Monday, November 3, 2014

Leadbetter Beach Watercolor and Sunset



My last post showed some watercolor Hungarian Folk Flowers.  I had tried something new...just loose watercolor shapes representing the flowers as I imagined them finished.  Then I did the actual "finishing" in black pen.  I loved the way it looked with the flowers so I tried it with a landscape.  I think it's interesting...needs refinement but kind of cool.

If the tide was low enough to walk around that point you would find the beach where we watched the sunset a few nights ago...






Paint Party Friday

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Breaking out of my rut.

Boy, have I been in a creative rut.  

Rut broken.




Paint Party Friday

Thursday, October 23, 2014

The Green Emporer

In the 1976 my family moved to London for a year.  That summer before the London school year started, and the summer of 1977 after our sabbatical in London was over, my family and I lived in this VW Westfalia pop up top van.  It was a nomadic life moving from campground to campground.  We loved that VW, we named it the Green Emporer and would sing happy birthday to it every time the odometer reached a milestone number.  

Typical meal at a rest stop or campground.
We collected stickers at many of the towns we stopped in to stick to the back of the van.
   
My older brother was 10, I was 7 and my baby brother only a few months old.
  
Bath time.
Somewhere...
Back home with California plates.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

ICAD's...what happened?

#22 Sharpie

Boy, oh boy...not sure what happened to me over the summer but I fell off the ICAD train.  Here are two stragglers.

Friday, June 27, 2014

ICADS 15 - 21

Isn't life strange sometimes? I don't feel that I am doing anything different from last summer yet I struggle to find them time to keep up with this blog this year. Last year was easy, blog posts all the time...where does the time go?

I really love linking up with Paint Party Friday but I try to wait until I have actually painted! Since two of my index cards from this group were actually painted with acrylics and a brush, I'm happy to share.

 

#17 Acrylic, pencil, Micron on paper, my version of a Gustav Klimt piece


The face...she needs a little tweaking...but overall I am pleased and this was a fun exercise


Another Klimt inspired card for #19. Layers of Sharpie and colored pencil
#16 acrylic on paper


#20 Micron and Sharpies


#21 Micron and Sharpies


#15 Micron


#16 Pencil hedgehog doodles





Paint Party Friday



 

 

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

White Beans and Bacon with Crispy Sage

I'm not a meal planner so when it comes time to make a dinner I usually just look to see what I have and if I don't know what to make I turn to Google.  Last week I googled "white beans and bacon."  A few recipes came up but the one that caught my eye was a medieval recipe with a modern counterpart.  I was on my iPhone so I couldn't see the whole website but later realized it's a blog of recipes based on Game of Thrones books. 
How cool is that?
 
I didn't have all the ingredients handy so I checked my veggie garden
and here is my recipe based on the original. 
(see below for link to the original recipe and the cool blog called In At The Crossroads)
 
 4 cups cooked white beans* 
1 package nitrate free bacon, cut into small pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
4 large kale leaves, tough stems removed and chopped
handful of sage leaves
Cooking oil
 
Cook bacon until crispy, set aside and drain most of bacon fat from pan. 
Reserve remaining bacon fat.
 
Add a tablespoon of oil, I use grapeseed for high heat cooking like this.
Heat oil then carefully add the sage leaves.  Do not leave the pan, once the sage leaves start to turn darker they need to be taken out of the oil, they can burn very quickly.  Set crispy sage on papertowel and lightly salt.  Set aside.
 
Add a bit more oil if needed, then saute onions and kale until soft.  Add garlic and saute for one minute more.  Add beans and bacon and a few tablespoons of the reserved bacon fat (optional, but it adds tons of flavor.)  Mix all in pan just until everything is heated back up.  Add pepper to taste, you shouldn't need any salt, the bacon should add more than enough.
 
Spoon onto plates then top with crispy sage.
 
I served mine with gluten free rolls.
 
Everyone in my family loved this, the kids went back for seconds and no leftovers!
 
