Two Black Paper Pastels have found a home!
Could not resist spreading the good news: a young man with impeccably good taste in art has purchased two of my Black Paper Pastel babies! The ones which have been added to his collection are the banana tree fluttering in the sunshine and the Okefenokee piece of the watery cypress forest. I was very touched when I found out purchasing my paintings was his birthday present to himself!
This is the very thing that inspires me to go through this long process- knowing that I can make someone happy enough with my art that he’ll spend his hard-earned money to hang it on his wall. And I happen to know that he works VERY hard for his paycheck!
Happy Birthday, Davie! Thank you so much!
The Stained Glass Banana Tree
Okay, so it’s not really made out of glass. But to me, it’s just as beautiful. Banana leaves reflect the light very well, and are thin enough to be translucent. The wind has torn these huge soft fronds, and as they wave in the breeze, some areas are lit by the cool blue light from the sky, some are drenched by golden sun passing through, some parts are in cool blue shadow.
The stained glass effect of banana leaves fluttering in the breeze
I must confess, I’ve painted this image before. I crop it differently each time. The original banana tree grew on the Herbert Hoover estate on Indian Creek Island in Miami; this photo was taken way back in 1981. Since then, I’ve often taken photos of banana plants, but this one surpasses all in paintability. I learned from this tree that light from the sky is cool and blue, light from the sun is warm and yellow. Light passing through leaves is splendid and delightful.
It’s not just about the light, either; each time I paint Mr. Hoover’s banana tree, I seek out new aspects of it. In this version, I sought to convey the sense of movement, of how the leaves were dancing in the ocean breeze. Like my other Black Paper Pastels, this one is but 7″ by 5″ so I didn’t have a lot of room for details.
I’d love to know what you think!
This little painting is listed in my Etsy shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/donnakazo); please visit and enjoy your stay there, and thanks for reading about my paintings!
Just to give you an idea of how my painting looks in a standard 10" by 8" tabletop frame!
Donna Kazo's Black Paper Pastels 