A continuation of fruit and vegetables series completed with a quick proportion pencil sketch and then watercolor with no ink. Rambutan evergreen tree is native to tropical Southeast Asia and commonly grown throughout Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. The fruit is a round to oval single-seeded berry, 3–6 cm  long and 3–4 cm broad, borne in a loose pendant cluster of 10–20 together. The leathery skin is reddish (rarely orange or yellow), and covered with fleshy pliable spines, hence the name, which means ‘hairs’. The fruit flesh, which is actually the aril, is translucent, whitish or very pale pink, with a sweet, mildly acidic flavor very reminiscent of grapes. Daniel Smith and Holbein watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.

A continuation of fruit and vegetables series completed with a quick proportion pencil sketch and then watercolor with no ink. Who knew there was a plant with a flower like an explosion of flame, which produces a beautiful but short-lived fruit with the appearance of a brilliant pink rosebud? This is the pitya or dragon fruit, indigenous to Central America but is also grown and exported from several Southeast Asian countries, such as Thailand and Vietnam. Obtained from several cactus species, its succulent stem provides the uniquely delicious fruit with moisture in the arid climates where it grows. Some dragon fruits have red or yellow skin (which looks a little like a soft pineapple with spikes) and white or red flesh, but always the beginnings of overlaid leaves, similar to an artichoke, and an abundance of small, black, edible seeds. The flavor is mildly sweet, like a blend of kiwi and pear, and it has a crunchy texture. Daniel Smith and Holbein watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.

A continuation of fruit and vegetables series completed with a quick proportion pencil sketch and then watercolor with no ink. Cucumis metulfierus, horned melon or kiwano, also African horned cucumber or melon, jelly melon, hedged gourd, melano, in the southeastern United States, blowfish fruit, is an annual vine in the cucumber and melon family. Its fruit has horn-like spines, hence the name “horned melon”. Ripe fruit has yellow-orange skin and lime green, jelly-like flesh with a tart taste, and texture similar to a cucumber. The one and only time I tried a horned melon I was totally surprised by the bright green interior and the taste was not to my liking.  Daniel Smith and Holbein watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.

A new series of fruit and vegetables completed with a quick proportion pencil sketch and then watercolor with no ink. Cactus Fruit from the Indian Fig Opuntia and is commonly referred in most culinary uses as a Prickly Pear”. Prickly pears typically grow with flat, rounded cladodes (also called platyclades) armed with two kinds of spines; large, smooth, fixed spines and small, hairlike prickles called glochids, that easily penetrate skin and detach from the plant. Many types of prickly pears grow into dense, tangled structures and the fruit is delicious once you get past the thorns. Daniel Smith and Holbein watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.

 

A continuation of fruit and vegetables series completed with a quick proportion pencil sketch and then watercolor with no ink. The kiwifruit, native to northern China, was first brought to and cultivated in New Zealand at the turn of the 20th century and was then known as the Chinese Gooseberry. When the time came to export the fruit, to avoid the high duties charged on berries, the name was changed to the kiwifruit, or kiwi because of the fruit’s shared characteristics with New Zealand’s national symbol, the kiwi bird, which is also small, brown and fuzzy. Daniel Smith and Holbein watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.

A new series of fruit and vegetables series completed with a quick proportion pencil sketch and then watercolor with no ink.

The garden strawberry is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus Fragaria (collectively known as the strawberries). It is cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The fruit (which is not a botanical berry, but an aggregate accessory fruit) is widely appreciated for its characteristic aroma, bright red color, juicy texture, and sweetness. It is consumed in large quantities, either fresh or in  prepared foods.The garden strawberry was first bred in Brittany, France, in the 1750s via a cross of fruit from eastern North America and Chile. Daniel Smith and Holbein watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.