Vegetables have been a long-time subject matter in my work. I was first drawn to paint them from one of our first times living in Tuscany. I visited the produce market on a daily basis. It was there that I was able to observe the gracious care the salesperson gave each vegetable. In Italy one can't handle the produce, she must allow the salesperson to choose the right one for her. Being a visitor I sometimes wasn’t given the best of what they had to offer. Everything was always presented in beautiful displays. The tomatoes were enormous with different shapes from our tomatoes in the USA. In many of the vegetable paintings, the subject matter is magnified resulting in a more abstract painting in which the viewer questions what it is he is actually looking at. After looking at a close up of one of my red onion paintings, a viewer told me he never knew how much color existed in the skin of an onion.

Like the vegetables, fruit has been a popular subject matter for me as well. In our travels abroad, the produce at the local markets always caught my attention. The plump figs and rounded pears offer beautiful elements to the composition of my paintings. Growing up in the South I had never seen a persimmon. Since living in California, I have been fascinated with the persimmon and how it remains on the tree long after the leaves have fallen. I enjoy depicting it's unique top "hat" of leaves. Fruit can also be reflective of the colors surrounding it. This makes for lots of interesting colors in a painting.

View Calendar

Galleries

Gallery Los Olivos
2920 Grand Ave
Los Olivos, CA
Hours: Daily 10am-5pm
www.gallerylosolivos.com
March 2024 Feature Show 

Lovebird Boutique
7 East De La Guerra St
Santa Barbara, CA
Hours: Monday-Saturday 11-5:30pm, Sunday 12-5pm
www.lovebirdsb.com

Los Olivos General Store
2900 Grand Ave
Los Olivos, CA
Hours: Daily 10-5pm 
losolivosgeneralstore.com
cow paintings in Larner Winery Tasting Room

Ginny Speirs

Meet the Artist

After extended travels in Italy and France, the love of the region's local produce and flora has become a central theme in my work. I strive to portray a "portrait" of each of my subjects. Painting the beauty of the somewhat mundane object is an inspiring challenge for me. Everything that I paint once had a life and continues to in my oil paintings.

Follow Ginny