Always Apples Pastel Sketch

Apples are always what I choose when I don't know what to paint or have no umph to paint anything.  I call them my fallback item.  I like painting with red.  Apples are my favorite.  Tomatoes would be a close second but I have no good tomatoes to paint at the moment.  Oh, and geraniums are pretty special.

I had a piece of Pastelmat in size 8 x 6 inches.  Perfect for a quick pastel sketch.  I use any pastel, but this paper doesn't hold a lot of pastel so used some Sennelier to finish with.  They are very soft and creamy.

Always Apples

Pastel on  

Black Pastelmat

8 x 6 inches

This sketch also served for Scavenger Hunt 623

http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1477740

Number 2, yellow  I used association to find my item.  Yellow to banana to fruit to apple.  Actually I did reverse association because I knew I wanted to paint the apple.  Probably not kosher but suited my purpose.

Painting  your fallback subject is another good way to be inspired to paint.  Yesterday I tried using a new media.  Today a favorite item and a favorite medium.

Here are some of the old reds I like....  I have sketched apples and red many times more for the Scavenger Hunts.

Salsa Stuff

 Cherries for red in a Scavenger Hunt.

 My red boots.

 Another red for the Scavenger Hunts.

 Angel Geraniums

 Something red and clear.

 Stacked

 Cutting Up

 Geraniums

 Potted Geraniums

Ivy's Apples

 All Washed Up

Goin' Red

Hunting Dogs for Sketches

I'm the host for this Scavenger Hunt and the next one.  I figure I have more time than others with children, work, etc.  But I haven't done much with family here, etc.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1474814
Scavenger Hunt 615

Number 1, dog - I put this on the list because I knew Jennie would be here with the grand-dogs, Chewie (Chewbaca) and Nala.  They move even when they are sleeping, crazy dogs!

 Chewie was so cute asleep on the little bone pillow with his chin on it and his hair smooshed down.  As soon as I started sketching he lifted his head and so......

 Nala has such a pretty head when her ears are up and she was so content with her head on the arm of the couch.  Just as I was getting it in position she moved and put her head down on the cushion so I wasn't sure how her legs were. 

Neither sketch does justice to the doggies.  I keep trying.

Number 2, Christmas Card - well, the bird didn't move on this sketch.  Using the card is easier than live birds. 

We make New Mexico food for Christmas.  Mexican and Native American influence in the flavors and style of cooking.  New Mexico chile for sure.  Jennie and I made tamales.

The masa and chile with pork for tamales.

 Filling the corn husks with the masa (dough) and adding the meat.

Tying them up.

Into the pan.

Steamed and ready to eat.

Two for One Sketch

I am happy to see that the Inktober Day 23 is ancient.  Joe made the list for Scavenger Hunt 607 and put ancient on that list as well.  I only have to do one sketch today!  Thanks, Joe

Inktober Day 23 Ancient
Scavenger Hunt 07 Ancient

I sketched in the big book.  I decided to add a bit of Inktense to the sketch which I sketched with a Prismacolor 03.  Inktense are pencils made with ink pigment and will spread with water.  The paper in the big sketchbook doesn't handle water well, but I didn't wet it too much.

The basket is an old one Mother had with some pottery and rocks from New Mexico. 

The jug is from Peru, it is supposedly a copy of Inca pots, but very well could be old.  There were many pots in Peru and kids would set them up like tin cans and throw rocks at them.  The museums are full of pots that look like this one.  Our jug is broken from the fire in 2011. (search Bastrop fire in upper left)

The stone is a weapon or tool, I think from Bolivia.  It is very old and also broke in the fire.  It may be granite.

** *** ** *** ** *** **

I made one of Gene's favorite meals the other day, pork chops and rice with tomato sauce and oregano and garlic.  We eat it with red chile from New Mexico and tortillas.  We usually have green beans with it, but frijoles (pinto beans) would be better.  Don't know how we started with the green beans.  Maybe I just didn't want to cook frijoles.

