My newest mixed media painting, Still Life with Buddha Hand Fruit is the realisation of many years aspiration and I guess this could be viewed as me walking in answered prayers. I first set out to paint this unusual looking fruit many years ago and as they are only available a few weeks of the year during the cold Winter season here in Melbourne, my aspiration has taken awhile to fully manifest. These fruits have also become popular in recent years, only making my challenge more intense!
Basically there are two forms of the fruit - the open and closed forms. The latter is prized more amongst enthusiasts as they more closely resemble hands in prayer and as such are known to be used as offerings to the Buddha. Otherwise the main use of Buddha Hand Fruits, or fingered citron as they are known colloquially, is for making candied desserts. These fruits are basically a type of lemon and they are highly aromatic, making them a pure pleasure to paint. When the fruits are young the colour is very similar to a deep lime, as they mature, they turn very pale lemon with green fingers, gradually deepening until they become a darker yellow in their more advanced state.
I have placed the subjects for this painting on a detailed fabric print set against a fan and a section of a reproduction of one of my paintings of the Exhibition Fountain found in the Carlton Gardens, facing West. Gemstone elements of citrine, peridot, amethyst, ruby, quartz, mother of pearl, jasper and rose quartz are embedded in my signature style border setting.
Currently on show at the Victorian Artists Society Winter Select Exhibition 2023, which spans across the three upstairs galleries, my work may be found in the Hammond Gallery next to the grand piano. The overall show is of a very high standard and I am very pleased that my work was selected for inclusion in this major exhibition.
The Winter Select Exhibition 2023 runs until July 24th and is well worth a visit.