Even the Shadows Are Fresh — Shelby Prindaville

A number of people have shared with me that they really enjoy when I post progress images of my artwork, so they can see the process! Here are the behind-the-scenes pictures from this past summer.

As always, I remembered to document more with some paintings than others; I appear to have been so focused on the making of it that I never paused to photograph the process of creating Red Spider Lily - sorry!

Please also keep in mind that I take progress photos somewhat haphazardly compared to the care I put into the finished artwork images in terms of lighting, perspective, backgrounds, and color accuracy.

First we have Even the Shadows Are Fresh:

Next, we have Blue Hour:

Here is After the Rain:

And finally, Edge of Motion:

There’s a word in Japanese that doesn’t quite have a satisfying translation to English: 新緑 (shinryoku). It’s the new, lush green of early summer. One of the plants that always captures that feeling for me is the ginkgo tree (Ginkgo biloba). I wanted to capture 新緑 in a painting of ginkgo leaves.

In researching possible titles for this painting, I learned that the ginkgo tree holds particular significance in Japan as one of the “survivor trees” that survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. I watched a short documentary on the man who has dedicated himself to caring for these trees and the trees themselves here. I highly recommend watching it; it is a moving story.

I also was inspired by haiku about shinryoku and related concepts like wakaba and midorisasu, like this poem from the poet Teruko from the Rainier Haiku Ginsha: “は一色ならず色重ね (shinryoku wa hitoiro narazu irokasane) / fresh green is not one color but layered hues.”

This is Even the Shadows Are Fresh (新緑), acrylic on round wooden panel, 12x12x.875”, 2025.