When Life Gives You Lemons!
- vanessaosborneart
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Anyone who has seen my lemon paintings and photo posts on my social media knows that I love to use these corny sayings to accompany them 😂
So, speaking of life giving you lemons, I wanted to start with a recent trolling experience I had that really threw me. Does an artist have any harsher critic than themselves? Turns out they really can – and it is usually one of “their own”- someone from their community... You would think that at the ripe old age of however old I am now (LOL) I would know by now that there are an awful lot of people out there that DO NOT have my back! Very naive, yes, but I do still have faith in humanity, and I was raised by wonderful people who taught me kindness and thoughtfulness- and silly me, I thought that was normal.
I recently received some accusatory comments on a socials post. It was made by another artist who I have followed, liked their posts and made the occasional supportive comment. My go to response for their comments was to let them live rent free in my head. I was mortified by what they had implied my intentions to be. On reviewing what I had created, and asking friends to moderate, I was confident there was no validity in their comments.
But what did I do? Lost sleep of course... However, I also reached out to family, friends and a trusted mentor. They knew all the right things to say to bring me back to reality, and I can’t say how much I appreciated that 💕
I guess my point is, don’t let them in! If someone feels the need to criticise you, the issue is more likely to be about their own insecurities rather than anything you have done!
So next time someone tries to cut you down – keep your chin up and know if you have a troll, you have succeeded – LOL!
Anyways, enough about that. This is what happening in my little place in the world. As always, flowers are blooming, and even though that also means hay fever, it is also major INSPIRATION 😍
Beyond the Blooms: A Fruity Detour
While I am totally committed to my flower paintings- they bring me so much joy to paint, sometimes I like to mix things up a bit with a random landscape or FRUITY inspired painting.
If you took a peek at my notebooks that I have near me during meetings, you would see various doodlings, including many fruits. All in blue or other coloured pens. Sometimes filled in with highlighter. It is how I absorb and process information. When I embarked on my French Art School adventure, there was much still life painting to be done, and it was amazing! There were gorgeous juicy oranges, pears, and of course, sunshiny lemons! Hereth began my love of painting fruit... And the lemon is the highlight. Not only because I am totally obsessed with lemon desserts – cheesecake, lemon meringue, pancakes with lemon, and let’s not forget the Citron Tarte I treated myself to at Angelina’s in Paris 🤤 Scrumptious!
Needless to say, they drew me in! There’s nothing like the perfume of fresh lemons. So refreshing and spirit lifting. I think that is their special power. And now lemons are my favourite fruit to paint – and because I can be quite time poor, to also photograph them. Since returning from France there have been at least six painting projects featuring lemons! I especially like the fat juicy ones with knobbly features that capture highlights and shadows.
Lemons in Acrylic - Copyright © Vanessa Osborne
The Art of Adaptation
There has been a lot of experimentation in mediums used – sketches, oils, acrylics, and watercolours. They all behave so differently, and it is important to remember that when using them to adjust your methods. With watercolour I find the quality of the materials used makes a VERY big difference on the final outcome. Quality pigments result in more vibrant and lightfast colours – reliable paper results in better control and a more professional finish.
Lemons in Watercolour - Copyright © Vanessa Osborne
So, HERES TO MORE LEMONS IN ALL THEIR GLORIOUSNESS...as you may derive from my musings, life can bring you sour lemons, but by gosh they can also make you some delightful lemonade 🍋🍋🍋
French Art School Adventures - Mackerel with Lemons Copyright © Vanessa Osborne
Lemons, Lessons and a Little Paint...
(Photo: Copyright © Vanessa Osborne)
So, whether you're here for the juicy drama of a social media sourpuss or the sweet satisfaction of turning lemons into luminous art, I’m glad you stopped by.
New floral-inspired artworks are now live on my website—come take a peek at what’s blooming on the canvas! Visit my website at www.vanessaosborneart.com to explore the latest pieces. I’d love to hear your thoughts or answer any questions—just drop me a line at vanessaosborneart@gmail.com. And if you’re not already following along on Instagram and Facebook, now’s the perfect time to join the creative journey and see what’s next in the studio!
Let’s keep making beauty out of bitterness, one brushstroke at a time.
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