My Love of Painting Oranges

"Orchard Nostalgia"

By now, you must know how much I either love the color orange, enjoy eating oranges, and or love painting this delicious sweet juicy fruit.  I was recently invited to create paintings reflecting scenes of Southern California's San Gabriel Valley for an upcoming juried exhibit.  There is a long history of growing oranges in Southern California.  All around the southland, many hundreds of ranches once graced the San Gabriel and San Fernando Valleys, San Bernadino, Riverside and Orange Counties.  Sadly, there are few orange groves remaining.  I decided to create a still life to honor the rich history of growing citrus in the San Gabriel Valley.  "Orchard Nostalgia," (with crate labels of orange growers that once existed) is a 16"x20" oil on canvas.  This is one of the largest still life oil paintings I have done.  It was a big challenge for me.  I am pleased with the painting and really glad it is finished.  This one lingered on my easel a long time.