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Sunday, February 9, 2014

The Enigma of the Candy Cane

Canes in a Jam Jar   watercolor   9 x 6
We claim to love candy canes.  Pre-holiday treat displays feature stacks and stacks of canes, all manner of flavors, sizes and shapes.  They make a beautiful statement on the buffet or on the tree.  It seems, however, that we really don't eat them.  The post-holiday reduced section at all retail stores features the same stacks and stacks.  Long after all the goodies at our house have been consumed, crumbs of cookies gobbled up to the finish, the lone jar of canes remains.  When our watercolor class started up at the art center, treats that no one eats at home start to show up in the kitchenette.....PLEASE, PLEASE, won't someone eat these canes?  So when we grabbed up objects to paint that first evening, I went for the canes...they are visually interesting, lovely really.  This work was completed in watercolor.  A whitish gouache wash was put in the background....it covered errant strokes that I found distracting and added to the feel of the season.  The lovely pattern on the jar lid was underplayed to shift attention to the canes themselves.

So....what's up with candy canes?