Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Julia Child would be 100 Today

My brother sent this.


The New York Times  has a researched article worth the read on some of the Julia Child favorites.  It says most of us have cooked (at least once) her famous recipe for coq au vin or boeuf bourguignon or maybe an omelette.  I surely did, back in the day.  We might take a few more short cuts these days.

Do you have a favorite Child recipe?

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Butterflies as Photographed by C. Marley

Flipping through the pages of Christopher Marley's Pheromone coffee table book of bugs and other insect critters makes me gasp at all the colors they wear on their backs.  Philippine weevils don't seem to care that wearing bright red makes them look fat.

Yesterday I bought a 24"x30" canvas.  I'll paint three butterflies, side by side, mixing up spatial orientation.  Don't the colors seem unreal?  Here are my picks from Marley's book:





Marley's background was always white.  I am thinking a warm background of yellow/burnt copper. What is you favorite butterfly and which one would you omit?

This video was first published by Linda on her blog today, and it is worth a listen.

He Listens in Color

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Dragonflies in Oil

One fine summer afternoon, a young fairy leaned over the bank of a creek to drink, but slipped and fell into the water. Now the current carried her away quickly like a wisp of wheat. Unfortunately, the fairy had left the magic wand in the grass, but no one was lost.

Fortunately the water fairies came to help, with a clap of hands made up by the river wave that lifted the fairy to the blue of the sky. While falling, small drops of water were transformed into dragonflies …. that’s why it seems that between the transparent wings of a dragonfly is entangled a drop of water.
source

16" x 20", Oil, Copyright Nancy McCarroll
PPF
...Like dragonflies, the hansoms hover,
With jeweled eyes, to catch the lover...
             (Richard Le Gallienne)

UPDATE: Just as I was finished hanging the above picture in our kitchen this morning, a dragonfly, very large, about three inches in length, flew into my study.  I took his picture (below).  I wonder what he was trying to tell me? Unbelievable!