"Pico de Gallo" Oil Painting

Sometimes the best paintings are inspired by what is right in front of you. I plucked this juicy jalapeño from our early springtime garden, and arranged it with vine ripened tomatoes and an onion.

©Victoria Page Miller, "Pico de Gallo", 27"x12", Oil on Canvas (Triptych)

Modelling objects has it's own challenges. With people, the ideal situation is to coax out their personality with a setting that they desire and to make the image a combination of the two. With vegetables, you are working with how you feel about them.

Once I chose my working image, I decided on a triptych (three canvases). Both still lifes and triptychs are firsts for me, and it was exciting to paint on three canvases simultaneously.

I love everything about working in a vegetable garden and seeing the fruits of my labor. It is a restrained process, full of planning and evolved over time. A garden is a symbol of patience and growth. This painting, which was inspired by the lone early jalapeño, means to share some of that love, restrained excitement and imagery.

Both the original and prints will be made available this weekend at the St. Johns River Festival of the Arts. Contact me directly for information on internet early sales.



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