Four Plums by John Treweeke

From the Artist: I said last month that I would concentrate on painting plums and have done five plum pictures since. I thought that this one might fit into the category for September as it is mainly red. I will continue with the "plum" theme as I love the deep reds.

From the Painting Guide: My first thought when I looked at this painting was that the plums were purple, not red. My second was to question my definition of red, and I realized that the word conjures up a very specific hue. It's the red of UK post boxes, of Postman Pat's van. A bright, fiery red. Plums certainly aren't that kind of red, but their skins and flesh do contain reds, albeit on the purple side.

Things to Consider When Looking at This Painting:
Painting a Series: Who says an idea for a painting can be used only once? If it's a good one, it'll stand painting several times, as a series. From the point of view of developing your painting skills, painting a series has a lot to be said for it. Each painting builds directly on what you learned from the one you've just created. It makes you develop an idea, see where you can do with it. (Take a look at John's August project plum painting.)