MINIS!!!

So, I have never really done any small drawings or paintings, but I am embarking on a new adventure of a series of 4x4" canvas panel paintings.  While I am right in the middle of another set, I am being drawn to this new project as well.  Still working on both, I am surrounded be a group of "works in progress" but still haven't overwhelmed myself yet.  I get distracted easily, and oftentimes set one project aside for another, but have this time chosen to keep everything out where it stares at me, allowing my attention to go to the one I am at that moment most drawn to.  Hopefully this will keep these pieces from going to the back burner, only to fall off the stove altogether like usual.

busy workstation

That't Joan Jett under way on the left in yellow, and David Bowie soon to come on the right.  They would go great for someone who likes to display album covers.

For the minis, I have in mind an upbeat and fun series that I don't think anyone could avoid finding the fun in!

background for the very first Mini!

Today's Recipe of the Day is my own.  I have been making this a lot since I've been home, and might just be addicted!  I don't have a name for it, but maybe someone could suggest one.

Ingredients:

2 eggs

Tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup salsa

1/4 cup fresh chopped red pepper

Texas Pete to taste

Using a small skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat, then add peppers and salsa.  Mix for a minute or so then add eggs- one on each side to evenly cover pan.  Oil should keep eggs from merging, so after a few minutes (depending on how well done you like your eggs) flip eggs individually.  Sprinkle Texas Pete to taste.  Once eggs have cooked to your preference, slide entire contents onto plate.  Mmm  :)

good grief

IT's been awhile since I've updated.  It's been awhile since I've really drawn or written, either, so that's why.  I'm trying not to let my environment get the best of me.  Isn't it my job as an artist to take advantage of this experience and use it to fuel my creativity?  I don't know.  Being homesick sucks.  I sit down to draw, and I get all depressed thinking about that brand new studio I have back home that I haven't even broken in yet.  I have a couple pictures my roommates took after they finished the window sills.
The color is "Buzz Blaster Blue" from Behr.  I had it on my wish list for the studio since before we had it rebuilt.

The new  studio is about the same size as the old one, only the ceiling doesn't slope down, which is my favorite improvement.  This is just a little 8x8 room on the side of the garage, but it has a sink, great lighting, and is all mine!  I'm not sure yet how I want to set it up inside.  Instead of choosing between a drafting table and a large work table, I'm thinking of trying to build a custom combination.  I love building projects!

In keeping with my sappy theme, here is the

SKETCH OF THE DAY

This is my first home portrait. Literally, just a sketch to get my feet wet.  This is my own cute little house.  I've also done a couple even rougher sketches to test how I might like certain changes we are considering. Mainly landscaping, but I threw on a porch just for fun based on this pic:

Currently, I am reading The Girl Who Played With Fire.  No recipe there, so here is one inspired by my environment.

RECIPE OF THE DAY

Ingredients:

• 1 package active dry yeast (1 tablespoon)
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1/4 cup butter, melted (used when grilling)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6-8 minutes on a slightly floured surface, or until smooth. (I just set my food mixer on 7 minutes, and let the machine do all the work.)
Place dough in a well-oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
2. Punch down dough. Pinch off small handfuls of dough, about the size of your fist. Form into balls, and place on tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to double, about 30 minutes.
3. While the dough rises the second time, pre-heat your grill to high heat.
4. At grill side, form one ball of dough into a thin oval. Lightly oil grill with melted butter. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly brown. Brush the top side with butter, then flip the naan. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until the second side is also lightly brown. Remove from grill, and continue cooking all dough balls until finished. Cover the cooked naan with a towel to keep it moist and warm. Try not to eat too much!

This recipe came from http://www.about-afghanistan.com  The local nationals that work on post share their naan with us all the time, but when I asked how they make it they couldn't really give details.  They make it by taste out of the habit of making it nearly every day for most of their lives- never written down, just passed from one generation to the next.

A step in the right direction

My desk arrived the other day!  yay!  Even though it is a piece of crap, it still gets the job done.  My studio is all set up.