I only had a little bit of chile made up so I just put it in the rice and pork chops.  It wasn't enough to satisfy Mr. Gene so last night I made some more chile.  I made enough to freeze  some so we won't run short in last minute dining choices.  Ground beef is in the pot where I added the chile.  Yummmm.  This particular chile is medium hot.

Byrd and Street .... Green

We were going to see Byrd and Street at the Roadhouse and it was canceled because of the rain. (The music there has to be outside on the deck. Rain is good, though.) Tommy Byrd and Kathy Street were bringing some prints of their art and some CDs of their music for me to sell at my studio/gallery. The traffic today was so awful in Bastrop and we were discussing the cancellation, etc. I called Raymond at Cedar's Mediterranean Grill and he said they could play there. So our eating plans went from burgers or fish and chips to steak and fish at Raymond's. I was pleased as the food at Cedar's is sooooo good. They have the best steaks in Bastrop. Not that the Roadhouse is not good, but we have eaten at Raymond's for 12 years or so and it is great and the family is great.

If you want to have a print of Tommy Byrd's pen and ink drawings or one of Kathy Street's paintings you will find some at my studio/gallery. I also have a few of their music CDs so you can stock up on some great music.

Tommy Byrd's pen and ink. Copyright protected.

Kathy Street's Italian Cat, copyright protected.

I hope you can come by and listen and see and buy! :)

And for the green .... Armand Cabrera posted this about green in landscapes. Very interesting and instructive.

Tomorrow I have to go to the studio/gallery and organize the prints and straighten up. Gene is making me a print bin. I have the idea to put it on an old student's desk so that I can put my art books on the bottom and make my studio more comfy for my painting. I'm looking for a nice rug, maybe I will use one from Bolivia .. I need a link to my second home country, don't you think?? It will soon be such a great place to paint and create. Sigh.......

Hopefully you can come by and check it out.

Lea is a grandmother again!! Congratulations to Sara and the family. Callahan will be so happy. He is now the "oldest".

Gene's mom was in the hospital this afternoon, but is fine and will go home tonight. Al, our brother - in - law, is doing well after surgery and should be out of the hospital soon. Gene just got home from Albuquerque last night and that is good. It was a good day in the end!!

Scavenger Hunt 145, Sketch 3

I managed another sketch yesterday afternoon for Scavenger Hunt 145. This is in my regular 7 x 10 inch sketchbook with a Micron 05 pen, freehand.

Number 3, at least one button. This is looking down the front of my shirt toward my sketchbook. Gene said it looks like an arm. Oh well.

We moved into our house for the month, here in Albuquerque. I have my computer, yes! I will have some time to paint .. maybe even tomorrow. I can paint out under the carport in the shade. Very nice.

We went to the new Sadie's for lunch. Not the same. It was like the old story, you can never go home. The food was about the same, but the tables are tiny and no ambiance. :( It is in the northeast at Eubank and I-40.
We are going to try Casa de Benavidez in the north on Fourth Street. It looks nice with beautiful outdoor patios. Nice photo on their page with the Sandia Mountains in the background.

We ate at Barry's Oasis the other evening, a new place to us. We had the paella. It was pretty good for Albuquerque. It was an interesting place and our waiter, Richard Lopez, was great. You would know that New Mexican food here in Albuquerque is the specialty, right? You can't expect paella like in Spain. They have a large variety of lamb on the menu, we shall take Roger, Gene's brother, sometime. I'm not sure how he will like lamb without red chile, though.

Homestead - Pastel Painting WIP

I worked on the pastel painting again. (scroll down to see yesterdays image or click here to open in a new window) I will post the better photo I took today of the start. I only took one other photo before I got to the point for the painting to sit a while and simmer to see if it is finished.

Again, this is the beginning. I put pastel on the used Pastelbord and brushed it with water. On a large painting this is helpful to save pastels.

