Weighing Souls: work in progress

Just adding the final details to Weighing souls. Heard about Uncle Miley this morning. So I added him on the lower right, hiding behind the column.

Uncle Loo's Famous New Year Dinner...For One

I decided to try to make Uncle Loo's famous New Year's Dinner...but just for me. During the winter there was the holy trinity of meals: First Mama's Thanksgiving Dinner, then Mrs. Frances's Christmas File Gumbo and finally , on New Years, this wonderful two part meal: soup followed by all the meats and vegetables that made up the stock. I started with the meats. I used one chorizo, two chicken thighs (I bought the organic kind) and a slice of ham, about 10 oz. I boiled these for 1 1/2 hours in 32 oz chicken broth (4 cups) and another 6 cups of water. A little salt (the broth wasn't low sodium) and some pepper.

Here's the other ingredients. Yes, I added some carrots and a couple of parsnips I had in the fridge. No big deal. And I used canned garbanzos, including the liquid. I only cut the onion in half and quartered the cabbage. I left the carrots and parsnips whole.

I added the veggies to the pot and a tiny pinch of saffron. I bought my saffron at Despanya and I noticed it was much better quality. I really only needed a pinch. The pot needed a cup or two more of water to cover the vegetables enough.

After less then an hour all the veggies were cooked , so I put the meat and veggies in a large shallow pot with some broth to keep it moist and kept it warm in the oven (250 degrees) while I made the soup.

I just added another small pinch of saffron and some thin thin noodles and cooked for about 20 minutes till the noodles were soft.

Here's the finished soup. Ok, because I didn't use as much meat, it didn't have the extra layer of fat on the top to keep it scalding hot...but it was plenty hot enough...and DELICIOUS!!!

Here's the final plate of meat and veggies. Oh yeah, guys, I left out the potatoes...but you can add them in. I gave myself the same amount I remember getting as a kid: one slice of chorizo (I think there might have been a slice of morcilla too), a little bit of chicken, a small slice of the ham and lots of veggies.
It came out great, it was very filling and it was really easy to make. I think it's more like Dinner for three but you get the idea.

Too many Angels

After almost a whole year, I finally finished Too Many Angels. Having taken so long and kind of lost my way with it, I changed the color schemes several times. I finally settled on this palette.
I would have liked to have called it Poking Angels, in honor of my new interest in Facebook (I still don't know what poking is) but I'm sticking to my first choice for title.
A sad song by the same name, sung by Jackson Browne:
Too Many Angels

Before and After Wallpaper

Last week I had another Wallpaper job. I thought I'd show you what before and after look like. The two panels don't line up on the left and here's my corrections on the right. This was an easy job because the design was blobby to begin with. I call it a mamogram design. It wasn't all just black and white though. I had to mix in some raw umber to get a warm grey and in some places (not shown) add a dark thalo blue.
I love my job...WHEN it goes well.

Some Wil pictures

I decided to do some drawings of Wil is his last week. Here's a 'realistic' one, done using a graph from a photo.
But I think I like the rougher painting sketch that I did. Here I've given him a centerpiece as if he was a medieval statue with a relic in his chest.

Too many angels, part one

I finally have gotten back to work. This is something I started earlier this year "Too Man Angels". Right now, there really aren't enough angels but I'd like to complete the idea anyway. I got off to a bad start...see ugly grey winged beasties, but I think I'm back on track with this color scheme.

Under Siege....Complete

It's finished. I'll have more to say...but have to run now!
Photo is imperfect.

More Under Siege

I had planned to show the various and tormented stages I go thru when painting a large piece, but I got distracted and...well, here it is, practically finished. Maybe next time.

Under Siege: Part 2

I've added some figures into the building, some creatures and started the background color, a mixture of Azo deep and cadmium medium yellow. I may stay with that color, or change it later.
I chose a whole color palette, using the color aide papers. But that doesn't mean I'll stick with them. And I'm still toying with the figures, adding subtracting, refining.

