West Coast Oysters with Lemon and Mignonette

Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel

6" x 8"
2019

  Another small oyster painting from last week.  Perhaps not quite as much fun since these were posing for me alfresco and there are no catch lights to make them glisten.  That said, the pretty, deep, fluted cups have charm of their own.  They remind me of cogs in a wheel or the inner workings of a watch.  The juxtaposition of the shells, the weathered wooden table, the metal cup and hint of a crystal glass made for a fun and challenging exercise. I like the way the yellow of the lemon dances around the composition, grazing off the shells and mignonette.  The expression "A pop of color" is overused today, especially on home decorating shows, but it is appropos here. The lemon really makes the painting sing.  Perhaps the more correct title should be "Lemon with Oysters, Mignonette and glass."
 

  I'm generally not a fan of sauces on oysters, but out West, where the oysters are less briny, creamier and more minerally, I like a squeeze of lemon, a splash of herbaceous mignonette or even just a dash of tabasco. Call me a homer, but even after all my travels, I still prefer slurping the local guys from the Chesapeake Bay more than almost anywhere else, with the possible exception of Prince Edward Island.  I do like a salt bomb oyster and they produce some beauties up there.