Mandarin with Ragged Leaf

Mandarin with Ragged Leaf

6"x8" oil on canvas panel

set up (with room light on and lamps off)

This time of year, the beautiful mandarin oranges arrive complete with leaves. I couldn't resist this guy with his bedraggled leaf. The painting was done on a panel Suzanne deLesseps had made up one year to use on a trip to France, it's very thin and weighs almost nothing. I set up the still life in a closet, backed by black fabric, with an octopus light shining one bulb across the front of the set up, another pointed at the painting surface, and a third at the palette (sitting where the red box is in the photo). The photo shows the setup with the room light on, but it was off, and it was dark outside, when I painted this. The black-ish background came from mixing alizarin crimson and viridian.

Does anyone know why the mandarins are available with leaves in the US, and other citrus fruits are not?

And, I did have trouble photographing this, it has been very dark and dreary here. When I have some more light, I'll try again.