Melon and Grapes 2009

Here's a still life of melon and grapes by Mary Fedden, probably oil on canvas or board. I can almost feel the artist leaning in, squinting at the real-life fruit, and then back at the canvas. The black background really makes the colours pop, doesn't it? Those juicy greens and purples against the dark is such a classic move. It makes me think of other painters like Morandi, who also liked to paint simple objects, but in a very different way. I wonder what Fedden was thinking about when she painted this? Was she hungry? Was she just playing with the shapes and colours? I love how the melon slice looks like a smiling mouth on the plate! It reminds me that painting is never just about what you see; it's always about how you feel. I guess, in the end, all artists are just talking to each other across time, you know?