What’s coming up?
I’ve been hanging around the Victoria Street Encampment in Kitchener, taking photos for digital illustration and some urban sketching. Check out Living Rough for news updates, sketches and illustrations.
And I’ve been illustrating produce in season and growing in Ontario Canada.
Tomatoes
Ahhh…fresh tomatoes. Time for the making of tomato sauce, chutneys, chili sauces and salsas. Honestly it’s the only time I eat raw tomatoes…fresh from the fields here in Ontario. And now many heirloom varieties available in white, yellow and red colours. The greenhouse tomatoes we get in winter just don’t measure up.
Peppers
Peppers are ready for picking. Green, yellow and red, such an array of colours. Ask any cook, it’s annoying to clean out the inside with those pesky seeds. But so crispy when raw, and adds a depth of taste when cooked.
Radishes
I for one, enjoy radishes that are in season in Ontario. Yes you can buy them all year round but nothing packs the punch Ontario radishes give you, crunched with just a sprinkle of salt. 🔥🔥🔥
As luck would have it, my neighbour left a bunch of radishes on our porch yesterday, along with a cucumber, and some tomatoes…and one was an heirloom tomato! We are getting spoiled.
Dill Weed
Something homesteaders are busy pickling with right now, since pickles are making their appearance at local fresh markets. I was going to illustrate a pickle (which is really a small cucumber) but they are rather ugly. They are more appreciated when they are pickled in brine. Each jar of pickles contains a sprig of the beautifully fragrant dill weed. I just love the smell of fresh dill!
Bearded Iris
Bearded Iris is one of the most popular and classic garden irises, and comes in a wide range of colours and fragrances. Their underground stems (rhizomes) have been used in perfume and skincare products. The bearded descriptor actually refers to the fuzzy reddish “beards” on the lower petals, meant to attract bees and butterflies.
I captured this beautiful orange specimen in my neighbours garden. My neighbours all have such beautiful perennial gardens providing me with beautiful subjects for my illustrations.
Peaches
Ontario🇨🇦 peaches are spectacular. Some like to bite right thru the fuzz, but if you are like me, they have to be peeled. Nothing like the juice running down your chin and down your arm. My memories of peaches were playing travel baseball and going to a weekend tournament in Grimsby, Ontario, and eating my weight of this luscious fruit.
