Tomatoes in the afternoon

Tomatoes in the afternoon. 11"×14", Oil on canvas panel , September 2012

It's January 1, and the day is bright and cold. Well, at least as cold as it gets in San Francisco Bay Area. 

I am pulling out this piece, and it revives for me the mild heat of early September, its warm afternoon sun, the outburst of tomato-ness of tomatoes at the height of the harvest season. The brushwork is intended to convey this outburst about to happen: the tomatoes barely holding their shape under the internal pressure of taste, and smell, and color, and flesh. The day's work is nearly over, the sun is about to hide behind the hills; we have a simple and quiet evening in front of us. With a bowl of tomato salad, of course. 

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