Hi Friends. How have you been? Last month I was busy working on a commission for dear friends. We had traveled to Greece years ago and enjoyed sightseeing and lunch arranged by a local fellow. I had painted a picture of that lunch and it now hangs in my dining room, and they asked me to paint one for them.
Corfu Lunch II
It was fun to revisit a painting. I feel like my art decisions were made more knowledgeably than when I painted the first one, and I arranged some of the items a little differently. The bottom line is they loved it, and I’m honored that they wanted to have one of my paintings to hang in their home.
It’s definitely autumn here, my favorite season, and I’m enjoying the cooler temps and beautiful, bright colors of the leaves. Hopefully all is well in your neck of the woods. Take care, and thanks for stopping by!
Charlie from Doodlewash has written two activity books (for people of all ages) called Sketching Stuff Nature and Sketching Stuff Food. I’ve always admired Charlie’s “coloring book illustrations” and his watercolor style, leaving in so much white for brightness. He is a master of illustrating and painting transparent objects like glass, ice, etc. Although our painting styles are quite different, I enjoyed reading about his process and how he creates his artwork.
Scribble art is something we all probably did in elementary school. The goal is to scribble on paper without lifting the pencil and then find objects in the abstract shapes. When I started scribbling on my watercolor paper, my husband looked at me like I had gone mad! Right away I saw Mary holding Baby Jesus, so I painted those images and then decided to paint all of the sections hoping to make it look like stained glass. Honestly, this was a fun project and very relaxing, too.
Scribble Art
Charlie does his drawings in waterproof inks and then colors them in. I usually draw with pencil and then add watercolor, but I liked the look of my paintings outlined with waterproof pens.
Pen and Watercolor Flower from Sketching Stuff Activity Book NaturePen and Watercolor Acorn from Sketching Stuff Activity Book NaturePen and Watercolor Bananas from Sketching Stuff Activity Book FoodPen and Watercolor Onions from Sketching Stuff Activity Book Food
These paintings were done by following the tutorials in the Sketching Stuff books, and I wish I had this knowledge when starting out. Honestly, if you or your children want to learn to make fun and interesting doodle and illustration artwork, these books will get you started. With so many people under the stay-at-home orders, now is the perfect time! All you need is some paper, drawing and coloring mediums of your choice, and your imagination. Stay well!
Fetta di Pizza (translates from Italian to English to Slice of Pizza) is my newest watercolor and is a companion piece to the previous Cibo di Comodita painting from last month. I don’t really considered myself a food artist, but these were such fun to paint with the wide variety of colors needed and challenges of food textures.
Fetta di Pizza in Italian translates to Slice of Pizza
I don’t eat much pizza nowadays but certainly enjoy it. Most toppings are fair game, but I generally prefer to go the veggie route. What are your favorite pizza toppings?
This larger painting is one that I’ve worked on for the last couple of months. What drew me to the subject were the bright pops of color and the contrast between the hard, rustic wood table and the soft flour and fresh food. When deciding on a name for this watercolor, to me it represented a hearty meal of comfort food, Italian-style, which translates in Italian to cibo di comodita. Can’t you just imagine the hands of an Italian woman making the noodles and creating an awesome homemade meal by following her grandmother’s recipes?
Painting the flour was a little intimidating because as I wasn’t sure how to approach it, so I practiced a few options. It turns out that an old, stiff, and heavily frayed Crayola brush from a children’s set of years gone by was the perfect candidate to help stipple in the fluffs of flour. Who knew?
Cibo di comodita in Italian translates to comfort food
I continue to attend a local, weekly Art Club where a gallery is being created, and plans are to put up this painting for sale when the gallery is completed. The thought of this is a little scary, yet a bit exciting at the same time. Wish me luck!
A few years ago, we were lucky enough to travel to Greece, and my all-time favorite stop was the island of Corfu. We hired a local man, Spiros, who drove us around, showed us some of the gorgeous off-the-beaten-path beauty, and explained what daily life was like in the small town.
Corfu Canapés – Lunchtime in Corfu, Greece Watercolor
At lunchtime, Spiro stopped at a tiny store and bought a loaf of fresh, crusty bread and local soft cheese. We drove down the road to a building that had outdoor seating, as well as gardens of basil and tomatoes. Spiro sliced the bread, cheese, and tomatoes, drizzled them with olive oil, and sprinkled fresh basil and herbs on top. This was served to us with local olives and tastings of red wine followed by shots of powerful, black-licorice-tasting ouzo. I can still remember the crispy bread, the creamy, delicate cheese, the pungent herbs, and the fresh-pressed olive oil. Opa!
Today’s prompt for the World Watercolor Group is sandwich. One of my favorite sandwiches is The Gobbler, which is a hearty turkey sandwich dressed with lettuce, tomato, mayo or cream cheese, and cranberry sauce. Some folks even add some stuffing, too.
Sandwich – The Gobbler
I really don’t eat many sandwiches anymore, but if I see one listed on a menu and want to try it, I ask that it be served over salad greens rather than on bread. Delicious!
Carol's Creative Papers 