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Mango

I have gotten into the habit of collecting things with the intention of painting or drawing them later. It is because of this practice, that I was unable to walk by the mangoes in the grocery store without bringing one home. What I created is sort of sloppy, flawed, enlightening, bold, and interesting all at once.

I was really disappointed when I first looked at this finished piece. The brush strokes look over-worked. The color is muddy in some areas. The overall shape seems flat rather than round. There is an abundance of blossoms and back-washes in the upper part - the result of some badly-timed brush strokes.

That was when I realized something important: I really had no idea what I was doing when I sat down to paint. It was easy enough to mix the colors - a little cadmium yellow, alizarin crimson, emerald green, and payne's grey. The application of those colors to the page, however, was unexpectedly difficult.

I used a lot of water and tried to blend the colors together smoothly. I applied glazing techniques to get subtle greens onto the paint. I attempted to build the shadows up slowly and diffuse the edges of my brush strokes. The results may not be mind-blowing or gallery-worthy, but that was never the point. This project has forced me to be more creative, learn new things, and look at my world in a new way. I am proud of this piece for all of the lessons it has taught me.

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