Usually I work all over a painting, but on this one, I fell back on the way I do oil paintings. In oil painting I start with the sky and work forward. I worked at filling in the background and middle ground.

This is the simmering point. I'm not sure I want so much detail in the foreground grass. It probably takes away from the houses. The painting is simmering until I decide.

I also looked at it in black and white. Again you see the grass is the lightest part and probably shouldn't be that way. Hmmmm.

I am pleased, over all, with the theme and colors. I will see how I feel tomorrow.

We golfed again this morning and I took another photo of crepe myrtles.


These are near the tee box on number eight hole and are groomed by the groundskeepers. I imagine they get more water than the ones I photographed yesterday. The blooms are thicker.

Here is a blog I follow because I love food. I don't cook much anymore, so haven't tried the recipes. The recipes are presented with photos of the ingredients, the mixing and the finished products. All of the finished recipes just look beautiful and sound good. You will enjoy visiting the Crepes of Wrath. http://thecrepesofwrath.wordpress.com/

I think Joanna sent this to me and I sent it to Jennie as she is cooking more and trying new things.

Scavenger Hunt123, More Sketches and Photos

Scavenger Hunt 123 is now in full swing. I managed to get some more sketches today.


Number 5, watch - One of Gene's, it is not running. About 8 minutes with a Micron 05 pen. No pre sketching with pencil. What I see and can put down is what you see. Number 6, clock - an antique clock of Gene's. It should be square to accommodate the circle, right? I was thinking that at least my lines were fairly straight. Oh my.

Next, Number 7, scissors - regular sewing scissors, 8 minutes. Number 8, something sweet - can you believe I didn't sketch chocolate. Hmmm.

It is finally raining .. both yesterday and today! Yippee! Hooray! It is a little cold, in the low 40s F. Brrrr and too cold and wet for UT Baseball again. Sad.

Jennie brought the grand-dogs to stay until Monday so we took her to the airport and then went to Austin to eat at Hunan's and bring home some of their great food for the weekend. The reviews on that page made me smile .. it is good, family run, Korean Chinese food, huge portions, friendly waitresses, been going there for twenty or more years. Everyone knows your name.




Then we came home in the rain. A couple of photos on the road. I don't know why I took a photo of the BBQ/Casino. Strange place, there is a bat mobile; the BBQ cooker looks like a train. Supposedly the man just starts building something and never has a plan.


Then Gene and the dogs had a nap. Larry kept them a while back and said that Snuggles liked the Animal Planet and Romeo liked Jeopardy, but in this photo before they settled in, Romeo looked interested in Golf, don't you think?

Scavenger Hunt 102, Welcome mat/rug, photos of Chile Peeling

Thought I had better get up a sketch, too much distraction this week. Peeling and packing chile, golf and visiting with folks here has taken a big batch of time.

For Scavenger Hunt 102, Number 7, welcome mat or rug. About a 10 minute sketch in my Cachet sketchbook, 1/2 page with a Micron 05 pen.



Gene picked up the fresh roasted chile on Wednesday and we decided to peel it under the carport in the shade. We had three bags of chile to peel. We started with the medium hot green chile.


This is the green chile, but as it is the end of the season, there was quite a bit of red mixed in. The pan nearest the bottom right is the peeled chile. You can see the black burned peel on the other pods.


Gene's mom, Frances, and Gene peeling. We wear surgical gloves to keep our hands from burning. This chile wasn't hot at all, though. Then we put it in plastic freezer bags and freeze it for use all year long.

We bought fresh roasted red as well and peeled it the next morning. It is good, but has a much sweeter taste as it has ripened. This chile is from Hatch and I feel the chile from there is just sweeter, period. This is our first time to package just the fresh red on its own. We prefer the pure green (the chile from Chimayo is so tasty and not sweet) and then like the red when it is dried and blended into a sauce. The fresh roasted is chopped with salt and fresh garlic and we eat it on eggs, sandwiches, and in stew or just chile with meat. Yummmm on all counts.

