Why do I paint fruit and vineyards?

I am always struck by not the question itself, but rather the need for the question. The simple answer: The simple beauty and depth of the subject. Case in point: the plum. Buy one or pick one, take it home and for five minutes notice how many colors you see and how deeply the colors seem to go.

I don't think I need to write any more about that.

lisa's riva'

this image is for my dear friend Lisa to see. So if you're not Lisa, please, avert your eyes.
It's called "Napa Riva' Summa' Yes, you read that right and you may interpret any which way you please.

a painter is a painter is a painter

In washington right now, three weeks- extending my time out of my studio for virtually the entire lenghth of our "summer" In quotes because summer, when one has kids is the time period between the last day of school and the first day of the coming school year. Two months, quite unlike the summer of my youth: Three.
So, my brother, the local rockstar around these parts tells me he's putting a primer coat on a building that he's recently built on his property. I'm happy to desert my children, walk over at dinner time and paint in the corners on a coat of primer coat so Mike can continue with the roller and not stop and start like one would do if they were alone with the job.
I miss painting and really, primer coat, final coat, paint anything: I'm happy. It puts me in that state of mind that I am in the studio. A slight ache in my post surgery hand and sheer happiness.