(mouse-over to magnify / click to expand)
|
(mouse-over to magnify / click to expand)
Dec 29, 2021
Media: Oil
Size: 10x8 in
Pomegranates have a long and storied history. Native to Iran, they have thrived in many areas where they’ve been introduced, from Asia to parts of the United States.
The earliest mention of pomegranates in popular culture is in the story of Persephone. The daughter of Demeter, the Earth Mother in Greek mythology, she was abducted by Hades and forced to live in his underworld domain. As Demeter wandered the earth searching for her lost daughter, she neglected her duties, which included agriculture; the earth became barren as long as Persephone remained in the realm of Hades.
Finally, Demeter’s husband brokered a compromise: Persephone would stay in Hades a month for each pomegranate seed she had eaten at the urging of Hades. She could rejoin her mother for the remainder of the year. Six seeds meant six months of fallow crops, and for the remaining six months Persephone was again (along with her mother) the goddess of fertility. She thus brings spring and summer to us each year.
In addition, for centuries, different cultures across the world have drunk the juice of pomegranates to combat a wide range of human ailments.
All of this is to say that pomegranates aren’t just fruit that I’ve enjoyed painting, twice so far. Painting them is similar to painting an apple, taking care to give it a bit of an angular shape. I used primarily alizarin red and cadmium-free red light in bringing the pomegranate forward from the dark background. I enjoy making things “pop” like that.
The brass vase came mostly from my imagination, but it resembles a vase I bought in Turkey many years ago.
-- Pomegranates have a long and storied history. Native to Iran, they have thrived in many areas where they’ve been introduced, from Asia to parts of the United States.
The earliest mention of pomegranates in popular culture is in the story of Persephone. The daughter of Demeter, the Earth Mother in Greek mythology, she was abducted by Hades and forced to live in his underworld domain. As Demeter wandered the earth searching for her lost daughter, she neglected her duties, which included agriculture; the earth became barren as long as Persephone remained in the realm of Hades.
Finally, Demeter’s husband brokered a compromise: Persephone would stay in Hades a month for each pomegranate seed she had eaten at the urging of Hades. She could rejoin her mother for the remainder of the year. Six seeds meant six months of fallow crops, and for the remaining six months Persephone was again (along with her mother) the goddess of fertility. She thus brings spring and summer to us each year.
In addition, for centuries, different cultures across the world have drunk the juice of pomegranates to combat a wide range of human ailments.
All of this is to say that pomegranates aren’t just fruit that I’ve enjoyed painting, twice so far. Painting them is similar to painting an apple, taking care to give it a bit of an angular shape. I used primarily alizarin red and cadmium-free red light in bringing the pomegranate forward from the dark background. I enjoy making things “pop” like that.
The brass vase came mostly from my imagination, but it resembles a vase I bought in Turkey many years ago.
-- |
Available Paintings by Bob Blackmon
|
![](http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/bob-blackmon/pomegranate-and-brass/966925&media=https://s3.amazonaws.com/fineartimages.dailypaintworks.com/4c949154-305e-4211-9ddd-a72aaecf6c0f.jpg&description=Daily Paintworks - "Pomegranate and Brass" - Original Fine Art for Sale - © Bob Blackmon)
Email to a Friend
