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Here are the tastingspoons players. I’m in the middle (Carolyn). Daughter Sara on the right, and daughter-in-law Karen on the left. I started the blog in 2007, as a way to share recipes with my family. Now in 2023, I’m still doing 99% of the blogging and holding out hope that these two lovely and excellent cooks will participate. They both lead very busy lives, so we’ll see.

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BOOK READING (from Carolyn):

As soon as it came out, I ordered Spare, by Prince Harry. I’ve always been interested in the Royal Family. And I’m old enough to remember when Queen Elizabeth was crowned – my mother and I watched it on tv, in those early days of television. I admired her throughout her long life. What you learn in this book is how abominably Harry and Meghan have been treated. We all know the Royal Family has a company of people who “handle” them, called “the firm.” These people control what everyone in the R.F. does, when, who is present, who can take a vacation where, and some of them give permission for journalists to photograph, in somewhat private spaces, in return for leaving them alone for awhile. The paparazzi, and the photojournalists are ruthless. Absolutely ruthless and relentless. I cannot imagine having to live with that kind of low-life awaiting  your every move. It could break anyone, as it did Diana. I’ve never been a fan of Charles, and this book doesn’t endear him to me. I’ve never been a fan of Camilla, either. There’s a lot of verbiage given over to outing many people in the R.F. Betrayals on many levels. I devoured it, but then I’m an Anglophile of the first order.

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri. Usually I don’t seek out short stories. I might have purchased this book without realizing it was. There aren’t that many stories – each one gets you very ingrained in the characters. I love her writing, and would think each story in this book could be made into a full-fledged novel. I was quite taken with the main characters in each and every one of them. Since each story is different, I can’t describe one, without describing all of them; no space for that. With each story I was very sad when I realized it was the end, leaving you hanging. I wondered if these were stories Lahiri wrote hoping they would transcend into a full length novel, but she grew bored, or couldn’t quite flesh out more. But I always felt there could/would be more. I wanted there to be more.

A Lantern in Her Hand, by Beth Streeter Aldrich. A very interesting and harrowing story of early pioneer days in the Midwest (Nebraska I think); covered wagon time up to about 80 years later as the heroine, Abbie Deal, and her husband start a family in a small town. On land that isn’t lush or reliable. Many years of drought, winds, grasshoppers. The story is a novelized one of Aldrich’s own family roots. It’s full of good old-fashioned family values and is a record of some difficult Midwest pioneering history.

The Messy Lives of Book People, by Phaedra Patrick. From amazon’s page: Mother of two Liv Green barely scrapes by as a maid to make ends meet, often finding escape in a good book while daydreaming of becoming a writer herself. So she can’t believe her luck when she lands a job housekeeping for her personal hero, mega-bestselling author Essie Starling, a mysterious and intimidating recluse. The last thing Liv expected was to be the only person Essie talks to, which leads to a tenuous friendship. When Essie passes away suddenly, Liv is astonished to learn that her dying wish was for Liv to complete her final novel. But to do so Liv will have to step into Essie’s shoes. As Liv begins to write, she uncovers secrets from the past that reveal a surprising connection between the two women—one that will change Liv’s own story forever.

Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr. I’m a fan of this author and relished reading his book about a year in his personal life, with his wife and very new, newborn twins. Doerr was given an auspicious award – a year of study in Rome, with apartment and a stipend. There are four chapters, by season. You will laugh and cry with him/them, as they have to work very hard to survive days and nights with crying babies that will not settle down. As he escapes to his study lair, if only to get away from the babies, sometimes to nap because he was up all night. Those of us who have had fussy babies know what this feels like. He suffers greatly because the “great American novel” isn’t coming to him. He feels the year wasting away from the standpoint of the award. The time in Rome was wonderful, and he and his family enjoy many wonderful visits to city high points, to stand in awe at old relics. I loved every bit of this book – so well written. If you’ve ever been to Rome you’ll enjoy it all the more.

