Art and the Vegetable Share

The thought of receiving fresh fruits and vegetables straight from the farm was what originally attracted me to sign on with a CSA share last spring. With freshness in mind, I added organic eggs and seasonal flowers to the different varieties of fruits and vegetables I would pick up every two weeks from my assigned location.

The array of colors, shapes and sizes of the various produce and blooms I received was a surprise. More surprising was the motivation to photograph my bounty.

Huge yellow sunflowers, plump ruby tomatoes, coral peaches, the greenest peppers, were the subjects of my photos. Dumped on my kitchen countertop, arranged one on top of the other, I set up my still life compositions with no other thought than of the photographs I just had to take.

Produce can only last so long before they're eaten, but photos last. Better yet, I decided to paint the beauty of the bounty.

After looking through my photos, I set to work ... drawing out the composition, preparing my watercolor paints and brushes - sunflowers, peaches, tomatoes, peppers, onions, strawberries, blueberries all together making a riot of color and shapes in my work.

The next share pick-up would inspire another round of photo shoots, which would spur more motivation for artwork. Painting after painting of bold colors.

Oh yeah, and the produce tasted great, too.