Go for the gusto... and wine, and art!

You know what they say, "life is short" so...

photo credit: The-Artists-Room-Fine-Art-Gallery

This Friday you can do at least two outta three at a wine tasting and meet the artist event at Cellar XV in Ridgefield, CT (the artist is me).

The folks at Cellar XV know their stuff when it comes to wine, selecting well-priced artisan wines from around the world and this Friday you can enjoy tastes of special selections from 6-8. I'll be there as well, enjoying libations and talking with guests about my paintings and art focus.

Coincidentally, one of the paintings that will be hanging at Cellar XV is a local artisanal cheese. Wine and cheese: goes together, right?!

This cheese is called Amram, named after musician David Amram. It's a semi-creamy, semi-stinky but totally flavorsome cheese and you can read more about the Amram connection in an earlier post here.

I hope you will stop by to learn about wonderful, affordable wines and chat about art!

painting metal with mettle

Recently a friend gave me this great copper/brass/metal planter. It's kind of tarnished and the metal could be brass or bronze - who knows. All I know is it's a great color with a fascinating and frustrating metallic finish that reflects, glows and holds deep shadows!!! Challenging!

Deep red/purple plums added the perfect compliment and contrast to this rich surface.
Above is the first pass at laying in color.

This stage is more fully developed with stronger modeling of the plums and highlights.

I actually thought it was finished! But then wasn't quite happy with the metal-ness of the pot.

And I've learned that if something's bugging me - it has to be fixed!

You know, I really had no idea what would make this pot look metallic rather than clay-like. Which is why it was almost OK to focus on the parts that were working and be done. Almost.
Going back to surface of the metal feels like something of a milestone. A test of "mettle." Because even though I didn't know how to do it, I kept going because I believed I could. Phew, that is a huge shift for me.

I hope I have succeeded in rendering the character of the metal as well as the juiciness of the plums. Here is the finish painting - the more I looked, the more interesting reflections shadows and subtle color changes were apparent. It was fascinating to find what I hadn't seen before!

FYI - the other difficulty making this painting was NOT eating the plums. They looked so luscious! Happy to say, the painting is definitely done because the props are being eaten! So sweet and juicy. Insides ia a gorgeous deep purple - hope I get to paint a cut plum before they are all eaten.

Tribute to Produce Pete

I start my day with tea and the NBC Today Show. And you never know where it will lead.

Last month Produce Pete was talking about asparagus. You know Produce Pete - he's the vegetable guru on the Today Show and he's pretty passionate about his veggies. He has caught my attention more than once (St. Patrick's Day cabbage inspiration, for example).

Of course it's quite possible that I just enjoy the organic forms of fruits and vegetables but Produce Pete gets me thinking about all the beautiful colors and shapes of the season and it's a great way to start the day.

So last month, at the end of his segment on the stately asparagus Pete held up a bunch, stuck in a glass of water and said, "THIS is how you keep asparagus fresh!"

Like a trophy in his hand. And all I could think was "Here's to you, Produce Pete!"

So there you have it - my Tribute to Produce Pete. (if anyone out there is best buds with Pete, let him know that somewhere, there is a painting with his name on it!)

I don't know if Pete was thinking about the refraction of light through water and glass - probably not - but look how the straight stalks of asparagus shift underwater and behind the different thicknesses  of glass. Love it!

That Pete sure knows asparagus!