Kristin Hannah’s Distant Shores is quite a read. Some described it as like a soap opera. Not me. Interesting character development of a couple who married young. She put her own career/wants/desires aside to raise their children. He forged ahead with his life dreams. The children grow up and move on. Then he’s offered a huge promotion across the country. She’s torn – she doesn’t want to be in New York, but nothing would get in the way of his career. They try to make the marriage work from separate coasts. The wife begins to find herself again, re-igniting her own passions. Lots of family dynamics.

Oh, William! by Elizabeth Strout. Lucy Barton is divorced. But she’s still sort of friendly with her ex. It’s complicated. Out of the blue he asks her to go on a trip with him to discover something about his roots. They go. And of course, they’re taken for a married couple most of the time. Lucy laments the things she loved about her ex, William. Hence she says “Oh, William” more than once. They encounter some very funny circumstances, and she guides him along, lamenting again, “Oh, William,” again. I don’t think she ever says it TO him, however. Very funny book. Sweet. Elizabeth Strout is a gifted writer.

Tidelands,  by Philippa Gregory. It tells the tale of a peasant woman, Alinor (an herbalist and midwife), who lives barely above the poverty level, trying to raise two children, during the time of great turmoil in England, the rancorous civil war about Charles 1. Her husband has disappeared. The feudal system at the time isn’t any friend to Alinor. In comes a man (of course) who is a priest, but to the Catholic king, not the Protestant people, and everything Catholic is abhorred and suspect. A fascinating read, loved every chapter.

Read Reminders of Him, by Colleen Hoover. A page turner of a story. A young woman is convicted of a crime (young and foolish type). Once released her sole purpose is to be a part of her daughter’s life. Hoover has such a gift of story-telling and keeping you hanging on a cliff.

The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty. Oh my goodness. The wicked webs we weave. How in the world did the author even come UP with this wild story, but she did, and it kept me glued. Sophie walked away from her wedding day, and always wondered if she made the wrong decision. Then she inherits his aunt’s house, back in her home town, where the quizzical Munro baby disappearance provides a living for many of his family. Sophie moves there, only to have to unearth all the bad stuff that happened before. Quite a story.

Very funny and poignant story, Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, by Elizabeth Taylor (no, not that one). Mrs. Palfrey, a woman of a certain age, moves into an old folks’ home in London. It’s a sort of hotel, but has full time elderly quirky residents. You get to know them all, and Mrs. Palfrey’s subterfuge effort to show off her “grandson.” I might not have ever picked up this book, but one of my book clubs had us read it, and I’m ever so glad I did.

For one of my book clubs we read Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus. This book is so hard to describe. Elizabeth is a wizard at chemistry and struggles to be recognized for her intelligence and research. She meets a man at her company who is brilliant too. They make quite a pair. They have a child, then he suddenly dies. Her work isn’t taken seriously, so she leaves her employment and becomes an overnight phenom on a cooking show where she uses the chemical names for things like sodium chloride, etc. You go alongside her struggles, and her raising of her daughter. LOTS of humor, lots to discuss for a book club.

Horse. Oh my, is it a page turner. Loved it from the first page to the last. Sad when it ended. It’s a fictional creation but based on a real racehorse owned by a black man, back in the 1850s. Technically, the story is about a painting of the horse but there are many twists and turns. If you’ve ever enjoyed Brooks’ books in the past, this one won’t disappoint.

The Book of Lost Names, by Kristin Harmel (no, not Hannah). Certainly a little-known chunk of history about a woman who becomes a master forger during WWII to help get Jewish children out of France. Not easy to read, meaning the difficulty of anyone finding the means and place to DO the forgery and right under the noses of the Nazis. Really good read.

Liane Moriarty’s first novel, Three Wishes, follows the travails of adult triplets, so different, yet similar in many ways. Two are identical, the third is not. So alike, and so not. It takes you through a series of heart-wrenching events, seemingly unrelated, but ones that could bring a family to its breaking point and test the bonds of love and strength.