Under Siege-Part one

Ok, after months of procrastination, I've finally started a new painting. The working title is Under Siege. It's 36X48 inches. I KNOW the economy stinks and I should be working small but I needed something to inspire me and get me going. I've been putting off painting for quite a while. I'll have to check in with Dr. Freud on that.
I start out picking the size of my canvas, then I look at lots of pictures and start making small drawings in proportion. When I have one I like, I transfer it, in a not-very-scientific way, to the canvas. It doesn't need to be a perfect transfer cause I've found that what looks good small sometimes doesn't look as good big. Plus, maybe having something to do with my brain, no matter how many grids I draw, I can never get my left and right side to match.
So here's the beginning of inking in the basic drawing. As I transferred it, I did change it. And what makes the whole thing so labor intensive is that I feel the need to outline everything in black. Then I 'erase' parts with white paint. Later, after I add color, I'll have to reapply the black lines. But that's just how it has to be for me.
Also, the story is now unfolding for me. I'm seeing who the protagonists are in this world. So I'll be adding those also. Once I add color, the story may change yet again.
Stay tuned.

Life Roaches

Had a conversation with Lia, and the phrase 'Life Roaches' was born. You are familiar with Life Coaches I'm sure. But who coaches us on all the really bad stuff that life has in store?
This doodle was done a few days ago.

Todo

This is a smallish painting which I did to enter in a show. It didn't get in. But I still enjoyed doing it. It's totally decorative.

Doodling

I used to draw everyday...sketching or just doodling in my art book. Now a days I only draw when I'm planning a painting. So I decided to take a break everyday and just DRAW...no purpose in mind, no goal, no judgement. Here's my first new doodle in a long time.

7 Headed Beast...incomplete

Here's the new painting I'm working on for Il Melone Gallery. Meaning, I'm painting on unstretched canvas. What a bother! But forget all that. This is a compliment to the Scorpion Beast, same color background and it will have the same border colors.
When I get stuck for what color scheme to paint, I pull out my color aide papers. They used to be in order but now, as you can see, they are a mess. From the pack I'll put together a color scenario that I like. I guess you could say, I'm not subtle about color.

Scorpion Beast

A new painting done on unstretched canvas. I did bitch a lot about painting this way but really it wasn't much different. EXCEPT, and this is a big except, I do hope my corners are 90 degrees. The photo was a little off but it might have been the angle I was holding the camera.
Anyway, the scorpion beast is complete and it was a lot of my usual back and forth painting it: first one color , then another. This combo is very satisfying and...energized.
You are probably thinking it doesn't look much like a scorpion. But it's based, as I've mentioned a hundred times before, on Spanish illuminations and they seemed to favor the "Horse as Scorpion" look. As for the messy hair....that's in the bible! You can look it up for yourself.

Il Melone: the Italian Connection

Amazing story to tell you all: about a month ago, a guy named Gianni Cagnoni, from Rovigo, Italy, contacted me. He and his lovely wife, Donatella, run a gallery there, Il Melone
http://www.galleriailmelone.com/
He is interested in my work, not sure how it will be received. So he wants some work on commission. No problema!!! Except, due to shipping costs, he asks that I send the work, unstretched. So here, Feeding the Beast, is my first work that COULD be sent unstretched...even though I actually painted it by stretching it first. It's a smallish piece, 10 inches by 20 inches.
The key to all this is my borders. I made the border so that if he stretches on a slightly bigger stretcher, then the red will show. Otherwise, I was aiming just for the goldish colored border. What is loss...is my side borders. Oh well, Can't have everything. There will always be Rovigo!
Wait, wait, I didn't tell you about Tony, who has a blog right here on blogspot, all about Brooklyn. OK, that will have to wait to next time.

Snakebeast, complete..For Linder

I finished the snake beast and I'm posting this less then perfect photo because Linder, my sister liked it and I'm a sucker for flattery of any kind. So here it is Linder, I wanted you to see the details and comment.

Snake beast, the other one

I finished my snake/horse beast. And I like him so much that I've started on another. Here's the finished painting and the beginning of the next one.

Snake Demon in progress

OK, this is a nameless and incomplete snake demon. He's (or she's) 18X36 inches. I went thru several changes with this one. Originally I painted the background red, but then realized it was way too bright, especially with the funny yellow design I had added (now all gone). I had the idea to base the painting on paisley color patterns. But I gave it up for more harmonious colors. It's not done yet, but it's now in the final phase.
Oh, and I apologize for the very very bad photo.

Hola Noelia

I just received an email from a young woman from Galicia. Thank God she can write in English because my Gallego is pretty bad. No, I admit, my gallego is at the level of a 6 month old baby. And my Castilian is about the level of a 6 YEAR old child. But forgive me, I've only been studying Spanish for 20 years!
I have finished...and sold...the painting called Fishing. Here it is. It's a small painting, 6 inches by 18 inches. So my theory that painting small did pan out.
Noelia, pan out means that it was a good idea, that it worked.