Because of Ms. Fraggy (you know who you are!) I decided to pick up an adapter so I could use my Helios lens from the good old USSR. I got one to fit my Nikon F-mount cameras. Several years ago I bought the Praktica film camera, which I really don’t like, along with the Helios lens. Rambling around the house and randomly taking pictures, I saw the sunlight through the plastic box in which my gouache paints live and liked the way it looked. Baggies, paint tubes, plastic – modern life in B&W.
Every week I am trying to focus on a subject. I guess for the next week it will be boats. My drawing skills are not the best, and so focusing on how something is constructed will help. What made me think about this is a very simple way of drawing and painting boats by an excellent watercolor YouTuber named Shibasaki. Below is his demo on boats.
What makes this video so valuable is he shows you that a boat is a series of rectangles with a few curves. Don’t believe me? Check it out. I’ve learned a lot from Shibasaki-san!
My palette here was limited to zinc white, ultramarine blue, a touch of gamboge, burnt sienna, and some left over colors on the palette from the sunset coast I painted the other day – a bit of teal and some red.
One thing I have always loved are sail boats and tug boats. Those are on the agenda. Stay tuned . . .
I’m a sucker for summertime desserts, especially those involving fresh fruit. Besides pies and crisps, clafoutis is a brilliant one – simple, not full of sugar, and very tasty. Most ingredients are right on hand, too. I made this one for people with gut problems (IBD), but put the non-gut-problem ingredients in ( ).
Clafoutis
Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease 9″ pan with butter or non-stick spray.
Beat together eggs, milk, honey, melted butter, lemon, salt, extract. Mixture will be thick like cream, but not heavy batter. Use a whisk – save some dish washing. Whisk in flour gradually to keep a smooth batter. Pour into pan. Place fruit in pattern or randomly on top.
Bake on middle rack of oven 40-50 minutes, checking half way through to see if you need to rotate pan.
Remove from oven, cool. If you want to add the powdered sugar for garnish, wait until clafoutis is cooled so it doesn’t melt. Serve warm or cold. Great for dessert or breakfast.
Devour!
Farms in California are a bit different than what I remember as a kid in the Midwest and out on the plains. The land along the coast is gentle and low lying. The ocean brings in mist and fog, creating at times a dreamy, otherworldly quality that is soft and ethereal. Fog comes and goes, scenery appears and vanishes. Colors can be pale or deeply rich depending on light and cloud.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 