Two days into our fruit still-life drawing lesson, I honestly thought we experienced a lemon juice miracle! (pictured above) However, four days later, it was quite clear that our lemon juice miracle was just science delayed. Our fruit became brown and slimy bringing with it a friendly infestation of fruit flies. (pictured below) Despite the less than perfect classroom conditions, we carried on and did our new pencils & papers proud!
Our once succulent fruit has now returned to the good earth in my compost pile! Ah, the circle of life. Fruit flies and all, it was worth it! The assignment generated a positive experience for the students, and while they might be a tad more self-critical than I am as their teacher, I’m pleased with their efforts and results. No one can learn how to do something, or how to get better at doing something…without actually doing it! Funny how that education thing works.
Of course, we aren’t the only artists who have drawn rotting fruit. Consider Caravaggio, the Italian Baroque Master (1571-1610) who painted “Basket of Fruit” in 1599.
Or in more contemporary times: here’s a video time lapse of strawberries rotting in reverse. (wild)
Images of my students’ drawings – coming soon!
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