“The poetry of the earth is never dead.” John Keats
Naming a painting is almost more fun than painting one for me. I wanted to convey the joy I have in growing our own food. We've always grown our own vegetables, and in recent years have been slowly replacing ornamental shrubs with ones that produce food. Hence, the two varieties of currants you see here. It may not be as pretty for people who drive by, but you have no idea how fun it is go outside in the morning and pick your breakfast. Our raspberry bushes reside in the back yard and produce a bounty of yumminess there.
Growing food is a lot of work: tilling the soil, weeding in the hot summer sun, fighting diseases, weather and insect threats. But, when things work out, Wow! Fresh raspberries and currants for breakfast. Fruit to freeze for our harsh wintery months. I call that poetic and I'm doing my best to keep it alive.
This Winsor & Newton professional watercolour painting was done on Arches 200 lb. watercolour paper. The size is approximately 50 cm X 50 cm (19.5" X 19.5") and unframed.