Ode to the Turnip: a Favorite Things Painting

How do you feel about turnip? I love turnip so much that I painted this visual “Ode to the Turnip.”

Here’s what’s strange about this ode. I love the way turnips look. But, I’m afraid, dear reader, I do not like the way turnip tastes. I have never liked turnip’s taste. In fact, I especially disliked turnip the year that dear old mom told us kids to eat our turnips at Thanksgiving dinner…or else.

Turnips in Family Lore

Guess what happened? One of my sisters threw hers up! Yes she did right there at the dinner table. And, my sibs and I aren’t the only ones with a disdain for the taste and texture of turnips. Here’s a link to an actual Ode to a Turnip written by a youngster.

But I digress, don’t I? Let’s set aside the taste and texture of a turnip. Let’s focus on the superficial, outward appearance of this vegetable. After all, the look of a turnip is more delightful than almost any other winter root vegetable out there. Where else can you find such a wonderful, royal purple vegetable than the mighty turnip? Isn’t that purple a perfect antidote to the grey days and nights of wintertime? I think so.

Turnips in Paintings

There are many wonderful artists in history who have seen the virtue of painting the turnip. I’ll share several of them with you here. Here’s a delightful and simple painting of a turnip. Seems the artist of this particular painting is Nelson Shanks, the founder of the school I attended called Studio Incamminati.

Check out this lovely painting by Jeffrey Larson of Turnips and a Mason Jar. Oh la la…this painting is beautiful! And, here’s a looser, more painterly version of the turnip by contemporary painter Quang Ho.

Turnips have been a part of our diet and painting for hundreds of years. And so I would be remiss if I didn’t share a painting by Jean Simeon Chardin entitled “A woman peeling turnips.” The sitter in this painting does not look particularly happy, does she? Perhaps she is unhappy because she knows, she will soon have to eat what she is peeling. And we know what happens then, don’t we?

It’s a shame we don’t know what Jean Simeon Chardin was thinking as he painted the turnips. I can tell you that I experienced nothing but joy and delight as I worked on this painting. I hope you can sense that feeling from this piece. And, if you do, thank you and please let me know in the comments below.

And, by the way, this “Ode to the Turnip” painting is for sale here. Also, check out this year’s blogging and painting adventure called “Favorite Things.” I would love it if you signed up for future blog posts and paintings here!