Ummmmm.....Yum.  Delicious!  Delectable!  Antioxidant!  (Huh?)  Just some of the words used to describe one of the true delights of culinary life -- chocolate!  Don't you just want to pop these babies in your mouth and savor the flavor?  I cannot wait to eat more chocolate but have learned restraint.  I don't enjoy restraining myself, but really GOOD chocolate will keep me up ALL NIGHT  Not good for an artist to be up ALL NIGHT unless that artist is painting! 



This tiny little painting was quite the challenge to paint.  Making the bon bons look slightly glowing and rounded and tempting -- I had to swallow a bit of -- not pride -- chocolate!  No, not reallly.  But I sure had fun with the subject matter and I hope it tempts you, also! 


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As you can see, we've briefly moved to the cheese aisle on the pastel art tour of foods.  This cheese is named Parrano and for the longest time I thought it was an Italian cheese but found out it's actually a Dutch cheese.  It's tasty, nice with rather strong flavors.  I like it. 

But what of its origins?  I have never traveled to The Netherlands but would love to go there -- just think of some of the great artists who began life in Holland -- Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Vermeer.  It's difficult for me to imagine an art life without the modern conveniences -- fast drying gels, a multitude of oil colors, pre-made everything, if you want -- no mixing of colors with oils, spending endless hours producing the paints from scratch. 

I'm glad I live in this century where women, as well as men, can make artworks, have a vast array of art supplies from which to choose, can show our works on the Internet, and we aren't as constrained in our choice of subject matters or media as we might have been in previous centuries. 

And we have the opportunity to eat delectable cheeses from foreign lands!


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Another day on the grocery store tour brings us back to the produce aisle.  What fruit or vegetable will tempt me, artistically, today?  Aha!  There they are!  The carrots! 

Look at them, lying there, their viridian leaves languishing.  The hues of deep garnets and rubies glistening on their bodies, due to the periodic overhead rains from the automated jet showers above; ah, our good old modern technology!  We all know that the carotene helps our vision immensely.  Who would think that something which grows below ground, in the dark, would aid us in seeing?  Go figure.  Very weird. 

See you tomorrow! 

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I gotta tell ya -- I am SO sick of grocery shopping.  For that matter, I'm also a bit tired of cooking!  The price of food has really escalated lately and I always seem to forget something at the grocery store, so it seems that I spend an inordinate amount of time procuring items to cook up, so we run out of food, then back to the store -- the vicious cycle! 

Now, having said that, I realize the need to dwell on the positive here, so I decided to turn an artist's eye to this task.  Wandering through the fresh produce I see inspiration.   Look at the colors of these beautiful bell peppers!  Wondrous!  And the shapes, the forms!  There's no denying that nature is art.  And food comes from nature.  So for the next few days, I'll give you a food tour via pastel art.  Have fun! 

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We're back home in  (normally) sunny Colorado!  Yaay!  Flew over the Rockies, very cool to look down and see them from overhead.  The weather at home was nice and warm, blue skies, minimal clouds -- until this morning!  We returned home from Seattle yesterday but apparently awoke to Seattle this morning....it's grey, misty, a little rainy, sounds like a virtual rain forest outdoors with the birds making chirpy noises, woodpeckers pounding the roofs and trees, the lawn looking vibrant green, the flowers ablooming....Is this really Colorado?  Not Seattle?  Go figure. 

Had a sweet sunset last night, something like the one above....no more fresh seafood but I can almost always count on seeing a lovely sunset.  So long, Seattle.  We had a terrific time. 

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Yesterday we went to The Locks here in Seattle.  Apparently when a boat needs to leave the fresh waters of Seattle to go to the ocean, it travels through The Locks.  They are the mechnical gates that gradually lower the fresh water level to the ocean water level so that the boats going to the Pacific are gently allowed to enter into smoother waters, rather than bumping around into turbulent waves.  (Or so I understand.  I'm a bit mechnically inclined, but not to a great degree.)  One way or another, it was fascinating event to watch and apparently a routine done all hours of the day.  I was such a tourist!  Loving it. 