 

 
*I always cook my own beans. Besides being much cheaper than canned, I am saving all the sodium and BPA's you get from canned beans.
 
 
 
Original recipe here




Thursday, June 19, 2014

ICAD's 8-14

Here are my second batch of ICADs for 2014.
As you can see I was in a doodle mood all week.
 
Watercolor & pen

Pen and pencil

Watercolor & pen

Watercolor, pen & colored pencil

Watercolor, pen & Uni POSCA white pen
 
Colored pencil & pen

Watercolor & colored pencil
 Join in the fun:
 
http://daisyyellow.squarespace.com/icad/

Summer of Color 2014. Week Two. Coral, Teal, Bright White


It's week two of Summer of Color 2014. 
Last week I wasn't thrilled with my art but this week I am quite happy.
 

Coral & Teal
with a Smudge, Splash or Pop of Bright White
 
Acrylic on paper

I used a gorgeous painting I found online for inspiration.
 

 
http://www.twinkletwinklelikeastar.blogspot.com/
 
 
/Paint Party Friday






Thursday, June 12, 2014

Summer of Color 2014. Week One. Aqua Blue, Yellow, Hot Pink.

 
Last year I participated in Summer of Color 2013 a handful of times.  This summer I am determined to keep up and post about every week.  This is week one and the colors are Aqua Blue, Yellow and a touch of Hot Pink. 
 
I thought a tropical fish would be fun and was thrilled to find a refernce photo of a yellow fish with a dash of hot pink on it.  I used watercolor, Sharpie, pencil and white gel pen.  I found this process quite difficult because I tried to make the fish as realistic as I could.  It would have been mush easier had a invented my own fish, I suppose. 
 
After days of layering on different mediums trying to get the right look this is about as good as it gets and my inner voice says "PUT THE PEN/BRUSH DOWN."
 
Here is the final result. I'm not one to bash my own work, my philosophy on confidence is that is you are not confident, fake it (this in itself is a form of confidence, no?) 
Anyway, before I ramble (further,) I think this is just "meh." 
 
It can only get better from here. 
See you next week.
 




http://www.twinkletwinklelikeastar.blogspot.com/

I'm also linking up with Paint Party Fridays.

Paint Party Friday

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

ICAD's 1-7 I've missed this!

It's summer but you wouldn't know it here!  We've got June gloom but it's not just foggy here on the coast, it's been downright cold.  Right now I am wearing long sleeves and a knit scarf!  I guess I should mention that there are kids in bathing suits running around my backyard playing in the sprinkler.  I don't know how they manage that, I guess "summer" means no school to them and they are not concerned about the sun shining.
 
I was excited to get back to doing Index-card-a-day.  If you have not heard of it, it's an art challenge but on by Tammy Garcia at Daisy Yellow.  Every day for two months we create art on an index card and share with fellow ICADers.  Last year I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  I carried around art supplies, I created cards at parties, on boats, at the golf course.  Such fun!
 
This has been a slow art year for me.  I know some people say, "I must create art every day."  I wish I was one of those people.  I love, love, love being creative but in my life it ebbs and flows.  Ideally I'd be able to create art any and all the time but art often takes a back seat to work, family and daily responsibilities.
 
That's why I love the index cards.  For the most part they are simple, usually quick and highly satisfying.  Here are my first 7, I have to admit I am feeling a bit rusty.  I'm not really a prompt follower (there are word prompts to follow for inspiration if you want,) but I followed a few this week to help get me started.
 
It will be fun to see where the journey this year takes me.
 
Day 1.  Prism.  Sharpie.
 
Day 2.  Yellow.  Colored pencil, Sharpie.

Day 3.  Watercolor, Sharpie, White Uni Posca pen

Day 4. Watercolor, Sharpie, White Uni Posca pen

Day 5.  Sharpie

Day 6. Sharpie

Day 7.  Sharpie.



 
http://daisyyellowart.com/icad/