Recently I’ve read both of Erin French’s books, her cookbook, The Lost Kitchen, and since then her memoir, Finding Freedom. About her life growing up (difficult) about her coming of age mostly working in the family diner, flipper burgers and fries (and learning how much she liked to cook). Now she’s a very successful restaurant entrepreneur (The Lost Kitchen is also the name of her restaurant) in the minuscule town of Freedom, Maine. She’s not a classically trained chef, but she’s terrifically creative. See her TV series on Discover+ if you subscribe.

Migrations, by Charlotte McConaghy. To say that this book stretched my comfort zone is the least of it . . .think about a time in the not very distant future, when global warming has done it’s worst and nearly all animals are extinct.

Jo Jo Moyes has a bunch of books to her credit. And she writes well, with riveting stories. Everything I’ve read of hers has been good. This book, The Girl You Left Behind, is so different, so intriguing, so controversial and a fascinating historical story. There are two timelines here, one during WWI, in France, when a relatively unknown painter (in the style of Matisse) paints a picture of his wife. The war intervenes for both the husband and the wife.

Eli Shafak’s Island of Missing Trees. This book was just a page turner. If you’ve never read anything about the conflict in Cyprus (the island) between the Turks and the Greeks, you’re in for a big history lesson here. But, the entire story centers around a fig tree. You get into the head/brain/feelings of this big fig tree which plays a very central part of the story. You’ll learn a lot about animals, insects (ants, mosquitos, butterflies) and other flora and fauna of Cyprus.

If you’re a fan of Kazuo Ishiguro, you’ll find his newest book a league apart. Klara and the Sun. It takes place in the near future when we humans can go to a store and buy an AF (artificial friend). These robotic humanoid “things” have knowledge and personalities.

Also read Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty. Ohhh my, such a good book. I couldn’t put it down. Whatever you do, do not read the ending before you start the book. I’ve never understood people who do this. The book chronicles the day a mom just ups and disappears. The grown children come back home, in panic. The dad isn’t much help, and he becomes the prime suspect of foul play. There is no body, however.

Amor Towles’ new book, The Lincoln Highway: A Novel. Literally it’s a page turner. I think it’s still on the best seller list. A young man, Emmett, is released from a youth work camp (back in the day) and is returned home (by the camp warden) following the death of his father, to find that the home they’d lived in was in foreclosure. His mother abandoned them years before. His intent is to pick up his 8-year old brother and they will head off for Texas.

If you’d like a mystery read, try Dete Meserve’s The Space Between. It’s just the kind of page-turner I enjoy – a wife returns to her home after being away on business for a few days, to find her husband missing and what he’s left for her is an unexplained bank deposit of a million dollars, a loaded Glock in the nightstand, and a video security system that’s been wiped clean.

Read Alyson Richman’s historical novel called The Velvet Hours. Most of the book takes place in Paris, with a young woman and her grandmother, a very wealthy (but aging) woman who led a life of a semi-courtesan. Or at least a kept woman. But this grandmother was very astute and found ways to invest her money, to grow her money, and to buy very expensive goods. Then WWII intervenes, and the granddaughter has to close up her grandmother’s apartment, leaving it much the way it had been throughout her grandmother’s life, to escape the Nazis. Years go by, and finally answers are sought and found. An intriguing book, based on the author’s experience with an apartment that had been locked up similarly for decades, also in Paris.

Susan Meissner is one of my favorite authors. This book, The Nature of Fragile Things tells a very unusual story. About a young Irish immigrant, desperate to find a way out of poverty, answers an ad for a mail order bride.

Also read Rachel Hauck’s The Writing Desk. You could call this a romance. A young professional, a writer of one successful book, has writer’s block. Then she’s asked to go to Florida to help her mother (from whom she’s mostly estranged) through chemo. She goes, hoping she can find new inspiration.

One of my book clubs has us reading Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library: A Novel. What a premise for a book. About a library you can whiz to in the middle of the night and discover other lives you could have lived. And experience them. To find out the answers to those questions we ask ourselves sometimes, “I wonder what would have happened if I’d . . . .” taken that other job, gone out with that guy, taken that trip.

James Shipman has written an intriguing book, It Is Well: A Novel, about a man who has lost his wife. And about a woman who has lost her husband. But their relationship stalls, big time, because the guy made a promise to his wife, and he feels duty-bound to honor it.

