Anita Marci's "R and R's Red Bananas" Painting

This blog will be devoted to sharing my personal thoughts, feelings and process in the creation of my art work.

People often ask me how I decide on what to paint. I will say that creative inspiration can come in many forms: a color, a texture, a photo, a single croton leaf, or even another work of art. I live on the beach in West Maui and the property is full of lush colorful tropical foliage so there is an ever changing vast array of constant inspiration.

The paintings above were inspired by my personal relationship with a Red Banana Tree. This tree grew right next to the front door of my condo. I looked at this tree every day for nearly five years. I did not know it was a red banana until recently when the bananas came. I saw the banana stem which I call the donger. I was excited, but sad, because all banana trees are cut down after they bear fruit. It was so beautiful with it's tiny yellow fringe over the purple bottom. I knew I had to paint it. I took the photos and waited patiently for months, watching every day as the bananas grew.

Finally the fruit ripened and the rich red browns and olive greens once again made me want to paint. I took some more photos and decided I wanted to tell a story about this tree- a portrait if you will. I photographed the tree itself with it's rich red bark and was also moved by the top of the tree where the leaves fan out.

I painted these as a Triptych with matching backgrounds and a consistent color scheme. These three paintings were created especially for Rachel and Ryan as their wedding present, so I matched Rachel's pillow colors and wall color swatch.
She loves green, so I focused on a bright yellow green that she is especially fond of. This became the unifying color in all three paintings. The blue gray background and side panel color was painted last on all three pieces.

Rachel and Ryan are a really cool couple and it is my pleasure to honor them with these paintings and my appreciation of the beauty of this tree. I wish them a very happy and successful marriage.