Cottonwood River Cheddar Reserve

oil on wood, 8x8"

Cottonwood River Cheddar Reserve, original artwork by Mike Geno

From the Cheese Portraits series.

My first Kansas cheese (for the cheesemap!) was sent to me by Jason Wiebe Dairy in Durham, Kansas. This 3rd generation cattle farming family turned to cheese to help get more value from their milk. It turned into a deliciously sweet victory as this cheddar is a wonderfully sweet, nutty raw milk delight.

The squares of the reserve that they sent to me had me wondering how to approach the box shape format. As you can see below, I play with my food and the animated gif file is a peek at how I think through compositions like this. Basically I held it with in my two hands and broke it in half to help capture the texture of cheddar curds and crystalized interior texture.

Origin: USA, Kansas

Availability: sold

Animated Painting Progression:

Animated Painting Progression of Cottonwood River Cheddar Reserve, original artwork by Mike Geno