Inktober #12: Whale (Shark)

Yes, there are really fish called whale sharks!  In looking up pictures of whales, I came across this creature, and if you look at online images, you will see it is a beautifully patterned shark, as well as learn that it migrates long distances, and is a gentle animal, feeding on plankton and such as it swims along.  I thought it was so beautiful that it had to be the Inktober #12 offering.

The weekend was super busy, so I am a bit behind with my Inktober commitment, but the commitment continues.  It would be really easy to let it just fall behind – like a diet – so the focus of Inktober may be more important than the drawings themselves.  Inktober is a challenge to not only commitment, but to imagination and dedication to meeting a goal.  Harder than I thought it would be – but at least I have some time for commitment these days.

 

Saturday Morning Sides

I’ve been on a Mediterranean food kick of late.

This morning I was in the mood to put together some foods to have on hand over the next few days.  Since I am off work, it makes sense to do something – particularly when I want to do something!  So, I put together a couple of sides, one which we like to have on hand, and another we had in a restaurant the other night.

First side was to make some tzatziki.  This is so easy it’s ridiculous, and really worth the bit of time to make it from scratch, because scratch is always better.

Tzatziki

2 c. Greek yogurt (I used homemade!)
1 large English cucumber
5-7 cloves garlic
1 T. fresh dill
juice of 2 lemons
salt
pepper
olive oil

Grate the cucumber. Place in strainer, mix with about a tsp. of salt. Place where the liquid from the cucumber can drain while you do the rest of the prep. Let the cucumbers sit for about 30 minutes.

Finely mince the garlic – we use a microplane. Juice the lemons. Chop the dill. Stir in the yogurt.

Rinse the cucumbers. Squeeze out as much liquid as you can. If you like, put the cucumbers onto a towel, or paper toweling, and squeeze and press out as much liquid as you can. Turn into yogurt-lemon-garlic-dill mixture. Pour in a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Mix well. Taste. Add salt as you wish, and pepper.

Refrigerate in container. Stir before using.

The next thing I did was throw together a sort of tapenade, mixed up from what I had on hand.

Sun-Dried Tomato, Anchovy, and Olive Tapenade

8 oz. / 1 c. sun-dried tomatoes in oil – use all of it
1 small can of anchovy fillets
2-3 T. capers
20 kalamata olives, pitted (if already pitted, slice them where the seeds might be – you don’t want them messing up your food processor!)
2-3 cloves garlic
1-2 finely chopped cayenne peppers (optional)
2 T. balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste; olive oil to thin to your liking

In a mini-blender, put in tomatoes, anchovies, capers, garlic, olives, peppers, and vinegar. Whir together into a chunky paste. Taste. Add seasoning as you wish, and to thin, you may add some of the oil from the anchovies or a bit of olive oil on the side. Refrigerate for a few hours to meld flavors. Store in closed container for up to a week. Good on crackers or bread or straight out of the jar.

And there you have it – Saturday morning sides when you have nothing better to do!

The Days of Inktober 2018

October is “Inktober” to many artists – a time when, around the world, artists focus on ink drawing, from a suggested list of words, or just because you can.  Drawing in ink can be done spontaneously, over a preliminary drawing, with pen or brush, with black or colored inks.  Ink is ink.  And the experience is great.

I’ve been focusing on the list, which you can see below.

When you think about it, it can be really hard to be inspired by the topics.  How do you depict “precious”?  “Chicken” can be pretty obvious – until you pursue the more obscure meanings of “chicken” – as in cowardly or yellow.

Below are my Inktober drawings through the 11th day.   For the last one, the mushrooms just have to have that glorious red – so watercolors were added.  And, to be honest, I needed something beyond the black and grey and whites of ink.

I hope you enjoy them!

1a. Poisonous
1b. Poisonous
2a. Tranquil
2b. Tranquil
3. Roasted
4. Spell
5. Chicken
6. Drooling
7. Exhausted
8. Star
9. Precious
10. Flowing
11. Cruel

Inktober #11: Cruel

I wasn’t going to do “cruel” for Inktober – too much cruelty in the world as it is.  Then, I saw these mushrooms!  Fly agaric mushrooms are beautiful, poisonous, and the fantasy mushroom of dreams.   I’ve seen them a few times, and they are incredibly beautiful.  In their beauty lies their cruelty!

This is a combination of the type of drawing and painting I have been doing of late.  Because these mushrooms are so vibrant, it doesn’t do them justice to just use ink.  So, inking pens after an underlying pencil sketch, and then slow, light layers of watercolor, and then more pen.  I’m rather pleased with the results altogether.