The idea behind painting The Veg Garden stemmed from the fact that my temporary studio overlooks the vegetable garden. The format is sequential, in the sense that, although this is only the start of the growing season, I have rendered the various plants as virtually full grown.
When I began to prepare the ground for the runner beans, in our time honoured tradition I put the partially rotten contents of the compost ‘green goddess’ into the trench. This attracted a good deal of attention from the worms of course - and a badger!
Every morning we would discover that the beast had made various inroads into the beds, leaving a good deal of soil across the paths. The only solution was to barricade the veg garden with assorted palettes and recycled chicken wire. We’ve not seen any evidence of incursion since, though the garden now looks decidedly’ rustic’.
I had to include our friend in the picture, though I’ve left the palette barricades to your imagination.
The Veg Garden and other original paintings by Rob Hain are available to view and buy in the Liberty Tree Gallery