bettina fine art
witty and provocative folk art paintings 
   
 

                 the brush stroke  spring 2024

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Girl with a Fig Eater Earring

This painting is a take on the Vermeer Girl with a Pearl Earring only with an Arizona twist. Fig eater beetles are a common site in the summer months feeding on Prickly Pear cactus fruit. I first saw this beetle when I first came to Tucson on a recon trip. At our hotel was a small swimming pool, which I enjoyed daily. On one of these swims, a family from Mexico joined me. The dad was sitting on the side of the pool and this bright green beetle kept landing on his ear. He would flick it away only to have it return to the same ear minutes later. This was repeated multiple times. I loved its bright green jewel colored body and instantly thought it would make a wonderful earring. I have used this beetle in another painting as a set of earrings. II

 

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