'All Things Southern' Feature: "A Couple of Tomatoes"

"A Couple of Tomatoes"

12"x16"

Oil on Panel

 

Country living in the city!  Thank the Lord for the curb market!

  The nearby farmers make sure there's plenty to choose from all year long, but in the summer - oh, in the summer! - we have tomatoes, squash, peas, okra, corn, watermelon, peaches....need I go on?  All the fixin's for the best meal imaginable! 

We load up on Saturday morning and enjoy it all on Sunday afternoon!

 

In the fall, you'll find the best pumpkins and pecans here!

At Christmastime, the whole place is filled with the smell of evergreens and kindling.  Oh, and don't forget to pick some homemade divinity or a red velvet cake!

Strawberries and daffodils are my spring favorites!

 

I went there with my grandmother and grandfather when I was just a little girl

and it hasn't changed much in all this time. 

Again, it's that connection to the land.  It is handed to us even in the middle of downtown.

 

As far as art goes, our Montgomery Curb Market is one of my favorite subjects to paint.  The textures and colors and the figures all are so interesting to me.  There's a challenge with the light spilling into the building from all sides, but a challenge I enjoy!

 

If you are interested in purchasing this painting, please visit my website at this link: http://barbaradavis.fineartstudioonline.com/works/1204030/couple-of-tomatoes

 

'All Things Southern' Feature: "Gift from the Garden"

"Gift from the Garden"

18"x18"

Oil on Canvas

 

One of the things I cherish most about the South is the connection to the land.  We may not all be farmers now, but we're probably not too many generations removed, and more than likely grow something, somewhere!  It may even be something that originated in an ancestor's yard, like the roses my father started from his grandmother's garden.  Gardens abound and sharing the bounty is also a big part of the lifestyle in the South.  It may be a cutting or some seeds, but usually comes in the form of an armful of flowers or tomatoes!

 

I remember being with my grandmother in her garden, carefully choosing what flowers we'd take to the appointment with the hairdresser.  We tenderly wrapped the stems of  daylilies and hydrangeas in wet paper towels and aluminum foil to take as a gift.  Camellia blooms, paperwhites and daffodils were the springtime gift my other grandmother brought when she visited us.  Patients bring their doctors roses and customers bring tomatoes to the bank. 

 

This probably isn't confined to the South,

but I can attest that this is part of the spirit that resides here....

a place where you know your neighbors and you want to share beauty and abundance with them!

So glad it's my home!

 

If you are interested in purchasing this painting, please click on this link to take you to my website:

http://barbaradavisart.com/works/1198996/gift-from-the-garden

'All Things Southern' Feature: "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Bubba"

"He Ain't Heavy, He's My Bubba"

6"x5"

Oil on Board

 

This is a special extra edition of the "All Things Southern" feature in honor of Father's Day and in honor of my sweet father who embodies so many of the best things about the South! 

 

The nickname "Bubba" has been much maligned.  I'm sensitive about it because my Daddy's nickname is "Bubba".  Born DuBose Binford, the only boy in a family of five children, he, of course, was given the nickname "Bubba"...."Bubba" being the name for "brother". 

 

Here's what Wikipedia has to say:

"In American usage, bubba is a relationship nickname formed from brother and given to boys, especially eldest male siblings, to indicate their role in a family. For some boys and men, bubba is used so pervasively that it replaces the given name. The nickname may also be used outside the family by friends as a term of endearment.

Because of its association with the southern part of the United States, bubba is also often used outside the South as a pejorative to mean a person of low economic status and limited education. Bubba may also be taken to mean one who is a "good ol' boy."

 

Well, Wikipedia, it also in this case is a Daddy who would give you the shirt off his back...he's actually offered it literally several times.  He can fix anything.....or has the confidence that he can.  He loves his family unconditionally.  He is the epitome of a Southern gentleman.  He is gracious and kind and gentle and still strong and tough.  He loves Johnny Cash and Hank Williams and cornbread & buttermilk.  This Bubba is my Daddy and I know there are plenty more like him! 

I wish you all a Happy Father's Day!

 

 

'All Things Southern' Feature: "House Wine of the South"

"House Wine of the South"

Oil on Board

8"x6"

 

Yep.  Dolly Parton said so herself in "Steel Magnolias"...sweet tea is the house wine of the South.  That, my friends, is no understatement. 

 

Just take us to some place up North and tell us, "We don't serve sweet tea."  We cry.  Then help us by saying, "....but we have sugar!"  We cry harder.  The sugar has to be added when the tea is warm or it's just not the mother's milk we know it to be.

 

Whether it's Luzianne Tea from Monroe, Louisiana, or  Red Diamond Tea from Birmingham, Alabama, it's our refresher in hot or cold weather....the amber tonic that is probably best on Mama's table with fried chicken and cornbread!

 

I love this quote I found from Boo Weekley:

 

"It's rough. It's been rough on that food. It's different eating here than it is at the house.

Ain't got no sweet tea, and ain't got no fried chicken."—Boo Weekley, PGA golfer from Milton, Fla., interviewed by the BBC on Day 2 of the British Open, 7/20/2007

 

Ain't it so, Boo, ain't it so!?

If you are interested in purchasing this painting, please click on this link to my website!  Thank you!
http://barbaradavisart.com/works/1193486/house-wine-of-the-south

 

 

 



The New Doughnut Weight Loss Plan!

 

"Resolution? What Resolution?"

Oil on Board

6"x 6"

$190

 

Today is National Doughnut Day and immediately I think of another Southern treasure....Krispy Kreme!  If you don't have one where you live, then, as we say in the South, "Bless your heart!"  You are missing out on the divine experience of warm, melt-in-your mouth goodness!  Krispy Kreme hails from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and, thank the Lord above, found its way to a Montgomery, Alabama franchise! 

 

As the beaming neon "Hot Now!" sign at Krispy Kreme stores alerts me that a fresh batch of hot ones is ready, I formulate my scientific theory:  if you RUN inside every time you see a "Hot Now!" sign you just might battle the calories.  If you get enough coffee, too, your heart rate will probably go up thereby increasing your metabolism.  I'm sure I don't even need to mention the value of antioxidants, so go ahead and get the chocolate frosted.

 

(You can purchase this painting at my website: www.BarbaraDavisArt.com.  Here's the link:

http://barbaradavisart.com/works/1067311/resolution-what-resolution

'All Things Southern' Feature: "Watermelon, Watermelon"

"Watermelon, Watermelon"

10x10

Oil on Canvas

 

I am passionate about life in the South.  Born and raised and deeply rooted in Alabama, I have more than a particular fondness for the myriad of things that make us who we are....and this is what I am passionate about painting.  I want to honor the Southern lifestyle....create something special for those of us who have lived here all our lives; to introduce those who aren't from around here to the things we treasure and hopefully they, too, will fall in love with this place in the world. 

 

I plan to post a painting each week featuring something uniquely special to Southerners called "All Things Southern".  It may be our landscape.  It may be a still life of cornbread and sweet tea.  It might be a neighbor or a bunch of flowers in a Mason jar.  Whatever it is, I hope it will give you a glimpse of my world and my heart...the Deep South.

 

With summer on my mind, today's posting is "Watermelon, Watermelon"...the best summer treat in Dixie! 

 

You can purchase this painting through my website www.BarbaraDavisArt.com:

http://barbaradavisart.com/works/1188520/watermelon-watermelon