I wrote up a post about this book: Most Spectacular Restaurant in the World: The Twin Towers, Windows on the World, and the Rebirth of New York by Tom Roston. Go read the full write-up if you’re interested. The book is a complete history of the famous restaurant on the 107th floor of one of the Twin Towers.

Also recently finished The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish. The book goes backwards and forwards in time, from the 1600s in London with the day-to-day lives of a group of Jews (who had to be very careful about how they worshiped) to current day as an old house is discovered to hold a treasure-trove of historical papers.

I’m forever reading historical novels. The Lost Jewels: A Novel by Kirsty Manning is a mystery of sorts, going back in time in London in the time of aristocrats and their jewels (pearls, diamonds, gems of all kinds) sometimes made it into the hands of the digger or a maid.

Not for the faint of heart, Boat of Stone: A Novel by Maureen Earl tells the true tale of some misplaced Jews at the tale-end of WWII who ended up on Mauritius.

Colleen Hoover has written quite a book, It Ends with Us: A Novel, with a love story being the central theme, but again, this book is not for everyone – it can be an awakening for any reader not acquainted with domestic violence and how such injury can emerge as innocent (sort of) but then becomes something else. There is graphic detail here.

Erin Bartels wrote quite a complex story in The Words between Us: A Novel. We go alongside a young girl as she goes to high school, trying (somewhat unsuccessfully) to be anonymous (because her mother and father are both in prison), taking on a fake name.

Nicolas Barreau’s novel Love Letters from Montmartre: A Novel  is very poignant, very sweet book. Seems like I’ve read several books lately about grieving; this one has a charming ending, but as anyone who has gone through a grave loss of someone dear knows, you can’t predict day to day, week to week. “Snap out of it,” people say, thinking they’re helping.

Another very quirky book, that happens to contain a lot of historical truth is The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World: A Novel by Harry N. Abrams. Set in Japan just after the tsunami 10 years ago when 18,000 people died. At a private park miles away, some very special people installed a phone booth, with a phone (that didn’t work) at the edge of the park, and the survivors of the tsunami began wending their way there to “talk” to their deceased loved ones. Very poignant story.

No question, the most quirky book I’ve read of late, a recommendation from my friend Karen, West with Giraffes: A Novel by Lynda Rutledge. Back in the 1930s a small group of giraffes were brought across the Atlantic from Africa to New York, destined for the then-growing San Diego Zoo. The story is of their journey across the United States in the care of two oh-so-different people, both with a mission.

Riveting story of post-WWII- Japan in Ana Johns novel, The Woman in the White Kimono: A Novel. About a young Japanese girl who falls in love with an American serviceman.

Also read Rishi Reddi’s novel, Passage West: A Novel with a very different take on the migration of Indians (East India) to the California agricultural lands east of San Diego during the 1920s and 30s.

Maybe not everyone’s cup of tea, but the Mary Morris book, A Very Private Diary: A Nurse in Wartime tells the true day to day life of a young Irish girl who becomes a nurse, in England, France and Belgium in the midst of WWII and immediately after the war.

Could hardly put down Krueger’s book, This Tender Land: A Novel. Tells the harrowing story of a young boy, Odie, (and his brother Albert) who became orphans back in the 30s. At first there is a boarding school, part of an Indian (Native American) agreement, though they are not Indian. They escape, and they are “on the run.”

Just finished Kristin Hannah’s latest book, The Four Winds: A Novel. What a story. One I’ve never read about, although I certainly have heard about the “dust bowl” years when there was a steady migration of down-and-out farmers from the Midwest, to California, for what they hoped to be the American Dream. It tells the story of one particular family, the Martinellis, the grandparents, their son, his wife, and their two children.

Brit Bennett has written quite a book, The Vanishing Half: A Novel. It’s a novel, yet I’m sure there are such real-life situations. Twin girls are born to a young black woman in the South. Into a town (that probably doesn’t exist) that prides itself on being light-skinned blacks.

