Have in hands

Hands in classical portraiture hold more than mere objects. They can also hold secrets and reveal stories of place, time or social class. Hand gestures can have myriad meanings in religious art, or amorous meanings in later portrait art. The classic Napoleonic 'hand in waistcoat' pose in men's portraiture harkened back to classical times when it was considered bad manners to speak with an arm outside of one's toga. And once upon a time a woman's hand fan was an instrument of communication for her. Her freedom of speech was highly restricted otherwise, so this was very clever indeed. 

(click to see larger view) 

There was an entire slew of secret messages in fan language. For example, to fan slowly meant that the woman was saying I am married. No doubt this this was done somewhat surreptitiously, to a prospective paramour.  If a woman were to hold her hand on her left cheek it mean that she was saying no; to let the fan slide on her cheek, it meant I want you, and if she held the fan on her left ear it meant I want you to leave me alone.  

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The Golden Age of the Paunch

Day dreaming of Paris

I wonder what Paris would be like to visit around Christmastime? Surely the macarons from Laduree would taste better than in springtime.... or autumn. Must visit in winter one of these years.

Good night, sweet dahlias

I have this crazy routine for putting my dahlias to bed for the winter. The process takes a whole week. First I make sure that each plant is labeled (kind and color, temporarily tagged on the stem with a twisty tie) before the last frost hits, because once the leaves turn black and the flowers die off I'd never know my Emory Pauls from my Chloe Janaes. I wait until the frost so that the leaves have all the time they can to send energy down to the tubers, which will actually grow eyes over the winter (the way a potato tuber does). When the frost hits, that's my cue to dig up my dahlia plants. I carefully dig them out of the ground, hose the dirt from the tubers, and line them up on the grass by kind with their specific labels all ready to attach. Then I cut off their lush green tops. Off with their heads! 

Here are the labels, all ready to attach to the bags that they each will go into. You can still see some of the names stamped onto the dahlia  tubers from the sellers, and all the new tuber growth. Some experts say to discard the 'mother tuber', and break apart your tubers at this point, but I always overwinter the tubers as they are, and divide them in the spring. I can see where they eyes have sprouted over the winter.  

Then I place the tubers into plastic mesh bags, like you'd get with bags of potatoes or lemons. (You can find these mesh bags in all sorts of colors on Amazon here. ) Sometimes the tubers get broken off from the mother tuber clumps and this is a nice way to keep the family of tubers all together. My husband says that these tuber filled mesh bags look like chickens. They do, actually. I do not bother with anti fungal powder, but this would be the time to do that.

Then I dry the dahlia tubers out for a week or so, preferably with the tubers upside down so any moisture from the cut stem will drain out. Then off they go into a ventilated box for the winter, where they stay on my porch. Where you store your dahlia tubers must have a constant temperature of between 32° and 50°, and the moisture should not be too dry or too damp. It's a little tricky, but worth the effort. I check on the dahlias every month or so to make sure there is no fungus on the tubers. I am excited for next spring, when I can put these chickens back into the ground.

Crane Estate art show & sale—2016

Magnolia 40 x 40" 

This coming weekend is the Trustees of Reservations annual juried Crane Estate art show & sale! With over 300 pieces of original art, it's a nice chance to visit and view "... art highlighting the beauty of North Shore's landscapes and landmarks." The theme of this year's show is called the Spirit of the Garden, so I have submitted the 4 floral paintings shown here. They range in size from very large (the 40 x 40" white magnolia shown above) to very small (the 4 x 4" yellow magnolia shown below).  

The show is free and open to the public from 10AM to 4PM Saturday and Sunday (November 5th and 6th) There is also a preview garden party soirée Friday night November 4th from 7 to 10 PM, and the ticket price includes an open bar, catered hors d'oeuvres, and live music. They throw a good bash, so hope to see you there. 

 

Spring Magnolia 10 x 10"

Madam Butterfly 4 x 4"

Even without the awesome art show, the Crane Estate is beautiful to visit this time of year, magically perched on a hillside that overlooks the Atlantic ocean. The kids can run wild and the adults can pop inside to see the paintings, then you can take a long walk on Crane's Beach, or stop into Russell Orchards on the way home for some apples or cider donuts. 