We also walked through the English Gardens next to The Locks where I photographed many the of the gardens.  I once again promised myself to work on painting more flowers -- there were more rhododendron than I've seen in years, hydrangea, small orange poppies, fuchsias...I could go on and on but I don't know all the names of everything I saw -- some of the flowers I had never seen before. There were horse chestnut trees in bloom, as well, and very verdant green lawns.  The weather was a bit misty, the sky had small patches of blue between the dominant clouds.  As we walked along the flower paths, I noticed an unusual plant with very serrated leaves, greyish-bluish foliage with a hint of green, just barely a hint, and what appeared to be a flower emerging from the center of the plant, although that was a slight stretch of the imagination, actually.  Neither of my companions had any idea what the plant was -- and I gave them time to think about it!  In the last two weeks I had planted this mystery plant in our yard in Colorado and had planted one many years ago in another garden.   What was it?  They gave up.  It was an artichoke plant.  One of my favorite foods....and a lovely ornamental plant, too.

Would you have been able to identify it?

Today I am in Seattle, Washington, having travelled by air yesterday right over our very own house in Fort Collins, Colorado.  Unbelievable that we flew over Horsetooth Reservoir just due west of our house, recognized our location, then over the stark white peaks of the Rocky Mountains, which were staggeringly beautiful.  For a couple of hours there were multitudes of white and cream clouds in the sky, then all of a sudden a projection arose above the white carpet of clouds-- Mount Rainier!  I had heard from others who had been to this area that you might never know there was a huge mountain nearby -- because of the clouds that are so prevalent much of the time.  But I can now say that I saw that famous and majestic peak....

This is, so far, reminiscent of parts of the East Coast -- grey and green with an abudance of flowers.  Even the houses remind me of back East.    Rhododendron of all hues -- bright, lively -- and, yes, my newest crush, wisteria!  Lilacs, valerian, hydrangea -- I am so envious of the Seattle-lites' flowers, but couldn't bear living with all the grey skies and rain.  It's always a trade-off of some sort, isn't it?    

While perusing my artwork, I found this painting and asked my host:  "Doesn't this remind you a bit of your skies here?"  The answer was affirmative, so I present this to you as a token of the skies in the Northwest that I have taken in during my brief visit.  Not the blues and browns of my home state, one of my usual subjects, but something that is like the skies here.  So far!    

Have you ever seen the rain drift through a sunset?  I have.  Look to the left, now you see it!  It's a somewhat uncommon occurrence and I thought it would be fun to try and capture it.  Did I do it? 

I'm off to Seattle today.  I have never been there and have always heard that it's fascinating, quite the city.  I guess that it's often raining and cloudy, the weather good for brooding, according to some.  Sunshine is an absolute necessity in my life; without it I'm always foggy and tired.  Could be an interesting trip.  Naturally, I'll look for views to paint, take in some galleries, certainly eat calamari and oysters -- don't get them very often in the Rocky Mountains! 

Will keep you posted! 

I couldn't resist -- another dance theme.  Only this one is in the clouds.  I've noticed while studying numerous sunsets, as they are my very favorite subject to paint, that the clouds do have a rhythm, a movement to them that might be reminiscent of a slow dance.  Tango?  Rumba?  Waltz?  That depends on the viewer, I suppose. 

Since the sunsets are so long in coming but leave so quickly, one can watch the colors move around, go from yellow to gold to orange to red to maroon to purple to violet to gray -- or in some other order, depending on that evening.  They are joyous to view, as we've made it through another day and can say good night to the sun and hello to the stars. 

As a child, I always wanted to be a ballerina.  Toe shoes enchanted me.  I still love pink satin.  I saw Maria Tallchief dance in New York City with my grandfather and father.  At about the age of three, my mother and father had to almost drag me out of the movie theater after watching "The Red Shoes" -- I wanted to watch it again and again.  This was my destiny, or so I thought.  Alas, it never came to pass that I would go "en pointe".  So sad. 