What a book. The Only Woman in the Room: A Novel by Marie Benedict. A novelized biography of Hedy Lamarr, the famous actress.  Very much worth reading.

Also read The Secret of the Chateau: Gripping and heartbreaking historical fiction with a mystery at its heart by Kathleen McGurl. There are two stories here. The historical part is just prior to and up to the French Revolution, and the second in current day as a group of friends purchase a crumbling chateau. Very interesting. I love historical novels like this, and this one in particular does have quite a mystery involved, too.

Also finished reading Sue Monk Kidd’s recent book, The Book of Longings: A Novel. It is a book that might challenge some Christian readers, as it tells the tale of Jesus marrying a woman named Mary. I loved the book from the first word to the last one. The book is believable to me, even though the Bible never says one way or the other that Jesus ever married. It’s been presumed he never did. But maybe he did?

Jeanine Cummins has written an eye-opener, American Dirt. A must read. Oh my goodness. I will never, ever, ever look at Mexican (and further southern) migrants, particularly those who are victims of the vicious cartels, without sympathy. It tells the story of a woman and her young son, who were lucky enough to hide when the cartel murdered every member of her family – her husband, her mother, and many others. It’s about her journey and escape to America.

Also read JoJo Moyes’ book, The Giver of Stars. Oh gosh, what a GREAT book. Alice joins the Horseback Librarians in the rural south.

Frances Liardet has written a blockbuster tale, We Must Be Brave. I can’t recommend this book highly enough. Although the scene is WWII England, this book is not really about the war. It’s about the people at home, waiting it out, struggling with enough food, clothing and enough heat.

William Kent Krueger wrote Ordinary Grace. From amazon: a brilliantly moving account of a boy standing at the door of his young manhood, trying to understand a world that seems to be falling apart around him. It is an unforgettable novel about discovering the terrible price of wisdom and the enduring grace of God. It’s a coming of age story.

Follow the River: A Novel by James Alexander Thom. This one is also based on the history of a woman (married, pregnant) who was captured by the Shawnee, during the early settlement days east of the Ohio River, about 1755. And her eventual escape.

A Column of Fire: A Novel by Ken Follett. It takes place in the 1500s, in England, and has everything to do with the war between the Catholics and the Protestants, that raged throughout Europe during that time, culminating in the Spanish Inquisition.

My Name Is Resolute by Nancy Turner. She’s the author of another book of some renown, These is my Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 (P.S.). Resolute is what I’m discussing here. It’s fiction, but based some on a true story. Resolute, as a young girl from a privileged life on a plantation in Jamaica, was taken captive by slavers, eventually ended up in Colonial America.

The Shepherd’s Life: Modern Dispatches from an Ancient Landscape by James Rebanks. This is a memoir, so a true story, of a young man growing up in the Lake District of Northern England, who becomes a shepherd. Not just any-old shepherd – actually a well educated one. He knows how to weave a story.

 

Tasting Spoons

My blog's namesake - small, old and some very dented engraved silver plated tea spoons that belonged to my mother-in-law, and I use them to taste my food as I'm cooking.

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Prior to about 1999, I’d had no formal training in art. I’d always been interested in art, used to do crafts (like macrame and weaving, all handcrafts). Prior to retiring, I had three big goals for my new life: (1) to write a cookbook to hand down to my children (my blog is the result of that); (2) to learn to paint and draw; and (3) to start an investment club. I’ve realized all those goals, and continue to derive enjoyment from all of them.

First, I took a college-level drawing class (with homework, grades, etc.) for a year. Although it was difficult, I’m glad I did it. Then I began taking classes through my local Senior Center. We have some very good instructors who teach through the local community college (and at our senior centers), and have enjoyed the classes very much (oil, drawing, watercolor). Nearly all of these works below are projects from the classes I’ve taken. Many are not my original art. I painted or drew them, but they’re copies of somebody else’s work. Mostly they were projects assigned by my teachers to help us students improve our skills. To stretch our techniques. To open our horizons. None of my work is for sale – some of it I cannot sell because they’re copies of art by well-known and obscure artists; projects accomplished in class (as noted above) to further our skills. With nearly all the paintings I do not know the original artist, so forgive my lack of proper credit where it is due.