Roasted tomato soup

I roasted up the very last of the tomatoes from my garden to make a smoky and creamy soup. I'll freeze up most of it, because won't it be nice to sip on this soup on a cold, snowy wintry day to remind me of  summer days? Here is how to make this soup: 

Cut all tomatoes in half lengthwise (or quarter them, if they are super large), and place cut side up on a sheet pan lined with aluminum foil and drizzled with olive oil. Salt and pepper the tomatoes and add fresh thyme leaves if you have some. Place into a 375° oven and roast for about an hour. The end result will be intensely flavored tomatoes with a slight bit of char on them.

Then cut up and sauté a diced medium onion and 3 cloves of minced garlic in a tablespoon of butter. When onions are clear, add in the roasted tomatoes, 2 cups of homemade chicken stock (or small can of low sodium chicken stock), 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, a day of liquid smoke, and a half cup of fat free half and half. If you have smoked pimento, add a teaspoon for more smokey flavor. Salt and pepper to taste, and cook for about five minutes. Carefully use an immersion blender or pour soup into a blender to wiz the soup into a smooth consistency. If you prefer a chunkier soup texture reserve some tomatoes, roughly chop them and badd back into the soup after blending. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with a dollop of crème fraîche (or Greek yogurt or even sour cream), a drizzle of olive oil and a spring of thyme. Of course, half of a buttery, gooey, grilled cheese sandwich would be marvelous with this soup!

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Smokey thyme roasted tomato soup with crispy cheddar frico

recipe post from a few years ago where I explained my philosophy 

about tomato soups. This post was published on Tastespotting. 

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October garden bounty

It's delightful that my garden is still producing—even in October—when the high sunshine days are long gone. I adore the golden Patty Pan squashes. I hollow out and fill the larger ones with scrumptious goodies (corn, onion, Gruyere cheese, thyme, and a squeeze of lemon. etc.) then bake in the oven, and the large Bradywine tomatoes are smashing in a BLT, but it's the explosively sweet flavor of those little Sun Gold tomatoes that have absolutely seduced me this year. And they're super easy to grow. 

Good to the last bite

This divine macaron was served to us at Ladurèe on the Champs-Élysées. Funny story about this dessert... We were having our lunch and the waiter had erroneously delivered my Caesar salad avec poulet, instead of sans poulet, as I had specified, so to make amends for the mix up he delivered to us this luscious Ispahan macaron (with a hint of rose water, lychee cream, and fresh raspberries).  Apology blissfully accepted.

Adoring the Magi

Bucket list update: We are back in Paris after a 24-hour whirlwind trip to Florence, where I finally viewed the very magnificent, insanely colorful and breathtakingly beautiful Adoration of the Magi fresco located in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, painted by Benozzo Gozzoli. Do you need a moment to parse that sentence? Phew, that's a lot of vowels and Zs. The Palazzo was closed the last time I was in Florence. Click on the link below to read a bit more about this sublime masterpiece, and the back story of my previous attempts to view it.

Procession of the Magi

Once more, with feeling!

After our May visit to Paris we decided that there's so much more to see and do there that we just had to go back one more time. After a quick connection in Iceland, on we go to Paris for eight days.

Color Inspiration—greens + irises

I really do see the world in colors. It's thrilling to me when I come across two seemingly disparate images within a few days' time—in this case, a photo of edible greens and a painting of a patch of irises in a garden—that both comprise a very similar color palette. In my next garden painting, I'll just have to use these sublime colors. 

Claude Monet's 'Irises'

To see more colors, click on the red "color inspiration" label below.

I have kissed the summer dawn

Sun Leaving III, 1971 - Jon Schueler (1916–1992) 

J'ai embrassé l'aube d'été. 

{ I have kissed the summer dawn. }

This luscious painting screams summer solstice to me. I can feel the heat radiating from those warm, yellow and gold ochre colors, with Turner-eque splashes of red. Mmm. Enjoy these long, languid, golden days of summer.

Rudy

Gone fifty years this July...

My father, when he was young,

rode upon the waves, 

and danced upon the sea.

