Watermelon Man

[Clive Fullagar]

Just finished this commissioned portrait of a local man who was responsible for establishing a very good retirement home in the community. He is a lawyer by profession. The obvious question is why the watermelon? During the sitting I asked him what he does other than law. His face immediately lit up and he said that he and his family had always farmed watermelons and that he was most content when working in the fields. Watermelons were his balance in life. He would often take watermelons up to the residents and distribute them. I had wanted to include some object in the picture that would provide some information about the sitter. So his wife kindly offered to go out and get a watermelon and there it is. The melon becomes a very nice symbol of both his past and his generosity. What I think worked really well here is that melon, compositionally as well as metaphorically, provides a balance to the figure. I wanted to work in a more informal and modern idiom, as well as get a lightness and brightness to the painting. The picture is 38" x 24."