Pears Painted on My iPad – Haiku, Haiga, Word Play…

*Painted with my finger, using media in the Art Set Pro app.

In a previous post I mention, the wonderful colours and shapes, fruit and vegetables offer, as subject matter for a painting or drawing. One of the most popular, I think, is the humble pear. Such a simple form, yet it often takes centre stage in an art work.

I’ve certainly drawn many pears over the years.  I wonder why they are so appealing. Maybe their form suggests aspects of femininity or perhaps fertility. Maybe that’s why they’re so popular! Somewhere, I have a linocut print I did of me, very pregnant; I called it “Ripe”. I think round ripe fruit; pears in particular can be reminiscent of that lovely state..Well enough of all that – I reckon I just like drawing pears 🙂

I hesitate to call this following collection, haiku or haiga except for this first one, above. Really they are just word play, ideas…intended to weave together with the image to make a completed artwork. Not happy with all of them. However, I thought you may find it interesting to see some of the art processes possible with these apps, and also hope you find a few of the word plays a little amusing.

There’s more about the various language devices I use further along, but firstly a “Pear Parade”. Hmm, sounds like a good title for a book.

I share a bit more about the apps I’ve mentioned, on my page, “Some App Information”

Poetic devices

The poetic device, “personification” is the dominant feature in this collection: a fun way to play around with words and ideas, by giving human thoughts and feelings to an inanimate object – in this case a piece of fruit! I see it as cartooning with words. I use this technique quite often in my haiku and other poems I write. However, I usually do the accompanying illustrations in a realistic manner, rather than as a cartoon drawing.

When you personify something whether in words or pictures, it can allow you to touch on more serious human conditions and concerns, and give them voice – in a playful way. This can give the writer or the reader a chance to smile about it, even if it’s just momentarily – which surely is a good thing!

Other poetic devices I’ve used in these word plays are assonance: the repetition of middle word sounds and alliteration: the repetition of beginning word sounds. Also a bit of rhyme.

Poetry can be a great way to encourage kids and adults to write; and to learn about homonyms: (or to spell it out, excuse the pun) words that have different meanings, but the same or similar spelling and sounds. When I wrote the pear sounding words, I was tempted to spell them incorrectly, for fun, but I couldn’t pear, I mean bare it.

If you think of any other word plays about pears…or some other fruit or inanimate object, feel free to share them in the comments… I won’t pinch them to put with a picture; pe(a)rish the thought!
Have a great day!