plums in weave 300 compression

Plums in Weave, watercolor, (an original).
This watercolor became the header for my first blog. It’s one of only two pieces of art I have of food. It was a class project – we were asked to bring any watercolors we’d completed but didn’t like. I had no difficulty doing that! The instructor told us to choose two and cut one in strips halfway up, the other into complete strips, then weave the one into the other. I chose two paintings that were similar in color and hue. It’s become a favorite since then. It’s not yet framed, so you can see the shadows of the paper strips.
alaskan sunset
Alaskan Sunset, oil 14 x 18
A class project, I chose a small photo I found in a mail order catalog of an Alaska sunset. They were showcasing clothing to wear in cold climates. The colors are a bit surreal, actually. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a sunset with such lavendery hues, but it made for a pretty painting.
archway
Archway, watercolor, 14 x 18
I think the project was architecture. I chose this from a photo I found in some magazine. The instructor liked it well enough she asked me to do a second one (this one above) with different shadowing in the arch. I’d made the first one too dark.
Brokenwindow
Broken window, watercolor, 12 x 14
A study in brickwork and glass. I believe we were learning how to paint glass. I chose to do several of the windows differently, but I like it anyway!
artistic graffiti
Artistic Graffiti, pen and ink, 12 x 16
I really enjoyed this project. The teacher said to start a graphite pencil at the edge and make a long, meandering line with loops and curls until we finally exit the line at another edge of the paper. We were to cross the line several times. Then we did another line, similarly, from another edge. It creates these erratic shapes. We were to use different pen and ink techniques to fill in some of the spaces. I labored for hours and hours on this drawing, and had nearly finished it, with just one section left to go. The teacher said “STOP!” Meaning I was to leave it blank. Ah, yes, I see.
Blue Jay
Blue Jay, watercolor, 12 x 18
Part of the learning here was to “make” black. Some watercolor instructors believe artists should always MAKE their own black by combining colors to create it. You can purchase ready-made black too. I wanted to bring out the blue/green and red, so the black in my painting has tinges of deep red and it rolls a little toward blue green on the right.

