Back To The Drawing Board

 One of my favorite views of one of my favorite places. I've got nothing much to say about this one. I like the colors though. And I always loved that old car in the corner.  "The Washerwoman", done in the style of Berthe Morisot No, this is not Oprah or Donna Summer. It's just some girl from a Body Shop ad a long time ago, but everyone always thinks it's someone famous.

Chicken with Awesomesauce. Served with garlic-ginger zucchini and steamed broccoli w/cultured butter I didn't name this, my family did. It's quick, easy, and tastes wonderful.  Basically it's chicken in a sort of sauce or gravy that tastes really great poured on top of things. First, a few notes about ingredients. We use tamari sauce in our house, because unlike most regular types of soy sauce, it doesn't contain wheat. The onions can be any kind that you have on hand, from leeks or scallions to green onions or the real deal. I mostly use the dried minced onion that comes in a bottle, because it's fast and I don't have to chop onions. Usually I serve this with veggies, most often broccoli and green beans, that have been steamed and tossed with cultured butter. It's definitely a household favorite. Oh, and the amount of chicken here works well for my family of four because not all of us are adults and because the chicken I buy at Costco tends to be lar...

Chicken Delicious, top of stove style I've gotten so many requests for three certain recipes lately that I 'm going to post them all here, one at a time. The first is named "Chicken Delicious", and that's pretty much what it is. A marvelous concoction that can be like creamed chicken or more soupy like a luscious chowder. It can be made on the top of the stove if you like, although I find I prefer the crockpot version. I'll list both here. Also feel free to add other nourishing veggies like broccoli or zucchini closer to finishing time if you'd like. My family also really likes it when I put in a small potato or two but if you are looking for a healthier option than you could add some chopped cauliflower instead. Also, if you are planning to make ahead to freeze, don't use potatoes. Celery root is a wonderfully convincing substitute. ***Please note all amounts are approximations (except the butter and cream cheese) so feel free to use more or les...

Alright, for everyone who asked, here are my versions of the recipes for healthy pumpkin muffins and 2-minute Chocolate Cake. I just want to say that I have made many many different versions of a healthy pumpkin muffin and completely bombed on all of them. Enough to make me want to give up baking and being healthy altogether. But I really wanted pumpkin muffins and I'd been having a string of successes with my baking so I decided to try this recipe from yourlighterside.com. Here is the link to the original recipe:http://yourlighterside.com/candices-cream-cheese-pumpkin-muffins/ I like my muffins to taste like pumpkin if I make pumpkin muffins, so I added more as well as some mini chocolate chips because my girls asked for them. Then I added extra vanilla to help mask the tasted of the whey protein powder that my family detests.  I use Jay Robb brand, because it doesn't have any sugar (sweetened with stevia) but I hear there are a few other brands of whey protein out there with...

A sketch of one of the inner courtyards of Tlaquepaque in Sedona, Az. We were told it was an "artist community" and decided to go check it out. Turns out its really just a bunch of shops and galleries, not where artists actually live. I vaguely remember visiting as a child. But anyways it was pretty and worth my taking lots of reference photos for later.

A sketch of my girls peeking in a window to an art gallery. I'm getting a little better at proportioning without the ability to erase my mistakes. My favorite part about this picture is that I can tell it's my girls and their mannerisms are pretty spot on.

I'm trying to get some practice drawing landscapes and backgrounds. I took a lot of reference photos on our cross-country journeys for this exact purpose. And here is a sketch of Old Town Albuquerque. Lots of interesting architecture with lots of interesting little details. I realize my perspective is a little off on the planters in the foreground, but overall I'm pleased with how it came out. Especially compared to my last attempt at drawing. Behold a sketch I made while on the train from the Grand Canyon. Granted, the train was moving, so I was trying to do what I could at a rapid pace, and  I was trying to do it in color, which changes everything, but...bleh.

This is just one letter in a whole page of script attributed to someone known as "Scribe A".  I was intrigued by the bird head at the end of the letter. And then there's that weird eye-looking thing at the top. I've never seen anything like it. As you can see, it took me more than one try to get the whole thing to look cohesive.  Attempt #1. It kind of looks like a G, but not really like the one in the book. I figured out that the tail was too long and the "eye" was too big. You can clearly see where I erased. And no, I didn't use a ruler or french curves or anything that probably would've made it look more fluid. Just me, my eyes, and my pencil (and my eraser).  I think the inking is and always will be my favorite part. It's so relaxing. And also so rewarding once things get going. Last time I used Crayola markers. Which worked fine, but color-wise was a little limiting. Laser lemon just can't get close to the lovely golden hue ...

It's been a while and I'm in need of some drawing practice. I chose this small segment of a piece from the Book of Kells. It's deceptively simple. I realize there are actual methods to producing this type of artwork, painstaking methods that involve lots of measuring and straight edges to make sure things are even. But I'm like Nike, and I just do it.  I literally look at the piece and just draw. I try to copy the angles and the lengths of the lines that I see. My trusty pencil and eraser come in right handy for this. Take for instance, that letter s. It's too far away from his fish friend and from the ih (for Jesus - ihs. If you've seen Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade , you know that "in latin, Jehovah begins with an I.") So I moved it over and thought I was good to go.  I bought some india ink pens to try out some this summer (mostly since I left all my ink and nibs at home). It's only after outlining everything that my mistakes become...

