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Black River Blue is an older piece that was painted when I first discovered this lovely cheese. Our family really loves blue cheeses. I grew up eating a delicious blue cheese salad dressing that my mom made. That was back in the day when Julia Child influenced her. Mom didn’t worry about the calories in recipes; she concentrated on crafting rich, delicious flavors. Large savory chunks of blue cheese in that dressing gave me my first taste of this delectable cheese. My husband had never tried blue cheese until he started dating me, and he loved it at first bite. We have tried a wide variety of blue cheeses, and have yet to find one that we don’t like.

I have created many paintings of different types of cheeses, with blue cheese being a favorite model for my still life pieces. The blue fuzzy mold contrasts so nicely with the creamy cheeses, which range in color from white to gold, depending on the variety. One of our favorites, Black River Blue, just happens to have its home near us at North Hendren Dairy. The cheese gets its name comes from a river in our area.

Several food magazines make their way to our home. Inspiration is found for both kitchen cuisine and painting ideas in these inventive periodicals. In one issue I saw that a blue cheese had won an award in a national contest for best flavor for a blue and noticed that its home was in Wisconsin. Since my husband is in the dairy business, I asked him if he knew anything about North Hendren Dairy where the cheese was made. He happened to know that it was nearby, so he went there and bought a chunk for us to try. We loved it! Our youngest son, in particular, really enjoyed it. I make sure I have a large chunk on hand for the many recipes in which I use it.  It is great for just munching on, with or without crackers or artisan breads.

We just visited our youngest son who is living in North Carolina. While we were driving there, a story about his attention to detail came to my mind. Our youngest son joined us on a trip San Antonio, Texas, for an art show that had juried in my work. A fine restaurant we visited while there served our salads with generous portions of blue cheese sprinkled on top. Our son said that he thought it was Black River Blue and told us the reasons why he thought so. The waiter didn’t know what brand it was so he asked the chef. The waiter then returned with the wrapper that the chef had given him. A Black River Blue label! Our son’s attention to the details of one of his favorite cheeses gave him the information that he needed to appraise the unknown cheese.

Are you paying attention to the details needed for you art business? Do you treat your artwork with intense scrutiny to notice if you have included the essentials?  Keeping your focus on what’s important will help you continue to grow as an artist.