's, which is the restaurant where we have our weekly meetings.  They are all very different.  That is what made the project fun.  The show is up until the first week of June.