Ripening Bananas
Acrylic on wood panel
11″ X 14″
Today I finished my revamp on the Ripening Bananas. Above is the revamp. Here is the original before revamp:
Everything is more defined now, and the composition changed. I feel like I understand the banana plant more fully than I did 3 years ago since I am now the proud and hassled owner of a small banana grove that requires a lot of pruning and removal of suckers. Just a tip for any of you who have bananas, they grow better fruit, and more of it if you limit the number of suckers. What was 2 “trees” 3 years ago has necessitated more than a dozen “trees” to be removed. I am learning to get the unwanted suckers chopped down early. It’s very cathartic to go out into the back yard with my favorite horihori knife (a gardening knife that is my favorite tool of all time – Here’s a link to it – I highly recommend it for you or for a gift that anyone with a yard or a talent for gardening can use – it’s well made and hands down the best weeding/hacking/sawing tool you could ask for in the garden). I can use it to chop down even the big “trees”. Bananas are not a woody plant, hence why even though people call them a tree, they are actually a giant herb! The “trunk” is actually a stem, but it is as thick and tall as a tree, so the source of the confusion is obvious. Individual bananas are called “fingers”, and the whole stalk is called a “hand”. I have had three harvests to date, with my largest 2 hands of bananas weighing in at more than 60 pounds each! It’s a plant that inspires generosity since it’s too much fruit for one family to use.
This is part of the 30 in 30 challenge, day 16, but two of the painting took 2 days, so It’s painting number 14 in 16 days so far – I am hoping to eventually catch up, but I am freely following my inspiration in my daily painting regimen – if I feel like making a larger piece, I have been spending the extra time to do it. This may mean a catch up session eventually, but my gallery for the 30 in 30 continues to grow!.