When I choose a subject to paint, I think about what caught my attention and what it invokes. To the left is the basil plant I was growing that inspired my painting, Italian Basil, part of the Art for the Uncommon Gardener series.
Basil is my favorite herb and always the first I plant when I move (which has been a ridiculous amount of times the past few years.) I love the smell and taste. I love making pesto. I love Caprese salads. I love all things basil.
I’ve been doing this series on 12” x 9” wood panels. I like that the wood already has a natural texture to build on. I added some more texture with modeling paste and green paint spread with a brayer. I actually tried to put some flower impressions in the background but it was a bust…and a mess.
After the base dried, I did a loose sketch of the basil from the photo. When starting the painting I decided to keep the simpleness of the herb in the forefront but invoke a bit of a Mediterranean sky with the bright blue.
I also wanted the impression of eating Italian food to come across. I used ‘pasta and bread’ ochre and yellows at the base of the basil. A piece of corrugated cardboard left ‘fork’ impressions in the paint. In the lower right you can see just a hint of ochre circles. This was to suggest olive oil, rich and drippy. Hungry yet?
Sometimes (ok a lot of times) I forget to turn on the camera when I’m painting. I got the drawing and background of Italian Basil but not the rest.
The final painting, available as a print as well:
