Mighty Butternut Squash: a Favorite Things Painting

What soothes a cool winter night? Mighty butternut squash, of course! I confess I have not always been a huge fan of this winter vegetable. But, recently, my older sister sent me a fantastic recipe called Moroccan Butternut Squash and Chickpea Stew. Oh my gosh, the stew is delicious, quick and hearty.

But wait, this is not a food blog. This, gentle reader, is a blog about the creative life, yours and mine, and more. Eek! Well, at least now you know the inspiration for this painting, I’ll share some other interesting facts about the Butternut Squash in particular. First, the color is just luscious to me. And, I’m not even talking about the inside of the squash which is even more gorgeous than the outside!

Secondly, the shape of a butternut squash is a delightful reference to a woman’s torso. In fact, this butternut squash has healthy hips much larger than her shoulders. If you find yourself with that tendency, consider yourself lucky. Like you, the butternut squash is grounded and solid in character and appearance.

History of Butternut Squash

What’s interesting about the mighty butternut squash is that today’s modern day butternut squash did not exist until the mid-1940s. Charles Leggett from my home state of Massachusetts, wanted a tasty squash and so he crossed a gooseneck squash with other varieties.

According to this article, when he took his new hybrid squash to the market (in Waltham MA just minutes from my home town!), people raved about the delicious smooth pulp and tasty, nutty flavor. Voila! The butternut squash was born. Although it seems our friend, Charles, didn’t collect income from his invention but his delicious legacy lives on today.

Painting process

When I decided I wanted to paint this member of the species known as Curcurbita moschata, I knew I wanted to paint the entire thing. In other words, I didn’t want to chop it in half or chop it into cubes. It so happens, I have a bright green chopping board which seemed the perfect landing spot for the squash.

I tried several different vantage points before deciding to paint the squash standing tall. Right now, I’m painting in my dining room. The east facing windows have light that streams in and glint on the stem and edge of the squash.

Before painting the final painting on an 8 x 8 inch panel, I did a color study. I like to finish these color studies in less than an hour or so. I find it’s a great exercise in seeing the (gazillions!) of colors in a particular set up. In this case, the colors that I started to see in the transition from light to dark on the squash were vast and luscious.

In fact, this small painting is a perfect example of what makes this painting life so alluring and challenging at the same time. As planned, I knocked out a color study in no time. But, the actual painting kept leading me to see more and more and more colors in that butternut squash. You may call me crazy but the greens and warm purples and golds and rich oranges were all calling out to me as I was painting this painting.

A Quotation

I think the experience of observing something for hours at a time is a delightful form of meditation, especially in these tumultuous times. In Harold Speed’s Book entitled ‘The Practice and Science of Drawing,’ he writes “It is the privilege of the artist to show how wonderful and beautiful is all this music of color and form, so that people, having been moved by it in his work, may be encouraged to see the same beauty in the things around them. This is the best argument in favour of making art a subject of general education: that it should teach people to see. Everybody does not need to draw and paint, but if everybody could get the faculty of appreciating the form and color on their retinas as form and color, what a wealth would always be at their disposal for enjoyment!”

I hope you enjoy this painting of the mighty butternut squash which is for sale here. If you enjoyed learning about its history and the painting process, please consider subscribing to this blog. And, please share your latest thoughts on your creative life and what you have been seeing lately! Thank you!