Garlic bulbs

Too tired to write tonight...just posting the night's drawing of garlic.

My Peps

The grandiose ambition of starting three new paintings last night was set aside for several hours of drawing. I'm considering a large scale painting of these peppers, maybe in color, maybe not. 

The intense and saturated colors distract from the curvaceous forms of the peppers.

Maybe I have to do two paintings of these lovely and compliant models.

Farmers Market Day

Since this is a blog about my creative process, you may wonder why I'm posting photos of a farmer's market. Lately I've been thinking about the cost of being an artist today, and how much work, effort, time and money are consumed by "making art" and exhibiting it. (I'll have a lot to say about that in a following post ) This is NOT a paid advertisement and I don't know any of the vendors at this market, other than through my visits to purchase food and flowers. I just love this place and would rather go there than to a supermarket any day!

Today, I am humbled and awestruck by the vendors who sell their produce at the farmers market. So much sweat, time, effort, money, and probably quite a bit of anxiety goes into producing this remarkable produce, and bringing it to the public. 

http://www.localharvest.org/freight-station-farmers-market-M13674

Having taken a small stab at growing veggies and canning, I can only imagine what went into producing this quantity of yummy (and very paintable) produce.

 Forget the supermarkets! Come see Beth Nowak, of Mayfair Farm for the freshest, and most delicious in-season fruits and vegetables. Really!
Our family's food this week will be primarily from her farm.

Tonight: pasta with fresh tomato/garlic/basil/olive oil.

And for the Holiday Weekend, Red Snapper, which I thought was impossible to find locally. Really fresh, flash frozen snapper, caught by Beth's brother:

last week's Red Snapper (had to come back for more)

and our favorite Bird's Egg Beans, almost impossible to find, so we're stalking (oops, "stocking," pardon the pun) up & freezing for the winter, (and I have some put aside to paint)

My sweet, understanding husband shelling B.E. Beans while I make dinner, upload photos and post this blog page... he's been working at his computer all day and needed this break! Mindfully shelling the beans in the present moment... you can't buy that experience in a preshelled package!

And money that would have been spent on a bottle of chianti for the pasta dinner tonight goes toward some gorgeous zinnias! (sorry, sweet, understanding husband) Now I have three paintings to begin tonight and get to work on over the holiday weekend

But couldn't leave the Market without visiting the other two vendors.

I've bought several herb plants (today the Simon & Garfunkel combo for the kitchen ...Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme...Remember me etc) from Mark Bishop of Masters Touch,

and recently a couple of jasmine plants that produce profuse flowers for tea! 

And my Argentine connection, Analia, for yummy empanadas and dulce de leche treats (and loaves of herbed breads and sandwiches... go there hungry and indulge!

That's it for today.

Get thee to the farmers market or don't complain about tomatoes.

Go local, go delicious, go fresh... 

I have to go paint!

Freight Station Market, Winchester

PS Beth of Mayfair... please save me a box of figs!

More tuberose! Can't stop now.

Still drawing these babies to death, as they wither before my eyes. 

The dying blossoms are like little white gloved hands grasping at the air until they finally wither and shrink into tiny brown husks. 

It's all about the moment and the dialogue. The flower speaks to me, I speak to the drawing, the drawing speaks back to me, and so on. Sometimes there's a little shouting, sometimes a whisper. It's never boring.

My New Beau, the Irene-Bow 8/29/11

Some pix from today's dramatic, highly active sky, early morning to dusk:

On Painting Moments: Realizing the Ephemeral

Back to the tuberoses. Like the previously painted and digested squash blossoms, the cut tuberoses begin to wither on the stem almost faster than I can mix colors. This is part of why I enjoy painting from life, rather than from photos: in life, things are ever-moving, ever-changing. Even the slightest movement adds a sense of life to the painting or drawing. 

I sometimes use photos for reference, especially if I can't finish the painting before the subject passes (or leaves town), but there's nothing quite like drawing directly from life. With (human) models, you get to see emotions  pass on the face and in the gestures. Every slight physical movement translates into an adjustment on the work surface (canvas, paper, etc), so the painting becomes a series of moments. The same applies to still-life models. 

Squash Blossom Painting Finished, Blossoms Eaten

Below: the finished watercolor/ink of the squash blossoms.

Below that, the same blossoms (plus a few that did not get painted) stuffed with goat cheese parsley and basil, lightly fried in a beer batter,

and drizzled with cilantro/mint yoghurt!

Here are the stages of the painting from the drawing though the finished piece. I probably would have overworked this one without the threat of wasted/uneaten food/produce hanging over my head.

the drawing

light was of color over the drawing

more detail in color and ink

almost complete

Final is pictured at the top of this page.

Now to the tuberose.