You are missing out if you have never had New Mexico chile, in a class all its own. New Mexico has an official State question, "Red or Green??" Restaurants here call it Christmas if you order both red and green on an enchilada.

Now I have to go eat some chile.............

New Look

Maybe you noticed that I finally got around to putting my links and info up on the side of my blog instead of at the bottom. I was lazy and afraid that I would lose my links and info. Joanna said she would help, to make sure of success, but we have been busy and when she comes to visit ... we visit. I finally just changed templates and it did work easily and I am happy with the style. I may still streamline a little and move things around.
I have been planning the change since Blogger was updated, but you know the procrastinator that I am. Well, about a week ago, Nancy Moskovitz and I were discussing (via e-mail) ways to market our art and she mentioned my blog template. Thanks to Nancy I decided to just do it and ,if I had to post everything again, I would. As you see it worked!

Nancy's blog has been updated recently as well as some new additions on her web page, including a new store. I recommend you check it out and also my store, you might see something you like. Valentine's Day is just around the corner. I will be adding new items to my shop, so check back soon. I'm on a roll......

Farm to Market

Oil on Canvas, 16 x 20 inches
Buy here

This painting is a scene near La Paz, Bolivia, where we lived two different times. Bolivia is near and dear to my heart, but so far away in miles. It is like my second home. I love the people, countryside and ambiance. Oh, and you know I would like the food. I miss maraquetas, the everyday street bread. So wonderful. Somehow I had missed putting this on my website, so another of my chores accomplished.

Sketch and the Whole Enchilada

This is the last day of the Scavenger Hunt 54. Doesn't it go by quickly? I never finish. It does keep me sketching and that is very good.

#14, Serving bowl. In the NY sketchbook with a Micron 005 pen. About 10 minutes. The dreaded ellipses. It didn't look too bad at the time I did it. :) Maybe one day I will actually work on them with a pencil, ruler, etc. I am more careful if I am putting ellipses in a permanent drawing or painting. This is just practice, remember?

Gene is out on his bicycle and I am sitting here, hungry, and thinking of what to eat. We received this photo from Jennie of her homemade enchilada, which by the way, she ate almost the whole enchilada. She makes the corn tortillas and red chile herself. Yumm.

Oh my. My mouth is watering. Have you ever had a New Mexico style enchilada? With an egg on top? Oh, so good. Sadie's in Albuquerque has serves about the best as far as restaurants are concerned. They also sell great salsa. Silver City has none, the chile here is not great. Must be too close to the border or something. Las Cruces has some good chile, though. We will let you know what place is tops there. Most restaurants thicken their chile with a little flour so that restricts my eating red chile in many places as I am trying to eat gluten free. A few make green chile sauce with no flour so I have eaten those. Not quite the same. Ha. The Elephant Butte Inn makes their green chile about like I do, so that was the best I had had for a while when we ate there last week.

Maybe I will at least go warm up a tamale we bought in Bayard with some frozen red chile and a fried egg on top. That would be close. Well, I take that back. Not even close. But, it would be red chile and egg. The tamales are certainly not as good as Gene's mom used to make or even the ones Jennie and I make, usually for Christmas. I haven't cooked here very much. About all I have cooked is migas for brunch. Migas are corn tortillas broken up and browned, then scrambled with eggs and cheese and hot peppers. I usually add some hash browns and meat of some sort. Here I use green chile and hot dogs. We have only bought lettuce and tomatoes once. When we go out I eat salad or for lunch I sometimes get a Subway tuna sandwich as a salad. They finally have spinach again, so the salad is more healthful.

I do have a restaurant page on my website with recommendations in the U.S.A., Canada and Mexico. I haven't updated in a while, but this reminds me to get with it. It also has only a few of our favorites, it would be a full time job to keep it current. :)