The Tomato Ladies

My art career was not destined to take the normal trajectory. Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree, I spent several years in the Peace Corps, teaching science in Western Samoa. During this time, I taught myself to paint, using the local people as my models. With no formal art training, I was forced to experiment with techniques. Painting in oils came easily to me, and I was particularly drawn to character studies of the elders of the village.

Old Lady Smoking   oil on canvas  30 x 36"

My love for adventure took me to Iran, where I taught science at an international school. Within a year, however, I was bicycling through the rice paddies of central Java, Indonesia, with my sister, looking for a place to build our Bamboo Dream House.

My sister had recently graduated from college and wanted to join me on my world travels. We chose Indonesia because we could afford the $2.50/week lifestyle. We rented a deserted rice paddy (for $1/month) and proceeded to build our house out of bamboo purchased in the local village. Since we had absolutely no idea what we were doing, the locals had a new source of entertainment. In spite of our lack of construction skills, a forest of bamboo finally became our home.

The lack of electricity and running water seemed like minor inconveniences.  We collected rain water from the roof into barrels and worked at night with kerosene lanterns.  In a mosquito netted area, I set up my easel and began to paint.

Every week we shopped in the local market for our produce, and one old woman always greeted us kindly and gave us a good price for her tomatoes. We called her The Tomato Lady. I knew immediately I wanted to paint her portrait, to which she reluctantly agreed. This painting remains one of my favorites and evokes fond memories of my three years spent in Indonesia.

The Tomato Lady     oil on linen     16 x 20 inches

Flash forward thirty-five years, and I am now living in South Florida. My portraits of people have evolved into portraits of concrete blocks, but the Tomato Lady still spoke to me. I decided to update her in my new style by painting her on a fool-the-eye shard of cement. 

The Tomato Lady     acrylic on silk, mounted on hardboard    60 x 40 inches    2010

Well, that is the saga of my tomato ladies. Thank you for reading my blog. Please bookmark this page so you can find it again. I post every Sunday, so please tell your friends. If you have any questions or comments, I'd be happy to hear from you. Also, if you haven't checked out my website, here is the link: AddictedToWalls.com.  Take care and have a good week.