Bite the Peach

I’ve been working on peaches lately. Don’t know why. Maybe it’s the pseduo-sexual swell of the peach-shape, or the joy of working with minimal colors on a fresh, white background. Maybe it’s because every brush stroke reminds me of a deep, juicy bite into a fresh-off-the-tree treat. Maybe it’s because my own J. Hale peach tree is struggling with peach leaf curl (which is really a rather poetic affliction), and my mother in law sends us boxes of peaches via UPS during the dead of summer, and I can almost smell the fuzzy sweetness, mingling with cardboard, on a hot July afternoon.

In China, the peach is a symbol of immortality. The word itself looks and sounds like the word “Immortal,” and by proxy, each ruddy fruit embodies the essence of health, longevity, and immortality. Shou Xing, the God of Health, carries one in his hand wherever he goes (luckily he’s an immortal, and he can probably magically accomplish things that normally require two hands). The Peaches of Immortality are not unlike the Apples of Immortality, found in Norse (and other)  mythology–one bite can bring enlightenment. And the joy of the bitten peach? A topic for another article, perhaps…

Here are two of my peach-buddies, done with Chinese brush painting techniques, on slightly off-white double xuen paper. They remind me of those delectable white peaches, with red blush, that you see in the markets now and then. Maybe I should also do a Saturn Peach!