Savoring Summer 2026
Here’s to all the farmers, harvesters, and gardeners for making summer so sweet. Their land and labor sustain body and soul, year after year. I am especially grateful in summertime, when I have the good fortune of going to a farmers market almost every Saturday. What a bounty there is, spread out on a half a village block: flowers, vegetables, fruit, bread, meats, and artisan goods. I buy some things to eat (beans, peppers, squash) and some to paint (kohlrabi), and supplement the bounty with a few homegrown cucumbers and tomatoes. What a feast!
Tips and Techniques– I paint a page like this almost every August and I never tire of it. It’s a fun exercise to create a cohesive composition from a variety of vegetables and to celebrate this colorful season in my sketchbook. Head to a farm stand, local grocery store, or your garden and give it a go.
Drawn In 
These are so beautiful Jean. A well earned tribute to our essential workers who provide food for the body, mind and spirit.
Thanks Jan! I was well aware today at the farmers market that I was enjoying a day off and the farmers– however cheerful — were working.
Simply delicious to look at!
Glad you like it!
Oh I love this, Jean!
I really liked your evening primrose journal, too!
thank you so much!
Love your annual mouthwatering harvest pages, Jean! And this year you’ve included a super kohlrabi, full of character and with promises of deliciousness! Your dedication to all who plant, tend and market garden produce was wonderful. Thanks so much for sharing, and for reminding me to visit our local Wednesday fresh food vendors in the coming week! Maybe I’ll bring a sketchbook too!
Absolutely bring it…or just pull it out when you get home.
Always inspiring! Thanks Jean!
Thank you for inspiring me!
Painting vegetables is so fun!
Sounds terrific. And what lovely paintings. The colors are outstanding 🙌🙂
Thanks Kim. Making use of secondaries here with a simple triad of ultramarine, nickel azo yellow, and quin magenta.
The 2026 harvest painting is lush and fresh – my mouth started watering over the little halved tomatoes! I’m glad you included a retrospective… I’d forgotten about those apricots. The light through their moist sweetness is beautiful, and you’ve captured even the color of the dark between the fruits perfectly.
What a lovely comment. Thanks for your kind words. It’s fun for me, too, to look back on older sketches to see similarities, and progress.
Those peaches look like they’re about to jump off the page! And if I don’t eat lunch soon, I’ll be too late for the Farmer’s Market. Thanks for the reminder! 🙂
Hi Jean, I really like all of the years’ paintings but the apricot composition really speaks to me. Beautiful!
Hi Amelia- I enjoyed doing the apricots! It’s fun to have subjects that require so much color at this time of year. Hope you are enjoying some good farmer’s markets and fresh produce where you are!