Double-Fisted

Double-Fisted

Yesterday was National Pie Day so I posted a pic of a British Treacle Tart I made with Brazilian acai sauce over on my Listen to Me Pie Lady blog.  It's a funny thing though.  After I spend time baking and posting my edible creations, I feel guilty about this blog.  Not really guilty about the blog, I suppose, but about "cheating" on my artwork with culinary pursuits.  Isn't that crazy?  I have been baking and cooking since I was 8 years old, I truly have.  I moved to San Francisco to be a chef, something I have written about before, so works in the kitchen have been with me for a long time.

But I've noticed a pattern within myself.  Too long away from drawing and painting, and I start to feel like I will "lose it."  I immediately want to test myself to make sure I still "have it."  I'm drawing all the time; post-it notes at work, doodles on the back of grocery receipts.  I don't even post all these things.  Yet, I needed to reassure myself that I could sit down and create a little line drawing after eating that slice of sweetness.

Here it is:  Double-Fisted.  Maybe it's my art self telling me to "get back to it" or else. (-;

Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Love, Not Hate."

Honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. on this namesake day.

Cross-Country Skier

Well, the SUPER cold weather of winter is finally upon us, and I'm finding myself oriented towards wintry illustrations!

Here's an ink and watercolor piece to give you a chuckle, along with a late night snapshot I took of an outdoor ice skating rink, small-town style.

Hey Peppermint Oil

Had a rough week last week.  Here's a little post-it doodle as I give thanks to some peppermint oil that got me through the day.

Canine Love Is Always Warm

Canine Love Is Always Warm

David Bowie Pt. 2 (charcoal portrait)

I had to really push myself to draw David Bowie tonight...I'm still in such shocked upset about his passing that I'm finding it hard to get it all together...a fitting drawing, a fitting tribute.  I feel so sad about it...like the world has stopped spinning in its regular path, such a loss that it is.

11" x 14"

Charcoal on Paper

Major Tom, you always led the way.  Why did you have to lead on this path so soon?

David Bowie

David Bowie...I feel heartbroken that you are gone.  I want to write about you, I want to paint a tribute to you, but I am so sad and so shocked by your passing that I can do neither.  I'm so sorry to see you go...

Bobby, Distracted

The other day I saw a photo of Bobby Flay looking so distracted/perturbed/impatient, it cracked me up.  I actually felt sorry for him.  It was like he was at yet another contractual event amongst the masses who didn't even know what a caper was, and he just wanted to be ANYWHERE but there.  His Irish ire was irked!

I wanted to capture and exaggerate that look immediately.  I searched around for a piece of paper which turned out to be an old, Zingerman's food catalog.  Perfect!  This one is all oil, except for the lettering in marker.

Bobby, when he first appeared on the Food Network, had a bit of an arrogant attitude, and why shouldn't he?  He's good at what he does, he's had to make it in NYC, and he's in that rarefied stratosphere of chefs whose crossed over to mass appeal.  He's much more approachable, kind, and humorous now (and has been for years), but I think a bit of the old Bobby slipped out here. (-;

"If only I could be anywhere but here.  Like in my backyard barbecuing."

Equestrian Love

I originally gave this painting the generic name of, "The Lady and Her Horse," but I now can't take it (ugh!)!  I'm changing it to "Equestrian Love."  Ah, I feel so much better now.

11" x 14" 

Oil, Ink, Watercolor

Einstein Half Formulated

Einstein Half Formulated