 

Rudolph Carnevale 1932–1966

Art in the Barn, 2016

View to Hog Island  20 x 30"

Here is a sneak peek at the three oil paintings I have in the annual juried  Essex County Greenbelt's 'Art in the Barn' show, happening this weekend. I am honored to support our North Shore green space through this organization, and have been contributing my artwork to this show for the past 6 years. The ECG is "...the region’s most effective champion of land conservation, working to conserve the farmland, wildlife habitat and scenic landscapes of Essex County, " so any art that you buy supports the beautiful ECGA open spaces of the North Shore, where we can all walk and play in. 

The group show is three days only—Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 10–12. There will be loads of paintings, pottery, jewelry, and huge yard sculptures to peruse and purchase. And if that isn't all cool enough, there will be a wine and cheese reception Friday night with live music, beer and a taqueria truck. Hope you can make it!

Tous les Matins du Monde  5 x 7" 

Drifting Fog   6 x 9" 

A rapturous animated kaleidoscope

I was thrilled to see German filmmaker extraordinaire Lotte Reiniger on the Google home page this morning. Born with magical hands, Lotte was a self-taught artist skilled in the ancient folk art of shadow plays, and master of her craft—paper cut-out silhouettes. Not just flat cut-outs either. If a figure needed to make complex or even supple movements, Reiniger would make 25 or 50 separate silhouette pieces and join them together with lead wire hinges. Oh pioneer! She made dozens films using these intricate cutouts in an achingly long process of stop-action photography, but my most favorite film is her 1926 Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed, or The Adventures of Prince Achmed. 

This is the oldest surviving animated film!

Sometimes you can catch this film on Turner Classic Movies channel, or if you're a film geek like me, you can just buy the DVD. The magical film us made entirely of these complex paper cutouts with dramatically tinted backdrops behind the shadows. Click here to see how her work was made in the Art of Lotte Reiniger.

Some fairy tales are more magical than others, and this is one of them. I envy you if you have never seen this astoundingly beautiful film. Critic Wesley Morris called this film "a rapturous animated kaleidoscope." Watch a little sneak peek here, and prepare to be dazzled!

Midnight in Paris

It's midnight in Paris. This is the view from our petite  Parisian apartment balcony, which overlooks that Eiffel tower thingie.

Steps walked so far?... over 100,000
Miles walked? ... around 50
Blisters on each foot?...1
Photos taken?... over 3500
Museums visited?... approx 8
NIghttime hailstorms walked home in?... 1
Croissants, baguettes and crepes consumed?... not enough
Bottles of wine imbibed?... What happens in Paris, stays in Paris!!

Our balcony view in daylight

Outfoxed!

I have a few paintings in the upcoming Outfoxed show at the True North Gallery in Wenham, including this Keeping Guard painting below. Stop by for the artist's reception on Saturday April 30th from 3-6 pm, and if you can't make it then, the show runs until June 26th. The True North Gallery is a special place, filled with all sorts of enchanting artwork, jewelry and home decor. The gallery owner, Belinda, reports that a fox has been hanging around in the woods near the gallery for the past few days, so if you're lucky you may be charmed by a real fox too.

+ + +

These charming fox statues keep guard 

at the entrance to the old Clark estate, which is  

down the street from us on Bridge Street in Hamilton. 

Read more about my Keeping Guard painting by clicking here.

Foolery redux!

Foolery, sir, does walk about  the orb 

like the sun, it shines everywhere. 

~ William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night 

Enjoy this abbreviated collection of jesters, harlequins,
 jokers, and fools that I gathered a few years ago. 
 —DC 

Farnos the Red Nose, by Jacques Callot (c. 1592-1635)

Russian woodcut with watercolors

Print by Franz Isaac Brun (1555-1610)

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696–1770), 

Punchinello with Dumpling

A fool facing left; bust-length figure, resting his chin on his right hand; 

wearing a chain with a large medallion; a fly on his fool's cap. 

The Fool By Heinrich Vogtherr, 1513-1568
  Print made by Hans Hanberg 1568

After Pieter Jansz Date 1638-1678

Print made by Franz Isaac Brun (1555-1610)

Farnos and Pigasya, the red-nosed drunks, by Jacques Callot (c. 1592-1635)

Russian woodcut with watercolors

Two Fools of Carnival, artist unknown

Print by Franz Isaac Brun (1555-1610)