Strange but true. I wanted to paint a lobster, partly because I was invited to participate in a Lobster themed show at gWatson Gallery this summer. I was delighted to be invited, and actually, the idea of painting a lobster had been in my head for some time. Not surprising as I am a food painter, and I also paint in Maine! Kind of an "Oh yeah, duh!" equation. It was just a question of when I was going to get around to it, and this invitation proved the catalyst.
But the obstacle: killing a lobster so I could paint her. Hmm. Lobsters go bad pretty quickly after they're cooked so I'd probably have to work fast and then end up finishing the painting from a photo: unappealing! I only paint still life from life. Plus, in any case very likely the lobster would spoil and have to be trashed, uneaten. What a waste! For all kinds of reasons I was balking.
Then a friend who is a set designer for commercials told me about props rentals! Wow, what a revelation! She took me to an amazing warehouse stuffed floor to ceiling with all kinds of props: furniture, musical instruments, stuffed animals and of course, fake food! My lobster is extremely realistic and comes from the Japanese faux food industry..verisimilitude is paramount! He costs 10 cents a day to rent, and I have become very fond of him. I am feeling reluctant to "throw him back" althought the painting is not only finished and framed but I delivered it by hand to the gallery in Maine on Friday! (I put the trip pictures in an album on Facebook: email me if you want an invitation to view!)
Lobster with Brioche, oil on canvas, 18 x 24 inches
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