From the Cheese Portraits series.

My first painting of this cheese, years ago at the earlier stages of this journey to learn about all the amazing cheeses I came across and to document them with cheese portraits, was so satisfying, I was especially hesitant to revisit it.
However when one has an entire 5 pound wheel of this iconic American goats milk cheese, perhaps it's foolish not to value an opportunity worth exploring and revisiting. Considering I wanted to work larger this time around and feature the whole wheel, it was only at the last moment that it occurred to me to use the cake stand I have in my studio, intended for another painting.  It seems appropriate that the very delicious cake-like appeal of this creamy, goat cheese should deserve to be further elevated.  Please note, it was unintentional, however I have created a composition that ecompasses their entire label color scheme. 

I had the privilege to meet Mary Keehn in 2014, at the American Cheese Society conferences in Sacramento. During a quiet lull, and with no one around my table, Mary was soft spoken and thoughtful and generous.  She came over to talk about the giant print I had hanging behind my table, of perhaps my most popular cheese portrait, her Humboldt Fog.  She explained to me that shortly after opening Cypress Grove, in 1983, she traveled to France to learn about cheesemaking.  She fell asleep on the flight home and woke up with an epiphany.  She dreamt about making a goat's milk cheese that had a centerline of vegetable ash representing  the fog that blankets the Humboldt County coastline and with that, the idea of Humboldt Fog was born; it's considered America's first American Original artisanal cheese.

Today it's among the most popular artisan cheeses found throughout the country.

Origin: USA, California

Price: $2500