20 Pastries

Plateau de 20 Mignardises

Please enjoy this tray of 20 miniature pastries!  No calories, no carbs; just enjoyment, I hope!

This fall I travelled to Lille, France on a courier trip.  On my free time, I explored the town and marveled at the pastry shops.  Everything looked so delicious and enticing.  I had to come home and paint them. 

Which would you pick?  The lemon meringue tarts?  The glazed apricot?  The raspberry mousse pastries topped with raspberries?  The hazelnut ganache? Or perhaps the brandied raspberry gateaux topped with chocolate disks sprinkled with powdered sugar? Maybe the ones with lavender icing? Who could resist the cherry glacée bombes and the decadent cream filled pies topped with chocolate wafers?

Perhaps you'll take the whole tray.  Enjoy!

Sleeping Fox

February 28, 2015:  Just past 4 o'clock and an amazing sight outside my window!  There at the base of a tree in a bare patch of ground surrounded by snow is a fox.  Just as I spotted the fox, he was grooming, washing his fur before curling up, nose in fur, and going to sleep.  Reddish fur, black ears, white-tipped tail.  I found my father's old binoculars so I can see the fox quite close up.  I don't think I have ever seen such a sight--it must be quite rare.

He wakes every few minutes, looks around.  There is white under his chin.  He scratches, then tucks his nose back into his fur and settles into sleep again.  For a brief moment the sun warmed his fur and set it ablaze with golden light.  Now, once again, the fox nestles in the shadow of the tree, blending into the dark patch of earth.

It's been an hour and he still sleeps.  Now his black paw comes out and covers his eyes and nose.  A few minutes later he gets up, stretches.  He is quite large.  He settles back down, lying on his other side facing the tree, tucks his nose back in his fur and sleeps again.  Every once in a while I hear a far off dog and wonder that the fox is not startled.

5:40 pm and still he sleeps.  The sunlight is long gone.  If I did not know the fox was there, all I would see would be a patch of bare earth at the base of the tree.  Will he stay?  What will wake him?  Will he steal away in the night?  It's 23 degrees outside, but his thick coat must keep him warm.

6:02 pm.  I've been watching the fox through my binoculars and he is getting harder to see as evening descends. Suddenly, he is up and dashing across the snow--a dark silhouette for a moment before he disappears.

Lemons

Lemons

Last weekend upon entering the grocery store I was greeted with the sight of a beautiful display of Meyer lemons WITH THEIR LEAVES!  They were absolutely beautiful.  I carefully picked out a few making sure that they were gently bagged so the leaves would not come off.   Even as I did so, some leaves fell at the slightest touch.  I asked the cashier to put them on top of the groceries.  She must have thought I was crazy when I said I was going to paint them and wanted to make sure the leaves stayed attached. 

I came right home and started this 5 x 7" painting.  It took me a couple of evenings to finish the painting.  The second evening the leaves were dropping and I tried to reattach them with pins.  It was a race against time.  A friend said I should have painted one of the dropped leaves--a momento mori.

Now, to the internet, to find a good Meyer lemon recipe!

The Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon

Last June I went on a white water rafting trip down the Grand Canyon on a Western River Expeditions trip.   You might wonder. looking at this picture, where are the rapids?  They are right around the corner just out of sight.   I wasn't brave enough to take any pictures while we navigated the rapids.  I was totally focused on holding on!  Travelling on the Colorado River through 188 miles of the Grand Canyon was an amazing adventure.  The rock formations were stupendous and continued to hold me in awe for the seven days on my trip.

By the way, do you see that little sand bar on the left?  We pulled our boats over to a large sandbar each evening, set up cots and tents, and slept under star-filled skies.

I hope this little 8 x 10" oil conveys something of the majesty of the Canyon. 

Kaaterskill Falls Stream

Stream, Kaaterskill Falls

A couple of years ago friends and I spend time visiting Hudson River Valley sites including Kaaterskill Falls.  This woodland scene has been something I have wanted to paint.  I have not painted since this summer and two weekends ago I decided to pull out a little 5 x 7" canvas and painted directly without the benefit of sketching the scene first.  It was very liberating and fun.

Grand Canyon Waterfall

In early June I went on a white water rafting trip down 188 miles of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.  What an adventure!  The white water rafting was a blast and the scenery spectacular.  We hiked to some absolutely beautiful waterfalls including this one.

Something about the immense size of the canyon walls demanded that I paint much larger than I usually do.  This is a full sheet of watercolor paper, 22 x 30".  I painted it standing up at an easel using 1 1/2" brushes.  Although I am usually much more comfortable painting small, there is something amazingly liberating about painting on a larger scale; one has to let go of all the details and stop fussing.  This is a new venture for me and one I want to follow.  Stay tuned to see what comes next!

Cambodian Market Scene

This spring I decided to go out of my comfort zone and paint this portrait of a wonderful lady I saw in an open air market near Siem Reap, Cambodia.  She was so gracious in allowing me to take a photograph of her.  I loved her beautiful face framed by such a wonderfully striped and checked turban.  I couldn't resist the patterns and colors of her blouse and slacks.  There she perched carefully selecting from amongst the colorful and fresh vegetables so artfully placed in piles along the dusty road.

Although I have never painted a portrait before, this was such a fun experience.  I enjoyed every minute of it.  Of course, I had to laugh because when I finished the painting, I saw that I had used a pretty standard European model for the structure of the portrait.  Think of European portraits of nobles standing or sitting in front of a draped column with a landscape in the far distance and surrounded by objects that say something about who they were.  Here is the column, the drape, the objects.  Having trained as an art historian and working in a museum, I guess I can't get to far away from what I know!  I also had a small giggle because even though my Cambodian lady actually was picking the red apple, I hadn't really paid attention to this when I painted it.  Associations and layers of meaning?  Just a passing though.  I hope you like her as much I.