As you can see, I have been drawing away.  Actually, in the middle of this drawing, I got the idea to do a video of my drawing process. About 40 minutes into it I finished the outline.  That's when I noticed it was so bright that you couldn't even see anything on the paper.  Live and learn- I will fix it for next time.  So now I am half way through two new drawings.  Neither of which is today's Sketch of the Day.  Here is further proof that I love Johnny Depp.

Johnny

On a completely different note, I came across another person trying to sell t-shirts using the image of my Legend of Billie Jean painting.  wtf?!  This is the 4th or 5th time this has happened.  Before it was on Ebay, but his time I cam across it while looking for an avatar for my new Billie Jean Fans page on DeviantArt.  I really don't understand why people photoshop my copyrighted image when they can photoshop someone else's for those t-shirts that nobody buys anyway.  People suck.

Now for todays Recipe of the Day!  This one is simple.  I am currently reading Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, so, in honor of Prior Philip and the monks of Kingsbridge, here is the recipe for Horsebread.

HORSE BREAD

"Take two bushels of good clean beans and one bushel of wheat, and grind them together. Then, through a fine [sieve], bolt out the quantity of two pecks of pure meal, and bake it in two or three loaves by itself. The rest sift through a meal sieve and knead it with water and good store of barme [yeast]. And so, bake it in bread loaves and with the coarser bread feed your horse in his rest."
(Gervase Markham Country Contentments, 1615)

Enjoy!

day off

So I have the whole day off to sketch and relax.  Too bad we don't get mail until around 1pm.  Hopefully my books and pencils I ordered will arrive today. Until then I'll be going through the Better Homes and Gardens and Food  Network magazines I was lucky enough to get my hands on at another base.  It may be a little cheesy, but  there is actually plenty of great creative inspiration (not to mention yummy recipes) to be found in them.  Plus, I am a sucker for Thanksgiving and Christmas decorating.  I also found a couple of recipes to try when I get home to see if they will fit well on the Dust Jacket Cafe menu.  I plan on having a seasonal menu to keep things interesting, and take advantage of the freshest locally grown foods.
I have considered having a "build your own float" menu to include choice of ice cream and soda flavor combinations,but I'm not really sure.  It would fit with my book, in which the main character renovates an old cafe, which used to be an even older soda fountain.  I guess I'm just not sure if it would be popular enough to be worth the cost of including it.  There was a restaurant in the Cleveland airport that had smoothies and wraps.  It was actually the closest I've seen to what I had envisioned the Dust Jacket cafe to be like.  I even looked into the cost effectiveness of the franchise itself.  I decided against it though because I believe the local and "hometown-ness" of the Cafe to be more important.  It still was helpful to get a realistic idea of what I have in mind might look like.
Sketch of the day!  Actually, this was part of a letter when I was stuck on duty in the middle of the night.  I think it's actually the only drawing I have ever done in pen.

wish you were here

Recipe of the Day!
Author Sarah Addison Allen was kind enough to donate to our book club out here, and included a sheet of recipes to coincide with her book Garden Spells.  If you haven't read it, please do- you will LOVE it!  Recipes like this, from books themselves, I hope to be able to include in the cafe.  I am always looking for new ones- and ones people have found in books and actually tried themselves.  I myself have made fried green tomatoes using the official seasoning mix.  I got it at K-Mart, but you can also find it online.  I gave it to my partner's mom along with a basket of fresh local tomatoes and she and her husband loved them so much she has made it multiple times since!

ROSE PETAL SCONES

rose petal -- encourages love...

2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tsp granulated sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

4 Tbs unsalted butter

1/3 cup unsalted coarsely ground pistachio nuts

1 cup heavy cream

1 Tbs rose water

2 Tbs edible rose petals - finely shredded

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine and sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda,

sugar, salt and cinnamon. Cut in the butter and mix until crumbly. Stir in the

pistachios. In a separate bowl, combine the cream and the rose water. Stir in the

shredded rose petals. Add the cream-rose mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring until

a soft dough forms. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for

10-12 minutes or until golden brown