However, I do find that when I paint, I sometimes dance.  When painting "Funky Trees", I put on the funky music and wiggle the palette knife, encrusted with oil paint, and dance around, having fun.  Maybe not on the tips of my toes, but I'm still the dancer at the moment. 

Do you dance?

"Life is an onion and one peels it crying." -- French proverb

Years ago I discovered this quotation and it has become one of my favorite proverbs.  When our two daughters were growing up, I stayed home with them and started a home-based business which involved pressed and dried flowers.  They got to see this business adventure from start to finish -- planting, harvesting, pressing, drying the flowers, then using them in collages, bookmarks, note cards, ornaments, and on quotations, applied to beautiful imported papers, tied up with golden twine for hanging.  I would take all of these items to sell for Christmas or Chanukah gifts at the annual Holiday Bazaar at Colorado State University, CSU, here in town and the kids would help me set up and decorate my booth. 

CSU faculty, staff, and students were the primary customers, although many townspeople came, also.  I found that anyone over the age of 30 years old would especially appreciate my French quotation, but the younger crowd, mainly students, didn't "get" it.  "What does THAT mean?", they'd ask, looking quite baffled by the words. Obviously explanations wouldn't tell them, only life experiences could -- many, many life experiences.  And that would take time. 

Do you get it?

I remember the first time I went to Italy with my husband.  I never, never, never, ever expected to go there.  It was 13 years ago.  We went on a wine trip -- he does sell fine wine -- and he was practicing Italian phrases on the airplane.  I asked him, "Why would you do that?   All you need are the basics, like where's the toilet, please, thank you.  English is the international language these days!"  He felt, obviously, that was the correct thing to do, to show the interest in the language of the land.  I had the interest, also, but no background whatsoever in the lovely, lyrical Italian language. 

I had once met a Soviet scientist - -when there was a U.S.S.R., I'm dating myself -- in an elevator at my workplace.  I worked with oceanographers and meteorologists and they were always having international meetings, projects, seminars.  I said hello to him in Russian, which I had studied in both junior and senior high school, many years before.  He responded with a bunch of words all run together, so rapidly -- I couldn't keep up with him!  THAT is why I asked my husband, why go beyond the very basics?  If you were going to converse in Italian, then the Italian person on the other end was going to talk back to you, and there was no way to keep up with him. 

So.....we landed in Rome, had our first adventure on the wild Italian highways, drove to Tuscany, got lost, asked directions in broken Italian, and, guess what happened!  The gentleman responded in incomprehensible Italian!  Somehow we managed to find our way to the Borgo, where we had reservations with the other wine folks, and, going over the hill, this is what I saw!  Tuscan Vista, in springtime! 

I cannot wait to go back!  Ciao!

If you look to the left, you'll see a sunrise.  I almost never see sunrises and I rarely paint them.  I'm not a morning person, more a mid-day to late evening person.  Even after a good, strong cup of coffee, I walk in a fog, lost in my own world and thoughts.  Remembering the dream I just had before waking up, leaving out 90% of the events, the remnants left to confuse me. 

The only early mornings I can recall are:  going to surgery, being in labor, running to the airport to catch an airplane going somewhere far away and exotic.  Other than that, forget about it, let me SLEEP, I love to sleep!  Please bear this in mind when you see the rare sunrise painting of mine -- I have suffered for this painting, awaking far too early for my brain to truly function.  All for art! 

I love to eat.  I enjoy eating food that is not particularly healthy but somehow have gotten a grip on this and am trying mightily to be a good example to my daughters and concentrate on foods that are good for you.  Thus, you see my healthy apples, to lure you into this blog. 

When my husband and I travel in foreign countries or in foreign areas of the U.S.A. (California or New York City or such -- just kidding!), my mind hops to the next meal.  My questions become:  "Where do you want to eat next? or "What time do you think we should have lunch/dinner/whatever?"  I cannot get my mind off food.  I'm not sure what in the world this is all about but eating moves to the top of the priority list.  It's especially satisfying when someone else is doing the cooking.  I appreciate the creative element involved, the artistic display, if you will, before I scarf down the entire plate! 

