Day 81

Time to whip out the old pasta maker and make some pasta from scratch for a nice homemade dinner.

...with a nice meat sauce.

It is pretty amazing that I can't taste my food but everything (so I hear) turns out amazing.  I've gotten so used to cooking that I hardly use recipes anymore, and I am getting accustomed to not using measuring equipment as well.  My method is simple - use as many spices as possible!  I love collecting spices and spice blends - they are my new toys.  I love inventing different combinations of herbs and spices, pairing them with different meats and vegetables, and seeing what happens.  This is all really making me want to apply to culinary school!

These are the two little scenes I created in my shadow box so far.  I like the idea of creating miniature dioramas in each of the 9 slots.

80 days NPO,,,

I've been playing around with those Copic markers - they're a lot of fun.  Very good for illustrations.

I made Mark Bittman's recipe for Arroz Con Pollo - the saffron adds such a lovely color to the dish and makes it smell amazing.

We took a day trip to the Yankee Candle Factory, which my parents used to take my whole family to as a child.  It brought back a lot of good old memories.

I saw these beautiful wood carvings there:

Then back to work:  Still Life #6 - I'm on a roll!!!!

This was the set up - quite a bit complicated!

First I outlined it in pastel.

Slowly by surely starting to fill it in...

I made Spinach Ricotta Tacos for my mom:

And Broccoli-Stuffed Chicken with a sherry-dijon sauce.

BRIOCHE

Twice-baked potatoes

I started a shadow box and am making a scene in each one:

I have to be honest - art is getting a little monotonous for me.  I need some new inspiration.  I would love to hone my technique to expand my world a bit, which is why I am really pushing myself with this still life.

Day 75 - my still life is finally finished!

My fifth still life is finally finished!!!!

 It's funny - the first still life I did was so intimidating, but I see that this time around, I had a better instinct for what colors to mix, where to add shadows, light, and bright white sparkles.  It's funny though - no color on that canvas is straight from the tube.  Every color is mixed.  It makes the process pretty labor-intensive, but it just makes the colors dance right off of the canvas.  I love doing reflections.  I think that just came out so neat.

My palette after all of that mixing!

 I'm on a food kick now, so I think my sixth still life will be food-related as well.  Some beautiful ideas to paint that might turn out pretty cool:  corn on the cob, candy, cereal boxes, a mexican recipe with chile peppers, beans, salsa jar, olive oil bottle, dried pasta in various shapes with bottle of tomato sauce and parmesan rind...the possibilities are endless!

 Then I played around with my own artistic process and glued various magazine images to a canvas, covered that with layers of napkins and matte medium, and added acrylics and fabric to it.

"Slow and steady wins the race."

I never know exactly what I am going to put on each canvas until I am actually in the process.  I just follow the flow and go from tree to flower to girl...or whatever pops into my imagination.  It does't have to make sense.  It just has to feel right.

Days 71, 72, 73, 74 - Summer is approaching!

Dinner tonight:  Chicken Cacciatore

Saute the onions, bell pepper, and garlic.

Dredge the chicken in flour and brown it.

Add wine, stock, and tomatoes.

Chicken Cacciatore!

Butternut Squash

Wild Rice Bread - whole wheat bread with cooked wild rice in it.

 English Muffins...on the griddle - how easy is that?!

Then I made a Spinach Souffle - I didn't realize how easy souffles were to make!

Whip the egg whites. 

Boil the potatoes.

Make a bechamel sauce (sort of) with milk, egg yolks, onions, garlic, and flour.

Process the sauce with melted cheddar cheese and 10oz of spinach, and fold the egg whites in.

Top with grated parmesan cheese

Bake at 375F for 30 minutes.

Serve immediately.  (It drops pretty quickly)

Quinoa, Mango, and Black Bean Salad

 My mom and I did an exercise where we pick any word and then pick 3-5 colors to express it.  We picked frustration.  Quite appropriate for this time.  This is what we came up with:

Mine

Mom's

I did a little more on my still life - I think the reflection in the colander is pretty cool.

 Then my mom and I did another exercise where we picked a word and tried to portray it the best we could in any way we felt like.  We just got this great set of Copic Markers,  So we chose the word patience (very appropriate too) and gave the markers a try.

seeds take time...patience...