An artsy fartsy farmer's market
Earlier this year, when we seemed miles away from peaches and cherries, an elderly painter set up a three-legged stool and an easel behind the Halal Pastures tent right around the opening bell and began to paint a market scene with oils. He did not stop painting until closing and in that short amount of time, he produced a stunningly beautiful painting of the Hastings Farmers Market. The vendors on the upper level came to admire his work. Armelle, at Halal Pastures gave him fresh vegetables to take home. And I considered it just another day in the “neighborhood” as it were; the market, a constant source of inspiration, artistic and otherwise.
So imagine my surprise when I stumbled into the new Dénouement Fine Art Gallery in the Movie House Mews complex in town, and saw the market painting, along with many other colorful scenes of our little Village painted by Stephen Toller, known for his Manhattan streetscapes and whose vast body of work counts legions of fans, including Spike Lee.
According to Stoller’s son, his father recently moved his painting studio from the Adirondacks to Hastings and the town and people here have been so welcoming, his father decided to paint a series of works highlighting Village life, hence the market portrait. “I usually don’t put people in my paintings,” the artist told me. “But the people are so much a part of the market experience, I made an exception.”
More recently, another painter (this one a close personal friend) found inspiration at the market and painted this extraordinary portrait of Armelle, from Halal Pastures. The portrait brought Armelle to tears at the end of the market day when I showed it to her last Saturday.
There is so much beauty at the market each week and the bright green basil and blush apricots are just the beginning, if you know where to look.
To celebrate the beauty, and to try and capture it on paper, we’ve invited local artist Fernanda Franco, who designs our beautiful newsletter each week, among other artistic endeavors to lead a fun, colorful and gentle art class to explore the farmers market through sketching and watercolor.
The class is designed for young artists ages 7–12, and the guided session will encourage children to observe, draw, and paint fruits, vegetables, and flowers found at the market. “We’ll start with easy sketching techniques, then add bright watercolor details,” says Fernanda. Please sign up at the market tent on Saturday morning. Children will learn basic sketching and watercolor techniques, how to observe shapes, colors, and textures in nature and ways to express creativity through art inspired by real-life produce. All materials will be provided. No experience necessary—just bring your curiosity and creativity! She will be doing more classes in the fall so worry not if you are out of town and will miss this one.
Also, poet Julia Gardner, of Hastings, will be setting up her manual typewriter again and writing poems on the fly based on your prompts. Last time she was here, a shopper asked her to write about a beautiful heron she sees daily at the Dobbs Ferry Waterfront, and Julia’s words did not disappoint. Julia will write you a poem for a suggested donation of $5 to $10. I’m attaching with her permission, her heron poem.
We are so grateful to our new market sponsor Emily Haas-Godsil ofCOMPASS, for making these activities possible at the market.
Sorry, no room for recipes this week. Hopefully you’ll get inspired at the market. Of course, should you need help, we’re always full of recipes and ideas at the market tent. That is, when we’re not playing traffic cop. Consider this your gentle reminder to observe the parking and directional signs in the parking lot.
Also: this is the third Saturday of the month so not only will our knife sharpener be here, but we will also put the Gleaning Basket out for you to drop your produce donations for the Hastings Food Pantry: we’re looking for carrots, corn, zucchini, onions and potatoes. Thanks in advance!
See you (and beauty everywhere) at the market!