Hill Country Red Okra

Here is an older illustration again from, I think, around 2009 or 2010 of Hill Country Red Okra:

I just read on wikipedia that people eat not only the seed pods, but also the leaves either cooked or raw in salads. This is something I'll have to try. I've had a lot of okra, but never the leaves.
So, starting now I will probably not be posting everyday. We are now leaving for hitch hiking on Tuesday and I imagine it being more difficult than it is worth to post every day, but I will surely still post often. I just realized today after trying to plant a bunch of stuff in the garden before we go that I am probably going to be tired and busy in new and different ways so I didn't want to keep up the promise of blogging everyday. So, I guess savor these okra for a few days and I will post again soon.

Cherokee Purple Tomato

Since we were visiting with Juneau's old friends and family in Franklin, TN all day, here is an older drawing of Cherokee Purple Tomatoes:

The SESE catalog tells me that these are a pre-1890 Tennessee heirloom, reportedly of Cherokee Indian origin. It would be interesting to somehow trace these tomatoes back to their parent varieties even before the Cherokee grew them since tomatoes are originally from South America and were spread after the Spanish Colonization of the Americas. I would just be curious what hands the tomatoes and their seeds passed through and how many cultures to become this dark disease-resistant variety today.

Couch Potato

I didn't get to painting or drawing today so instead here is an old charcoal drawing that I did of my friend and roommate Katie from college:

I had gone to visit her family with her and I think I remember this as the day we went to the ocean, which was a pretty far drive, and when we came back we were both really tired. So, she zoned out in front of the TV while I drew her. I was sitting on the floor closer to her feet than the rest of her and, as I was just drawing what I saw, her feet turned out looking much bigger than they really were, but I think it's a kind of neat effect.

Eden Gem (Rocky Ford) Muskmelon Finished

Here is the finished illustration of Eden Gem Muskmelon:

I think this one turned out pretty well. I discovered with this that the white colored pencil draws over the gouache really well, which was nice because in most of the pictures I saw of these melons' leaves they had a bit of a highlight on the edges. Using the colored pencil looks smoother in the end than scraping off a little paper with a razor.
And.... I have no more to day about that. :)

More on the Eden Gem

I worked a bit on the Eden Gem Muskmelon illustration today:

...and I have not much to say about it.
But I found a fun old article from USA Today in 2004 about a man who grew a world record sized cantaloupe in Alaska, 64.8 pounds. The same man had the world record for a number of other things: a 75.75 pound rutabaga from 1999, a 42.4 pound kale and 43.7 pound kohlrabi from 2001, and a 63.3 pound celery from 2003. I guess he was really trying.

Portulaca

10Here is an older drawing, from 2009 I think, of Portulaca, also known as Rose Moss or Moss Roses:

 

I didn't realize when I did this one that the SESE seeds are a mixture of yellow, rose, white and pink flowers. So, you can just imagine these in more colors. The SESE catalog says that these portulaca are capable of storing water in their fleshy stems, and that portulaca is drought-resistant and grows well even in poor soil once established. This I believe for sure after reading on wikipedia that a common weed, purslane, is also of the portulaca species. I suppose then that this flower would not only be pretty, but edible just as that weed, purslane, is. Hm, I imagine it's just as tasty too. That's a good bonus. 

One of the First Veggies

Today I spent some time finding old drawings and paintings in preparation for our travels. This way I can still post something on days when I don't manage to actually make art. So, since today was actually one of those days, here is possibly the first drawing I ever did for Southern Exposure:

If my memory is correct, I think someone from SESE had asked me to just draw a general bush bean as an example of what my illustrations would look like, and this is what I came up with. I guess not too much has changed since then except that things have gotten more elaborate and my medium is different. It's neat to think back to when I asked if they needed someone to draw for them and if that person could be me. I don't think I realized then, or that anyone did, that it would turn into a huge on-going project for years.