Strawberry Abundance

Oil on Canvas 12 x 12

• Private collection

• Available in open edition signed prints and note cards in the store.

The summer sun cast warmth across the regenerative agriculture farm in Concord, Massachusetts where I volunteered as a farmer-in-training on Saturday mornings. I moved slowly through hilled shin-high plants on my hands and knees occasionally stopping to shift between cat-and-cow. Surrounded by a few fellow harvesters, we worked in blissful silence.

The thick heady fragrance echoed that the little ruby jewels were ready to be harvested. I lightly tickled the ripest berries and placed them gently into cardboard pints. In this ‘store’, the earth beneath my knees was rich with the vitality of regenerative practices that nurtured the land and infused the bounty.

It is bent over, hands in the dirt, when I feel a deep connection to something greater than myself. And at peace. Balanced. Rejuvenating my own vitality through farming. I was not just a harvester or free labor; I was a steward of the land. Every volunteer shift left me struggling between the decision of ‘how many to eat?’, ‘how many to share (do I have to share?) ’, and ‘can I celebrate and capture this harvest in paint?’ Almost always, the harvest didn’t make it all the way home.

It is my honor to share the theme of Abundance forward through the note cards and prints. Hang one in your kitchen too!

The Process

My admiration for the vibrant reds was only surpassed by my fascination with the spaces nestled between the berries. It was in these delicate interstices where one berry met another, casting gentle shadows, that of the composition revealed itself. Crafted around 2005, this painting continues to evoke joy within me even today, hanging in my kitchen.