Story behind the art of Jane Hancock
27th Annual International
American Society of Botanical Artists and the Society of Illustrators
Golden Beets
Beta vulgaris
There’s plenty of color in the produce section of our markets. Looking for a colorful seasonal subject last fall, I considered various root crops. Multicolored radishes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, rainbow carrots, and purple turnips all caught my eye before I settled on golden beets.
Next came scouting for entire plants. I frequented farmers markets, where I found golden beets in abundance, complete with plenty of leaves and long, narrow root tips. For the next couple of months I drew, photographed, painted and ate my way through bunches of them. The golden ones have a slightly milder flavor than the more common red beets. I enjoy them roasted and I cook the greens the same way you would chard.
In fact, garden beets (beetroot in the UK) and chard are cultivars of the same species and subspecies, as are sugar beet and the fodder crop mangelwurzel. Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris descends from the wild ancestor the sea beet, Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima, a coastal plant of Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia. Evidence of edible cultivars goes back in time to the earliest recorded history in Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean basin.
Golden beets as a subject for painting offered features that kept me challenged and engaged, long after the farmers markets closed for the season. The stems, when they’re fresh, are smooth, light-reflective, and a bit translucent, in contrast to the nubby, light-absorbing roots. The gnarled lines of the root tips are entirely different from the fleshy, rounded bodies of the beets. The golden colors show variations from rosy pink to deepest brown. Tiny hairs, scars, and rootlets provide plenty of opportunities for a lover of detail. Painting the beets was a step toward meeting my goal of incorporating shadows into my compositions, a challenge I enjoyed.
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Read more about this artist's work: Abundant Future
Beta vulgaris
Golden Beets
Watercolor on paper
8-1/2 x 12 inches
©2024 Jane Hancock