     I make a lot of paper dolls. I always have, starting when my oldest was still a toddler. It a good way to pass the time, get a little drawing practice in, and get her creative juices flowing. Well, I have done a number of them lately, mostly ancient Egyptian-themed or medieval or 18th century French. They don't have multiple outfits or anything. They are just dolls made out of paper that my girls color and then play with, sleep with, take them outside, and pretty much keep until they rip or wear out. Yesterday I had drawn the ballerina from "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" of Fantasia 2000 fame. Today my daughters asked me to make them a paper doll of "the Goddess of Spring." So I turned on the Silly Symphonies, played the cartoon of the same title and...found out that this was NOT what they were talking about. They were talking about the sprite (she has no name) from the "Firebird Suite" segment of Fantasia 2000. This was a tough one. She has no real...

     Somebody fell asleep in the car on the way to dance class and only woke up long enough to tell me she wanted to sit facing forward on my lap. Since I had an hour to kill with a sleeping person on my lap in the waiting room, I decided to draw what I saw around me. Good practice, you know?      I drew the kids' table in the center of the room that is covered with brown paper. The kids are allowed to draw all over the brown paper and so it's pretty well decorated. Then I started drawing in the background because I was still waiting on my oldest daughter to finish dancing. I wish I hadn't, since it seems a little off, but oh well. After all, I was working with my notebook slightly away from my body and around my daughter's.

I have received multiple requests over the last 6 months or so for my guacamole recipe. I decided to just put it up here for those of you who haven't yet had the chance to revel in its glory. It's so good that even if you don't like guacamole, or don't like avocados, you will like this. Keep in mind this isn't an exact science - I never measure and so I'm just guessing on the amounts. Everything should be done to your personal taste. I've also included substitutions so that even without a ton of fresh ingredients (minus the avocados, of course) you can still make a delicious batch. For the purposes of this recipe, I'm going to assume you want a modest, but still plentiful,  batch so the amounts work best with about 3 avocados. YOU WILL NEED: Avocado Lemon juice (or lime) from 1/2 lemon Fresh garlic, 2 cloves Minced onion (fresh or jarred),  3 green onions, 1 shallot,  or 2 leeks...you get the idea, about 1 TBSP of the bottled kind in the sp...

I've gotten repeated requests for healthy recipes, so I'm going to start listing them here as I have time (and photos). Most of these are not purely of my own invention; I usually have gotten the starter recipe from someone else's blog and tailored it to fit my own lifestyle/tastes. I will give the link to the original site, if there is one, along with my version. I know how hard it is to sift through all the info and recipes online; and how much harder it is to find recipes that actually taste good. I've had quite a few disasters in my kitchen and have wanted to cry and give up on multiple occasions. That said, here's the first recipe: GREEN SOUP I like to make a nice big batch and freeze what I don't eat right away. Then, whenever I want lunch (or a simple dinner) I pull some out and I'm good to go. I use heavy cream or half and half instead of milk to cut out the amount of sugar in the recipe; however, in allergy season, I don't mind using raw mil...

St. Patrick's Day. After the parade, my daughters decided it was too hot for anything else besides a swim in their kiddie pool. So after I backed out the car, lowered the ladder, climbed the attic, found it, cleaned it, and filled it up, my eye fell on our blueberry bush (in a pot).  We bought it last year and it grew all of 3 berries, none of which we got to before the birds did. I'd been watching this thing spring back now that winter was nearly over for a few weeks now, and it's fascinating. I've never seen so many colors on one plant. I realized that now was the perfect time to capture those colors before they changed into something else. I did a quick wash over the whole thing in a warm yellow. Then I blocked in a few basic colors - cool yellow and warm yellow on the plant, then some burnt sienna and cool blue below it where the bottom of the pot was in real life.  I don't know what made me do it, but I decided to define the area so it was more like the pot, ...

Still trying to get over the keepsake box. I've been undoubtedly restless, instead of being a rested bum. I've started a few projects, and one very ambitious First Communion dress, but more on that later. I'm really tired but can't seem to go to bed early no matter what I do and I can't seem to focus my energy on any particular thing. I know I want to paint, and I want to paint on a grand scale, I just don't know what. As I kick a few vague ideas around my head, and try to get a clearer vision, I figure it's best to get a little practice for whatever comes next. Tonight I did a watercolor painting that I've been meaning to do since the Burritt Heritage Festival last October. One of the dancers there was a Lakota Souix/Cherokee (I think that's what she said but don't quote me on it) woman who did a dance I'm pretty sure I've seen on Reading Rainbow. That said, I really like the way the late afternoon sun was hitting her and since the danc...

I'm finally finished. I still can't believe it. I feel lost, not having a driving, desperate need to accomplish something (besides cooking, cleaning, shopping, laundry, and taking care of the kids). But since I was deprived of explaining to my daughter's class the meaning behind the box, I'm going to do it on here.    First off, this is a sacramental keepsake box that is meant to hold important objects (pictures, rosary, baptismal candle, etc.) that accumulate as one participates in the 7 Sacraments. It's part of the 2nd- grade class basket that will be auctioned off at the school gala. The kids are all supposed to participate in the making of it in some way. So I had them do their own religious-themed drawings and I used them to line the inside of the box. Some of the kids' artwork blew me away and others did about as expected.    Anyways, being the showoff that I am, I offered to take care of the outside of the box. Actually, that's not quite my reason -...