When I saw this seasonal produce chart over at Home is Where the Boat is, I just knew I had to make one for myself…this one is for North Carolina
With a few googles I landed on Alabama.gov and bingo, found this seasonal chart for Alabama
There are lots of charts available to view on line, click here to see more and find one for your area
I simplified the list of crops to just include my favorites, and started with a pencil grid
I chose 16 fruits and vegetables to list down the left side, with 9 months across the top
I hand lettered the information. You can print out the words in a favorite font to use as a guide to go by
I use this font a lot in my painted pieces because you can squeeze just about any word into any space with the high/low pattern of letters
Next, I did some quick sketches of the various fruits and vegetables
and started filling in the chart~ Apples are in peak season from mid August to early Oct in Alabama
Artichokes are in season March to May
and on it goes
I chose to use colored pencils for this chart and just like my painting methods, I use several colors to create interest and depth. The blueberries and broccoli get light highlights before they are colored with deeper blues and greens
The highlight areas are generally the areas near the top of the object where it catches the most light as in the eggplants below
Then the color will deepen as it enters the shadows and less lit areas
The peaches got a little red and pink first, then orange and yellow goes over all to blend and create the fresh peach colors
simple shapes, pops of color
When I finished filling the chart in, I erased the pencil grid, highlighted the fruit and vegetable names with color and darkened the month letters
It’s easy to see at a glance when is the best time to buy!
Fruits and Vegetables are not only good for our bodies, they are good for the soul~ looking at beautiful fresh produce is like going to an art museum, a rainbow of colors, textures and shapes~mother nature’s crown jewels!
Be sure to pop over to Mary’s to see her tribute to the Farmer’s Market here
________________________________________
I will be sharing with the fabulous parties and blogs on my sidebar and