tomatoes

Tomatoes, coloured pencil on Pastelbord, 8" x10" copyright Teresa Mallen

Tomatoes, tomatoes and more tomatoes...that is what has been occupying my spare hours these past weeks. Harvest time is busy for me but I love it. One of the reasons I grow food is because I love the connection to the land and the seasons that this work gives me.

In recent years I have been shooting for getting in around 75 to 100 tomato plants (in addition to the other veggies we grow, I don't just plant tomatoes :-) ). This year with the gift of a dozen or so plants from a neighbour and with the self sowing of a few plants from compost seeds, I ended up with 95 plants made up of different varieties. It is a long journey from the planting of seeds in tiny seed pots in the house in late February to now, the end of the harvest.

So what do I do with all of these tomatoes? Well what we don't eat fresh in the fall months, I use to cook with over the winter. These tomatoes turn into homemade pasta sauce as well as a base for sauces in soups, stews and chili. I have also created an annual late autumn tradition of turning lots of green tomatoes that have been patiently waiting in the garage into our year's supply of salsa.

Tomatoes are not only fabulously versatile in the kitchen, they also make great subject matter for art! I loved the look of these just picked tomatoes (still with a bit of stem), as they sat in a basket in the early morning light. I decided to capture the moment. This piece was done on an 8" x 10" board with a sanded surface (made by Ampersand, called Pastelbord).

I have been blogging in fits and starts this year. I would muster up some great intentions and then life would bring surprises. We lost a much beloved goat this summer. Her various health issues were my priority but alas in the end there wasn't anything that could be done, she simply had a heart that was done its job. Losing an older animal, even when they have had a great life is still not easy. Fortunately I was able to spend oodles of quality of time with her last months and that was wonderful.

So the harvest is just about in and I have been really busy in the studio. I have some new things to show you...I just need to snap some pics first.

Finally, here is a use for all of those green tomatoes that are left in our gardens when frosts come and there is no more time for ripening...Green Tomato Salsa. I have included a recipe here, it comes from Farmgirl Fare.

 

 



Farmgirl Susan's No Sugar Green Tomato Relish/Salsa 

 

Please note my recipe changes mentioned at the end of Susan's version.

 

Makes about 3 pints. Recipe may be doubled; increase cooking time by 10-15 minutes.

 2 lb. green tomatoes, cored and chopped

1 lb. white or yellow onions, chopped

3/4 lb. sweet red peppers, cored and chopped

1/2 lb. tart cooking apples, such as 'Granny Smith', cored and chopped

6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 cup 5% acidic organic raw apple cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon kosher or sea salt

4 jalapeno peppers, cored, seeded if desired, and finely chopped

2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro

1 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)

Combine the tomatoes, onions, peppers, apples, garlic, vinegar, and salt in a large, nonreactive saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about an hour.

Stir in the jalapenos, cilantro, and cumin and simmer for 5 more minutes. Carefully purée the mixture using a stick blender or in a traditional countertop blender (in batches if necessary) until still somewhat chunky.

If canning, return the puréed relish to a boil, then ladle the hot mixture into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Process 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner. Store in a cool, dark place.

10 calories, 0g fat, 60mg sodium, 0g fiber, per Tablespoon

My changes to the recipe: I chop up the tomatoes, onions etc. using a food processor at the beginning, before putting into the pot. That way I am able to skip the hand blender step or putting it into a blender at that later point. If you don't have any organic raw apple cider vinegar, just use the apple cider vinegar that you find at your grocery store. Also, garlic powder can be used to replace the fresh garlic.

 

I also don't wait to add the jalapenos, cilantro and cumin. Not sure why you would add these ingredients for just five minutes.The cilantro and cumin add wonderful flavour! I add a lot more than the required amount of cilantro.

 

I always double the recipe and it does work well that way too.

Finally, I took the recipe and using some conversion charts, I converted the weight measures to cups. I found this easier to relate to.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Tomatoes - finished

Tomatoes, Coloured Pencil on Pastelbord, 8" x 10"

copyright Teresa Mallen

Here is the final image of my tomatoes that has been a work in progress recently. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get an accurate picture although I tried several times. The colours in real life are darker, especially the areas with dark values. Oh well, you get the idea.

Now I just need to think of a name for the piece, spray it and then frame it.

I was up very early this morning to get some work done as I am taking a break later. I am meeting with a friend to go walking and bird watching at Mud Lake. Mud Lake is located on the shores of the Ottawa River, in the west end of the city. I haven't been to this conservation area before and I am looking forward to exploring the forest as well as seeing the birds that gather at this lake. My blog heading says 'add beauty to your life'. This is one of my ways today, what is yours?

tomatoes WIP continues

Here is the piece now. I didn't work too long on it yesterday as we are getting some delicious, very warm, Indian summer weather here in Ottawa. I couldn't resist the opportunity to don a T shirt and shorts once more, so I spent two hours in the afternoon taming the garden in the rear yard. As many of you know, I had to be away this summer so my poor flowers and shrubs have struggled along with much neglect. I made a bit of a difference and I shall continue later today.

One thing I need to remind myself with this Pastelbord is that I don't have the luxury of building my colour up with lots of layers. This surface doesn't hold much pigment, despite the sanded surface. I found that as I tried to lay down bright colours in the tomatoes, colours that would later glow through the red, the surface was quickly getting slick. Yikes...this works well on Stonehenge but here I have less oportunity to play around and experiement with colour. I don't have the option to just keep adding colours.

