OLD CANDY
My studio is stocked like a confectioner's shop. Bags of sweets and boxes of doughnuts, cream buns and other pastries are heaped on every shelf and surface. But not for sustenance while painting: for painting props! I love to paint these objects. I am not even remotely tempted to eat them. As I have mentioned before other than chocolate (anytime!) and an occasional yen for black jellybeans, I don't have much of a sweet tooth.

So, the candy gets old. I've noticed that with old Starlight Mints, when they start dessicating the colors start running. I am also working with nine gold-foil covered balls: all that is left of a tub of dulce de leche candies no longer stocked by Trader Joe's! They are slowly caving in, but on some the foil remains arched, like a carapace...so I can still use them for painting. Oh the trials of the still-life painter!