It's funny how these still lifes evolve.  This was originally a painting of carnations! Now, I won't bore you with all the details of how a painting of carnation turns into a plate of plums, but it took a series of eight major changes before settling on this one.  Normally I have a pretty good idea of what it is I want to paint and I may even have some sketches of the idea to help me, but not this time.  I did manage to work in the cookie jar I bought a few weeks ago at a local thrift store. I've also been toying around with this vague idea to somehow use some books in a still life. Books are fun to paint because there is such a variety of size and color so I'm sure I'll use this idea again at some point.

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