aspens in winter
Aspens in Winter, watercolor (in two colors) with rice paper, 14 x 18
For this class we had to buy a sheet of rough rice paper at an art store. We tore long strips of the paper and affixed the strips (in varying widths) onto the watercolor paper with a very thin glue. The rice paper almost melds itself to the watercolor paper, but gives it texture, in places. The assignment was to do this painting (based on a photocopy in black and white) in two colors only. I chose raw sienna and purple. All shades of light to dark had to be created from those two colors.
bridge in the rain
Bridge in the Rain, watercolor, 18 x 14
I loved this painting – the doing of it. It’s a copy of a famous painting (I believe it’s London) done a long time ago. We had only a black and white photocopy, and could do whatever colors we wanted. I usually veer toward warm tones, even though I suspect London in the rain may lean toward cool, cold, blues and grays. I wanted more vibrancy in the painting. It was a very fast painting, done in a matter of a few hours. It’s one of my favorites.
Horses
Horses, watercolor, 12 x 16
I can’t say that I liked doing this painting. I labored over it too long, and should have made the two horses slightly different shades so you could tell their bodies apart. Way too much detail work in this. Sometimes, to learn, we have to do things that we don’t like, so I always chalk it up to learning. Something.
Curling Leaf
Curling Leaf, watercolor, 11 x 17
Leaves are okay. Even those kinds. The purpose was to learn the nuances of greens.
Dancer
Dancer, watercolor, 14 x 20
This too is a copy of a famous painting. Some of the artists of the 1800’s were enchanted with the colors and dress of the Arabs and others from the Middle East. We were to learn how to do fabric and skin tones.
Fall Harvest, pen and ink with watercolor
Fall Harvest, pen, ink & watercolor, 10 x 8
I took a class one semester in design, with pen and ink techniques thrown in. We worked on our own assemblage of  pumpkins and leaves, with particular attention to how to use pen and ink marks to show shading. Then, with watercolor added at the end. I enjoyed this project.
Hillside in Snow, watercolor
Hillside in Snow, watercolor, 14 x 20
Snow was the subject, ice, grays. How to make a flat surface look contoured, how to show shadows in snow. Even though it was likely dark, gray and gloomy, I chose to warm up the sky with some warm colors.
Landscape in Spain
Landscape in Spain, watercolor, 18 x 12
I absolutely loved doing this painting. I wish I could remember who the original artist was, but the teacher had us complete this entire painting in a little more than an hour. I couldn’t believe I could do it, but I did. I am much more attuned to detail, and would likely labor over way too much of it. We were allowed to use our own judgment on the structures and the river too, to suit our purpose.
Old Door
Old Door, watercolor, 12 x 18
I believe this came from a photograph in a travel magazine. I wanted to make the eye travel to the coral color in the courtyard beyond.
Old Lady’s Shoe from 30,000 feet
Old Lady’s Shoe from 30,000 feet, pen and ink, 10 x 8
Whenever we travel, I take along an artist’s notebook. One trip I’d just finished a class in pen and ink drawings, so as I glanced out at the landscape from the jet flying east across the United States, I was struck by the geometric shapes in the farm fields, the kaleidoscope of greens, little streams, cottonwoods (I guess) lining them, rivers, meandering roads. As I drew, I visualized a shoe shape and drew from memory to complete the piece.
Peggy’s Cove, oil on canvas, 12 x 16
Peggy’s Cove, oil on canvas, 12 x 16
I must laugh at myself with this painting above. It was one of my very early paintings, based on a photograph out of a travel magazine. Nearing completion I began a watercolor class and put away my oil paints. I’ve never gone back to this and finished it – about the only thing left to do is tether the row boats to the dock.
Pomegranates, oil on canvas
Pomegranates, oil on canvas, 10 x 14
The pomegranates above is one of my very favorite paintings. I did oil right after I finished my drawing class. An issue of Gourmet magazine arrived, with this picture on the cover. I don’t know the photographer, or I’d give him credit here. This painting hangs in our family room, in a place of honor. I’ve had more than one person offer to buy it.
Woman with Rooster, pencil drawing
Woman with Rooster, pencil drawing
I think my dad’s engineering background gives me an affinity for detailed drawings. My father used to thrive on making drawings on restaurant napkins – everything from how to build a mousetrap, to complicated schizmatics regarding some engineering project he was working on. I really enjoy pencil drawings. This was a project I did in one of my drawing classes, although I chose the subject myself, from a color photograph in a travel magazine.
Shell in shell, watercolor
Shell in Shell, watercolor, 10 x 8
A class project, we were to learn how to make the swirls and whorls in a shell (using a wet in wet technique). From the black and white photocopy we had, many of us students didn’t know this was TWO shells; we thought it was just one, very odd shell. If I’d known that when I started I would have made them slightly different shades so you could determine more easily what you were seeing.
Raven in Snow, watercolor in two colors
Raven in Snow, watercolor in two colors (black and red)
This was a class project also – we were given a black and white photocopy of this raven (or crow?) and we had to watercolor it using just two colors, black and one other color.
Red flowers, watercolor, 8 x 10
Red Flowers, watercolor, 8 x 10
Another class project, we were given a black and white photocopy and could utilize any colors we chose.
The glasses, white charcoal on black paper, 10 x 12
The Glasses, white charcoal on black paper, 10 x 12
In my drawing class we were asked to do a drawing of a face, but in white chalk on black charcoal paper. A friend gave me a magazine ad from some years ago with this woman leaning her head against the neck rest in her convertible.
Red Rocks, watercolor
Red Rocks, watercolor, 16 x 18
This was also a class project – I believe the painting was originally done by some famous artist. The purpose was to learn about painting red rocks. This isn’t one of my favorite paintings; I don’t much like this kind of dry, arid landscape.
Red Leaf, watercolor
Red Leaf, watercolor, 10 x 12
Another class project, we were to learn all about the intracacies of an autumn leaf.