cashew fruits (marañones)

[annette71]

This is the first painting of the group i'm starting for my next exhibit on June 2012. It's a little one, 8x10, but i like it at lot. It brights up the studio. Can't wait to see it framed.

The fruit is called "marañón" and the bean-shaped seed to which the fruit is attached, you can burn it, like in a BBQ, very close to the flame. It will burn the outside, it will almost look like charcoal, but that means the inside is ready... the next step is crushing the seed and inside you'll find a fully cooked cashew (yes like the ones in the supermarket jars)... this is the old fashioned way to produce your own cashews in Panama! Learned it from my grandmother. It helps to have a cashew fruit tree in your backyard though, like she has...

Hope you like the painting... your thoughts always welcome.

Annette

P.S. It feels good to post a painting again... it had been a while since my last...

[annette71]

I thought to also share with you how my palette looks right before i start to work on a series for my show... it's not always this neat and crisp...

[chewie]

love the colors, and had no idea about what they were, or how cashews came to that nice little jar in the store! lovely pallet too! did you make the trays?

[annette71]

Thank you, Chewie... i bought the trays from Dakota Art Supplies... they are large, so they are good for the studio. The pastels lie on a thin metal mesh so that any dust or tiny bits and pieces fall under the pastels to the aluminum tray below the mesh. It's easier to keep the pastels a little cleaner this way... The aluminum tray comes off to be cleaned and can be re-positioned.

I've tried many products and boxes and this is by far the best i have found for studio work if your palette has grown and you want to have all or most of your sticks visible. You can stack the trays on top of each other too, to save space, and move them around as you need depending on what colors you will be using next.

Annette

[corné akkers]

strange but attractive fruits! your colourful pallet of pastels on the table surely will enable to embody these fruits. I'm impressed!

[owenj]

Very nice Annette, & I really like the neat & tidy palette box!

[annette71]

Thank you, Corné! My palette is a good indication of they kind of paintings i do... i go for colorful and bold, it's stronger than me...

Thank you, Jaime... it's not always that neat and tidy, trust me...
The one negative thing about pastels in my opinion is that they are impossible to keep clean... BUT... small price to pay for the beauty of the medium.

[allydoodle]

This has your signature palette, beautifully painted Annette, with a neat story as well!

[chuas2]

Wonderful painting Annette, and a little education in cashews!
Chuas

[sketchZ1ol]

hello
very distinctive painting and interesting background story

i dont break my sticks and keep the wrappers on .
> i want to see the end of the stick
and the wrapper keeps the oil from my hand off the stick
( i don't use gloves )

your palette/collection is very impressive !

Ed :}

[annette71]

Thank you, Chris... i see what you mean about the "signature palette"! it sounds pretty cool, hahaha... i guess i do have one...

Thank you, Chuas... after seeing the rustic chasew-making process, i appreciate more what comes in the jars!

And thank you Ed... you know, depending on what i'm painting, i may use gloves or not... i must say the feeling without gloves is the best, but it tends to get really messy... so when it is suitable, i glove-up. It's funny how we are so different in terms of the sticks wrapping... i cannot stand to see a wraped stick in my trays (as you can see from the picture)!

[Turpintine45]

Your painting is beautiful and so interesting to see what cashews look like on the tree.

[annette71]

Thank you, Jen!

[barriespapa]

Love your painting and your pallete makes mine look terrible small Also thanks for the education on cashews.
David

[annette71]

Thank you, David! My palette started very small... then i decided i wanted to try different brands of sticks to see what i liked best, and that's when i started to buy open stock a few sticks from of every brand in the market.
I can say i've tried them all (except the Marais hand-made, which are on my "to do" list). I also tried the Roche's, which are very pricy (only got 4 of those to try out! that's all my budget could resist...) I must say every brand has it's charm, but i find myself these days buying Terry Ludwig, Unison, Sennelier and Great Americans' more often than other brands. The only brand i don't use because it doesn't suit the way i paint are Holbeins, but for those who use hard pastels for starting layers, Holbeins are good.