Green ice cream

“Green.”

My toddler, wearing pint-sized Tony Llama cowboy boots, uttered this one-word reply to “What kind of ice cream would you like?” when we stepped inside Ashburn’s Ice Cream in Dallas for his first visit.

As much as I coaxed the little guy to check out all the colorful flavors in future excursions for the frozen treat, he remained steadfast.

“Green.”

I don’t recall whether his first single dip cone was lime sherbet, spumoni, or mint. It didn’t matter.

What it tasted like was secondary

It had to be green.

For the rest of his childhood, he remained a green-ice-cream-cone fellow. Even today, he’ll sometime go for the greens—pistachio, matcha green tea, or chai. However, my oldest son who happens to be my next-door son these days, has managed to expand his frozen treat horizons embracing the multitude of toffees, crunches, and chunks available today.

Watching my little guy’s determination and delight over green ice cream has stayed with me.

So much so that I bought myself a green ice cream cone recently.

A small, stunning work of art that hangs in my dining room.

Donna Knierim, the artist, titled it Pandemic Pistachio,

but on my wall,

its subtitle is

Green Ice Cream.

Since first seeing Donna's extraordinary Cotswold Boots I have been fascinated by her process and wanting to add a work of hers to my collection. She wouldn't sell the boots. I wound up with ice cream.

Donna (knierim2d@gmail.com) paints in an Old Master style which is all about light—think the brilliance of candlelight in an otherwise dark space which was a trademark of many of the artists painting in the sixteenth and seventeen centuries.

According to Donna, who vowed not to let me rush her with my ice cream cone, the style is labor intensive and requires many applications of paint. Layers and thin layers of color over a dark canvas underpainting which results in extraordinary depth and vibrancy.

This is the smiling artist the day she delivered my painting. She stands in front of paintings of five trees of Pauma Valley (including our Valencia Orange) that another outstanding San Diego artist, Gail Roberts, *** painted for me some years ago when we both lived in North County before moving into San Diego.

Exciting to add Donna Knierim's art to my mix and very soon I will invite my next-door son, the green ice-cream son, for a dish of a frozen dessert, green in color, and a look at the painting.

*** Had the chance to see Gail's Robert astonishing show at Quint Gallery in La Jolla recently. Created over the past four years, Color Field includes 128 equally scaled paintings of flowers, weeds, and native plants in Roberts’ garden surrounding her studio.

My friend, Gail, trying to pick her favorite.

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And I'll bet there's a grand story to go with every one of your paintings. Would love to tour your collection some day. Meanwhile, I can hardly wait to see you in San Antonio! DI

Hello Marilyn, Oh to be green again! I admire how how you make charming tales intermingling your art and personal recollections! TJ have us all in pumpkin spice extraordinare land every October.

I will just be happy with some hot apple cider! BR

As usual so enjoyed your last informational info!!!! So glad you are able to be next to Bo, believe that is his name! I love the green ice cream painting - it just stands right out to me!❤️JS