Golden Hubbard squash

12/6: Golden Hubbard squash, oil on linen panel, 6x5 in.

My wife and I both doubted the sticker on this which said it was a Hubbard, thinking instead it had to be an ambercup or some other pumpkin-like variety. But there is a variety of Hubbard squash that is smallish and gold and not blue or green, though most pictures online show the skin being very warty; and of course the people who'd put the sticker on this thing in the first place would know what they had. Whatever it is, it's great - and I felt I struck a coup this time (at least in the beginning) when I reached a magic balance of opacity and transparency, and the edge transitions began to really define the space. Some of this ideal quality I lost, as invariably happens, but some I found again and pushed further, so in the end I'm quite pleased with it.