I love the look that paper gives as it allows my layers to be visible and this adds such wonderful nuances to the colours - the work gets more and more interesting as you view it closer. With Pastelbord, you get more of an immediate wow factor, good when viewing from a distance. It is easy to make objects 'pop'. I absolutely love being able to add the white highlights rather than saving them as you must with paper. Anyway, I am really enjoying this tomato piece. I especially love drawing all the negative space that is required in and around the shadows and the stems. Just juicy!

tomatoes - new work in progress

This is what is currently on my drafting table. The round objects are tomatoes. As you can see, this piece is just at the beginning stage. I created my drawing and then transferred it to the surface. After that I started the background.

The surface is Ampersand's Pastelbord (Sand) and I am using coloured pencils. Nothing else. I am looking forward to building up all the red in the tomatoes!

Isn't it great how getting something off of your to-do list has the effect of energizing you? Last night I sat down and finished all the thank you notes to the people who gave donations to charities and who gave flowers when Dad died. Dad was very well liked and there were a lot of people to thank. Anyway, it was just after 11:00 p.m. when I got the last one written, addressed and sealed. I did a little happy dance around the living room. And yippee, didn't I just wake up this morning before 6:00 so bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to dive into work that it was shocking. By 6:30 I was already sitting in my studio, coffee in hand, candle lit, fountain tinkling, and I had just finished updating my accounts. How awesome is that?

Maybe you should try it...what chore is currently camped out on your to-do list? I hope this rush of energy lasts all day!

This morning I was walking my dog past my neighbour's field. I was watching the hundred or so Canada geese that were feeding there. I was facinated to see two white geese in amongst the others. After a quick google search, it would appear that what I saw were two Snow geese. Apparently they breed in northern Canada and the northeastern tip of Siberia and winter much further south in the continent, in the southern USA and beyond. I guess these two are just traveling with the other birds. Anyway, a lovely unexpected event. Okay, back to those tomatoes...

Tulip on Pastelbord

tulip, copyright Teresa Mallen

Coloured pencil on Pastelbord

This is a small tulip piece that I did last week. It is 5 x 7 inches on a panel of tan coloured Pastelbord. The lower picture is obviously from when it was a work in progress.

This sort of work is great for sales. I don't know why, but tulips are my best seller. People also usually like the smaller format because these pieces are less expensive and they can fit anywhere in the home.

I have enjoyed working on these small Pastelbord panels but now it is time to work on something different. For my next painting I shall return to white Stonehenge paper and something not quite so small.

I haven't had too much studio time as I have been busy on the business end of things. I have been doing up some advertising as well as refreshing my inventory list. Yes, I took my own advice. I realized as I wrote the post on inventory lists that it had been quite a while since I had worked on mine. I also have started a rough draft of a press release.

Now I need to get back to writing my June newsletter. I hope to have it finished in the next 24 hours. I have to get my studio cleaned up and set up for teaching this weekend and I have some material to get ready for the students.

And yippee the new frig did arrive and it is purring away as I type. Guess that means I have some grocery shopping to do! Our kitchen is now a cooler free zone!!

Rose blossom on Pastelbord, WIP

Here is what the rose blossom looks like now...

Unfortunately the photo doesn't capture the essence of the piece. The grainy texture of the Pastelbord is giving the rose a soft, dreamy quality which I like a lot.

I haven't had too much time to work on this piece as I am busy typing up the May newsletter as well as the instructions for the reflections kit. I had to tear myself away from my studio this afternoon as my husband and I had to do an airport run to pick up relatives returning from a trip.

I will post the finished image as soon as I get it done.

Rose blossom on pastelbord, WIP

Ah, the adventures in my studio...

I started a new piece this morning. I had my drawing on a piece of tracing paper and I was ready to transfer the lines to my Pastelbord. I inserted my transfer paper only to have an oops moment. Without thinking, I had inserted a piece of white transfer paper but darn it all, the Pastelbord is white. Just wasn't going to work...okay it was early and I hadn't even brewed coffee yet. Now the real problem sets in - I don't own any graphite transfer paper. I have never needed any. When working on white paper, I am able to use my lightbox to transfer the line drawing but as this is a board, it isn't see-through.

I needed a plan B. I grabbed my Wolff's 2B carbon pencil and I created my own graphite transfer paper. I rubbed the carbon pencil over the back of the tissue paper and voila! Worked like a charm.

About this piece: it is on a 5 x 7 inch panel of white Pastelbord (which has a sanded surface similar to pastel paper). While some of my work is small in size, I don't normally work this small. I purchased a package of four 5 x 7 inch Pastelbord panels so here I am doing a rather small rose blossom. The finished size will be smaller than 5 x 7 as I am saving room around the edge to allow for framing. I have read that people using the white Pastelbord don't like it, especially when compared to working on the other available colours of Pastelbord. So far I am enjoying working on it. The only negative so far, is that I find it harder to keep the areas that I want left white clean (especially when compared to working on Stonehenge paper). .

I like it when the tooth of the paper shows through in a work and I do like the toothy nature of this sanded surface. I am applying the pigment in the old fashioned way in that I am just laying down layers of coloured pencil. In this piece I am not filling the tooth with the use of Neocolors II crayons, watercolour pencils, solvent or colourless blender. My goal is for the the tooth to remain visible. Already I find that this adds to the delicate, soft look of the piece. I am using Prismacolor Lightfast pencils.

This is a fun piece for me as I like working on white objects. This may be a white rose blossom but by the time I am done with it, it will have quite a bit of colour. I 'see' so much colour in white :-) ...for those of you who have taken the Beyond the Basics course with me, remember the white tea cup and cloth project? I have a white peony blossom in the header of this blog. Further evidence that I love to add colour to white!

As you can see from the top photo, I am working at establishing my darker values first. I intend to crop the piece more on the right than the left so keep in mind that compositionally, the image will change.