Oriental Solitude
Soft Pastel 16" x 20"

Another one of my Chinese Lanterns paintings. I find that the colors in this pastel version are much more vibrant then in the acrylic "Lit Up" version of chinese lanterns that I recently painted. I do find that it is much easier to get a nice range of values with the pastels.

Chinese Lantern Plant -common name for a herbaceous perennial (a plant that lives at least three years) grown in gardens for its showy fruit. It is native to southeastern Europe and Japan and can survive winter temperatures as low as -40° C (-40° F). In colder regions, it is grown as an annual (a plant that lives one growing season). It gets its name from the calyx, the balloon-like, papery, red covering over the fruit, which resembles a Chinese paper lantern. It is also called winter cherry, strawberry tomato, and alkekengi.