Eating my Vegetables

It began in one of the workshops I’ve been teaching at Gage Academy in Seattle. It’s a big jump to go from learning about the paints to doing a landscape, even from a photo, so I’m always looking for ways to bridge that gap. One day I brought in a few items out of my fridge. I asked each person to pick one, place it on a white sheet of paper and point a small desk lamp at it. Then I gave a demo:

Class kale, watercolor on paper, 11″ x 7.5″

There’s something humble and unassuming about some leaves of kale.

I’m fond of saying that often people draw the Platonic “class” of an object instead of the “instance” that is there in front of them.

Or, as fellow vegetable-loving painter/instructor Lisa Goren says, “I always use chard for my teaching. I use it because, unlike flowers, [students] don’t have as fixed an idea of what it looks like in their heads. So I think they look more carefully and are more focused on the task rather than the outcome.”

Swiss chard, watercolor on paper, 11″ x 15″

Our correspondence about this shared pedagogy made me think hard about why I am finding painting vegetables so liberating.

There are relatively few examples of “Great Vegetable Works from Art History”—whereas try to paint sunflowers and a whole famous field’s worth is glaring at you!

Red leaf lettuce, watercolor on paper, 15″ x 11

It’s hard to get to over-invested in painting a vegetable—compared to, say, a beautiful landscape you’re sentimental about. Since you don’t have so many hopes and expectations attached to it, you paint more freely and the results are fresh. (Mind you, they still require careful observation!)

Long radishes, watercolor on paper, 11″ x 15″

Or maybe it’s a jolie laide or underdog thing? Even in the foodie world they’re usually not the star of the meal…

Artichokes, watercolor on paper, 11″ x 15″

Perhaps it’s also my own semi-conscious interest in getting people to look at what isn’t conventionally considered “art worthy.”

Plus I get to eat them afterwards… Or at least most of them:

Pulmonaria lobarium, watercolor on paper, 11″ x15″. Lungwort lichen is a vegetable to the deer and moose that browse on it!

Update: this page on my website has more of the series.

[Note: a number of these small paintings were in a solo exhibit at the Food Art Collection opening July 14, 2019. Rather than traditional framing and glazing–which just didn’t feel right when I hope they end up in people’s kitchens–they are mounted on panels and coated with epoxy–so the spatters from frying up those potatoes can be wiped off!]

 

 

Suze’s Art News June 2019

(This is the most recent newsletter update I sent to my mailing list. Sign up if you’d like to receive it in your inbox!) Hello, it’s been a while. This is an overdue update of everything happening now and a look back at events past. 2018-2019 has been a whirlwind and I am excited to share that with all of you. Thanks for your interest! Workshops “Watercolor on the Move: Practical Plein Air” Gage Academy Workshops July 20-21 Saturday-Sunday 9:30 A.M. – 4:30 P.M. For those in the Seattle area, I will be teaching watercolor once again at Gage Academy. Sign up for the workshop if you’d like to learn more about how I go about doing plein air — painting outdoors from life. Top: Zion Light, watercolor on paper, 11″ x 15″ (sold); Bottom: The Three Little Pigs (Gasworks) watercolor on paper, 11″ x 15″

