So, I forgot to take pictures of our summer feast last night. I guess I was having too much fun! Here’s a picture of the big heirloom tomatoes we picked yesterday. We have another big colander, a small colander, a stock pot and a couple of other containers full of all the various kinds of tomatoes we’ve been picking the last few days. They love the heat. Me? Not as much.
Our organic garden is exploding with tomatoes: three different heirlooms, Independence Day, Juliets and cherries. I adore tomatoes – raw, cooked, juiced, and especially the ones I pop in my mouth while picking them. My friend who is helping me with the website and his girlfriend are coming over for dinner tonight after we work on the site for a bit. I’m going to make a Caprese salad with a cherry tomato dressing and fresh herbs from our garden: two different kinds of basil, two different kinds of mint, and chives. Derek is grilling spare ribs, which are the best ribs on the planet, and we’re having grilled fresh corn on the cob and grilled chicken wings with Cajun Power Garlic sauce. (We buy it at Dorignac’s in New Orleans, every time we go back to visit my family and friends. It’s fantastic). We love having friends over to share food, stories, drinks, and the water features on our property: a creek that wraps around two sides of the house, and a waterfall pond that Derek made for me last summer. Pictures to come!
This is the studio part of my office. You can’t see it here, but there is a window to the left of the easel that looks out onto my back yard, and the trees on this side of where Fawn Creek joins Little Buck Creek, and the protected woods on the other side of the creek. It’s a beautiful and serene vista that lets in just the right amount of light for painting.
I paint because I have to. I’m from New Orleans, and creativity seeps into your pores there, much like the humidity. My creative journey started with drawing in grammar school, moved me to the kitchen in middle school, then pushed me to Cozumel Mexico after I woke up, got divorced and realized I needed to see life from a different perspective. I started painting then as part of my creative journey to figure out who I am and to express it in a way that others can appreciate. That inner journey has taken me to many places and creative endeavors since then. I’m a writer, a painter, a chef, a jewelry maker, an amateur clothing designer and interior decorator, and an observer of life. Having discarded the need to please everyone else, these days I have to paint because it’s what makes me happy, nudges me to learn new things, and keeps me from being unbearable to live with. At least I hope so. Thanks for visiting.
Pamela O'Brien Art 