Life Drawing on Staycation

I am making a commitment to draw the figure and go back to life drawing class. I am posting this to remind myself.

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Whale & Ukulele Painting Progress

The camera on the iphone is not so great, but I decided to post these photos anyway, since this is a work in progress. I am working on some pieces for the first show hosted by the Sketchy Neighbors, the $29.95 Polyphonic Art Score. Because the show takes place at Cactus Music and The Record Ranch Gallery the theme of the show is music. Besides the Record Ranch and Cactus Music, we have a couple of other great sponsors, 29-95.com and St. Arnold's brewery. So, now I am painting, painting, painting to get ready for the show. And I am having so much fun. I am just about done with my painting of a whale playing a ukulele. A little silly, but fun.

Esther Pearl Watson & Tammy Pierce

Last might I attended the Domy Houston opening for Mark Todd's solo show "Oh, Man New Painting and Works on Paper" with my friend Anilyn. The show will by up through the month of June and be up through July 23. So, you have no excuse not to see this show. Here is a link to the invite to get a little super hero taste. My favorite drawings/paintings were a small metal framed set of drawing with elements of collage, with varied drawings on waxy translucent vellum.

On Friday night at Domy Austin, was an opening for Esther Pearl Watson, who happens to be Mark Todd's wife, so she was at Mark's opening here in Houston. Yes, So as you can see I bought her book "Unlovable" and she was so gracious to sign it and do an amazing illustration of Tammy Pierce, title character of Esther's monthly comic in bust magazine entitled "Unlovable". Esther was super sweet to draw this amazing illustration of Tammy as seen in the photos above. I sure hope someday I can be as proficient and comfortable drawing so ninja style. I am still pretty slow. But at any rate, drop by Domy to see Mark Todd's work and pick up a set of prints and also, you might want to pick up a copy of "Unlovable", it's a riot for all you 80's kids and 80's fans. Pure fun.

The Raven- Sketchy Neighbors

I am working on my next sketchy neighbors project. The concept is 'death' and the material is 'flesh'. In Pacific-Northwest traditions the Raven is the bringer of Light. So, as many religions believe, Death is only a transition to either immortal life or reincarnation. So I decided to focus on dreams and faith in my interpretation if death and flesh. The illustration of the Raven, who is also a symbol of death will become a small creature stuffed to life with small pieces of paper carrying dreams, wishes and good luck. This is much like a private interpretation of the "wish tree" by Yoko Ono, which was on display many year ago at the Houston, CAM.

Mamie, Rx Diet

"Mamie" is the official Kirby Court Apartments, on Steel, cat. She makes friends with several soft hearts in the complex and happily visits them all. She is an excellent huntress despite her age, rumored to be in the teens. I have seen her laying in wait surrounded by an group of unsuspecting pigeons feeding on some free seed. She blends perfectly with the concrete. Others who have witnessed this site have told me she's snatched a couple of those pigeons. At any rate, Mamie is on a special Rx diet for her tummy and kidneys.

She loosely belongs to a neighbor of mine, actually, I think he is her full time owner now. He has placed a couple of notations on her knowing about her gypsy lifestyle amongst the apartments. One long laminated note, not unlike a fortune in a fortune cookie that states "Rx diet please do not feed". The second note covers her i.d. tag and simply says "Rx Diet". So of course I could not resist painting her and I had the perfect excuse, a small piece show tomorrow, June 4th, at a bar here in town at a bar name "next door".

Anne Faith Nicholls Miniature Shadow Box

Today I received a beautiful hand painted "Miniature Shadow Box" created by artist Anne Faith Nicholls. I first learned about the artist from a feature in the March 2008 issue of Juxtapoz magazine. I immediately fell in love with her color palette, composition and subject manner. My favorite paintings seem to involve hearts, birds, women, whales, trees, rain and dogs. In her bio she mentions heavy influences from surrealism, early America, American folk art, animals, and the rare and unusual. I also find it interesting the influence a couple of places where she has lived have, on the narrative aspects of her work. She has lived in a couple of places distinctly known for their weather; Seattle and San Francisco and I think that is apparent in her color palette and importance of water as a theme.

Please visit her site and enjoy the photos I have taken of the box I purchased from her shop.

White Bean Chicken Chili

Today I decided to adapt from a recipe I found on foodgawker.com. The recipe was for a white bean chicken chili. I forgot my shopping list and didn't get the lemon. I think that would have been yummy. I did however decide to add some collard greens to the chili and less chicken. I am trying to eat less meat. Being that it is 'greener' and also I still struggle with eating animals and not being well suited to being a vegetarian. And I also want to eat better and save some money too. So many times when I cook at home I eat cheaper and I eat better unless I am stressed and grab some queso. Well, I have to say for such simple ingredients it turned out very yummy. I really like using Greek yogurt in place of sour cream, so much more protein and so little/no fat with the added benefits of good bacteria.



I decided to add the collards because they are a great pungent tasting dark leafy green that holds up well in soups. And they taste great with onions. I had some vegan prepared collard greens a few years ago at a new year's party. And they were delicious. Plus, I just like the flavor. As you can see the soup turned out great and it tasted wonderful and I have an easy lunch tomorrow when I come home to walk the mighty Maya.

I have been cooking since I was very small, evidently since I was a toddler after my mom enrolled my twin and me in a cooking class at the West U Montessori Preschool, Beehive. So, I am going to post what you need to make this recipe, but not so much the amounts. If you want more specifics go to foodgawker.com and search, I can't seem to find it again.

Here goes:
1 small yellow onion
1-2 15oz cans of cannellini beans (I used one)
fresh garlic
1-2 chicken breast (I used one)
Chicken Broth
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
Collard Greens 3-4 large leaves
paprika
kosher salt
pepper

Garnish:
green onion
greek 0% fat yogurt
Lemon (I forgot about this, but it sounds good)
Tabasco (I forgot about this, but it sounds good)

Heat pan and then olive oil and saute onion until soft, add garlic last. Chop the chicken into small bite sized pieces and add to the hot pan, sear and then drain the beans and add to the mix. After a couple of minutes, add the spices and the chopped collard greens. Last I added enough chicken broth to cover everything and a tiny bit more. I cooked on the stove top for another 30-45 minutes. If you want to thicken the chili, I believe you can add cornmeal, or at least I assume that is why it was mentioned on foodgawker.com I guess this is a little different.

Then when you decide to serve garnish with chopped green onion, a dab of the thick Greek yogurt, a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of paprika and Tabasco to taste. Again, collards are optional.

Okay, I decided to seek out the links. I have just recently stumbled upon foodgawker.com. It looks like the recipe came from a user, so I am going to post both links. The link on foodgawker.com when I search white chili and the actual recipe link.

Foodgawker.com - White Chili

User joejhorn's recipe:
White Bean and Chicken Chili