Artwork Description:
The fascinating tropical gourd plant, momordica charantia grows in my garden, at maturity it drops poisonous, bright seeds through a flap in its horny hide. Through careful observation, photographs and sketches, I tried to figure out how the brilliant seeds were produced. With the flap down I was able to observe the various sections. The the seed center in the lower middle of the work consists of bright red over-painting of a flesh color then while the red paint is still wet, theshapes are created by scraping away the paint with a sharp tool and rubbing the highlights of the shiny seeds. The lines and rubbings take on the color of the dried flesh colored layer beneath.
The yellow section above, I call the nutrient center, which consists ofski trails of highlights following the undulating curves of the fibrous core. The rind survives by its hostile exterior, which connects to a beautiful, tangled cord, rolling down the stem. The viewer may visually close the flap by pushing up the right side of the flap and securing it to the stem. The challenge of this selection for the composition was the great variety of skills required to render the diverse qualities of the gourd surfaces the glistening wet of the center contrasted with the fibrous upper interior , the sharp, rugged rind and the gorgeous, intricate colors woven into the bark rolling behind the gourd. Includes book by artist Perfection of Form, 2010, il. pp.41-43.
Keywords:
Momordicacharantia, Gourd, Seeds, Skills, Dramatic, Original Book, Botanical Book