Seed Artist Profile: Pickling Cucumber by Tim Witham

Pickling Cucumber Seed Packet Artwork

Tim Witham of Brighton, England was selected to design the artwork for two varieties of pickling cucumber.

 What is your favorite vegetable to eat and why?
It’s got to be the cucumbers. They pickle exceptionally well for burgers, salads and a gorgeous sour crunch in the heart of winter. They juice really well and bulk up other fruits and vegetables with such a clean taste. They cool the eyes. They taste great and enhance a gin and tonic or martini to no end. Truly versatile!

Why did you choose the medium you used for the packet design?
I love digital media and its total accessibility. From kids doodling to great masters like David Hockney, the digital platform is as versatile and as cool as a cucumber.

What is your favorite medium to work with and why?
Oils are my true love. The multitude of equipment and components required, great smell (especially when I use essential oil solvents like lavender) and the glacially meditative process are so calming and restorative.

Why were you excited about this project?
Sow True has come up with such a cool idea of throwing their caution to the wind and letting the artists’ imaginations run riot. I felt really free to let go and see what happened!

What is your favorite flower and why?
I adore peonies and especially Paeonia lactiflora ‘Sarah Bernhardt’. When the buds start to develop they tease me for weeks fattening up in the warming spring and summer sun until, when I think I cannot take any more, they burst into a small bowl of luscious pink that grows and fades to an enormous head that the bees adore. They provide me with so much joy and for such a long time. I cannot imagine my garden without at least one!