Upcoming Shows Davenport Cellars, Woodinville WA June 5 – early September 2019 The theme is “beautiful and disturbing landscapes,” scenic views of the public lands contrasted with burned-over landscapes. Top: Frisco Again, watercolor on paper 11″ x 15″ Bottom: The Landscape of Fire (rotated) 52″ x 15″ Puget Sound Book Arts (PSBA) Annual Member Exhibit  June 6- July 31, 2019 University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA Collins Library Two of my bark beetle books are on display. Top, Volume XXIV: What the Beetles Wrote Bottom: Volume XXI: The Curve of Loss Food Art Collection, Seattle The quiet existentialism of discrete fruits and vegetables July 14th, 2019 Opening 1-3 P.M. In July I will be showcasing something new, a series of vegetable paintings. I began them as class demonstrations and soon realized that the process of trying to free up my students’ work was freeing up mine. Apropos to none of my other work, but enjoyable and satisfying. Come see what we serve up at the opening! (See this meditation on why here.) Top: Swiss Chard, watercolor on paper, 11″ x 15″ Bottom: Long radishes, watercolor on paper, 11″ x 15″ (sold) Anacortes Arts Festival  July 27 – August 4th, 2019 Opening July 27 The annual juried exhibit; this year Joanna Sykes is the juror. Three of my bark beetle books will be on display. (Recipient of the T Bailey Corporate Award) Top: Bark Beetle Book Volume XXV: Outbreak Bottom: Bark Beetle Book Volume X: Encyclopedia Beetletainia State of the Forest Installation in Environmental Impact Sequel James Museum, St Petersburg, FL August – November 2019 This is the first stop on a touring exhibit that focuses on the environmental impact of climate change. Thirty of my burned tree portraits will be suspended, in floating fabric media to evoke the fragility of forests. Fourteen of them have Lorena Williams‘ fire stories printed on the back layer of the set. I look forward to presenting my work in this way. Top: State of the Forest, 10 of a 30 tree installation. Bottom: Detail of the three layers for each tree, black, solid print and transparent print (Jonathan T. Bishop photos) Slash & Burn Seattle City Hall September 5 – November 5, 2019 If you missed this repeat exhibit at Green River College earlier in the year, “Slash & Burn” will be presented again at Seattle City Hall. I’ve contributed several burned tree portraits and bark beetle books. Top: Okanagan Iridescence, varnished watercolor on torn paper, 52″H x 20″ (rotated) Bottom: Bark beetle book Volume XII: Buprestid Katakana Columbia City Gallery 20th Anniversary Book Arts Exhibit: The Book as Art: The Page and Beyond Seattle, WA September – November, 2019 This show will focus on finely crafted books that explore a variety of structures and books that can challenge traditional notions of a book and page. All Stitched Up University of Puget Sound Collins Library Tacoma, WA September 3 – December 11, 2019 A recent bark beetle book will be exhibited. Volume XXII, Scolytid Lifecycle   Willowtail Residency Willowtail Springs Nature Preserve Mancos, Colorado In late October I make my way back to Mancos, Colorado, for my fourth return to Willowtail Springs Nature Preserve. I’ll have an opportunity to work with author Lorena Williams on the stories that accompany the State of the Forest installation above.Zion Centennial “100 Objects – 100 Images” Zion Plein Air Invitational Zion National Park, Utah November 6-10, 2019 I am honored to be invited out for my 8th season during the Centennial of Zion National Park and Zion Plein Air Invitational. The Centennial will be celebrated through the art and history of this magical place via the exhibition “100 Objects – 100 Images”, beginning September 15th, continuing through and during the traditional plein air week. I look forward to sharing more as the year goes by so stay tuned for more details.“Word | Image | Object” July 2019 – January 2020 An artist book exhibit organized by Abcedarian Gallery in the main Denver Public Library. My small beetle-chewed branch books contain Melinda Mueller poetry about bark beetles. Bark beetle book Volume XIX: Poetry Sticks A Long Overdue Recap of 2018 and Previous Events Bellevue Art Museum “Making our Mark” (Pratt instructors’ exhibit) “Re: Acclimating” Kirkland Arts Center “So Sew“ The Vestibule group show “Unrestricted: An exploration of artist books” Port Angeles Fine Arts Center “The Intersection of Art & Math” Schack Art Center, Everett Playa Summer Lake Art/Science Integration residency Anacortes Arts Festival juried show Shunpike Storefronts “State of the Forest” “Like Mother, Like Daughter” Aljoya Thornton Place Purchase Award, City of Seattle Mighty Tieton’s annual “10x10x10” “Conversations through the Smoke” in rural Idaho Capitol Reef National Park residency 3- weekend workshops at Gage Academy Zion Plein Air Invitational “Pacific Northwest Fine Arts Competition“ at Phinney Neighborhood Association, 2019 “Slash and Burn” Green River College, Auburn WA, 2019 “Like Mother Like Daughter” North Seattle College, 2019 I am honored to have been chosen as one of three finalists by the Oregon Arts Commission for an installation at Oregon State University, 2019. Museum of Northwest Art’s climate exhibit “Surge” As part of my display I created this video: Thank you, friends and followers, for seeing me through another year, and I hope to catch you at home and out in my travels.