But for now, I'm eating healthy.  How about you? 

Although I am a Colorado native, having been born in Grand Junction, I have very fond memories of life in New Jersey.  I attended a bit of junior high school there and all of high school in Maplewood and college in South Orange.  New Jersey has "the Garden State" as its slogan and if you watch the opening shots of "The Sopranos", you might think that someone's got it all wrong, there don't appear to be many gardens on the New Jersey Turnpike!  The soil there is rich, dark, and full of good things for plants.  I have memories of picking incredible strawberries in the southern part of the state and there are even cranberry bogs down there in south Jersey. 

One plant I never appreciated until I returned to Colorado to live was the rhododendron.  The foliage is dark green and glossy, not bad to look at but somewhat nondescript, and yet the blooms are exquisite.    Rhododendron don't thrive in Colorado.  I have no idea what the growth requirements are for them but I don't think I've ever seen one growing here.  That's too bad, as the blossoms are beautiful, as I hope you'll see in my artwork, "Beautiful Rhododendron". 

Here's to New Jersey! 

Speaking of New Jersey, take a look at http://klaatukafe.blogspot.com 
My dear friend from college days, Kathryn, posts it -- very interesting commentaries! 

And from Colorado now but Connecticut originally:  www.KateDardine.com -- some lovely artwork!

Please note:  I said "Wining", not "Whining".   I am the first to admit that  I am a spoiled woman and I love it.  My husband has been in the fine wine business for 23 years now and we both enjoy wine at dinner.  I frequently cook food based on wine choices.  And I have been fortunate enough to go to the "wine country" here in the U.S., France, and Italy. 

Several years ago, while in France, we visited the wine country in Burgundy.  It was early autumn and harvest had begun.  The sights and smells were wonderful.  Workers, young and old, were picking the ripe fruits.  This was the first time I had witnessed the grape picking and it was busy, busy, busy, trucks laden with the fruits of wines-to-be bustling down the dirt roads of the vineyards, onto the narrow pavements of French villages, to the various wineries for crush.  There was a sense of adventure in the air.  Driving on the small dirt roads right next to the vineyards we would stop to look at the various types of grapes, see how some rows had been picked and some hadn't been yet, wondering how the determinations were made to let some grape clusters sit and others be harvested already.  All this was a mystery to me, but to some great winemaker, it was most likely common sense.  Burgundy is the home to some of the greatest wines on the planet, so there is a special sense of pride that permeates this region.  The food is magnificent, as is the wine.  We were out in the country, not in the cities, and the people that we met who lived in the surrounding areas were charming and gracious. Our time spent there was magnificent.

It's early May in the Rocky Mountains.  That means anything goes in terms of the weather.  It can be 80 degrees on the plains but snowing in the high country.  There is the tease of lazy days ahead with garden flowers just in bud, the lilacs just at the beginning of bloom.  The ornamental crab trees are almost finished flowering, as are the few redbuds that can get through our cold winters.  Red, yellow and orange tulips in our backyard are starting to look a bit bedraggled but the yellow alyssum, basket of gold, can't help but make you smile.  They're everywhere, spreading their seeds through the breezes when they are finished with their blooms.  A grand welcome to spring. 

All of these flowers beckon -- would you like to paint me?  Huh?  Please?  We'll have to see what happens next....like a soap opera, a real cliffhanger!  Will it be the roses, the iris, the pansies?  Wait and see!

This has been the oddest spring I can remember in terms of one climatological element:  the wind.  Throughout the year here in Fort Collins, Colorado, the wind kicks up periodically, sometimes hitting speeds of over 65 mph.  Springtime is always a bit breezy, but this year the winds have been more frequent/constant than in previous years.  Perhaps it's just my imagination, but it rattles me.  I can't go outside without being knocked around by it, my hair's all aflutter, and there are days that the wind-chill knocks the temperature down when we really do need the springtime warmth. 

The artwork that accompanies this blog entry is called "Windy Peaks"-- we were up in Estes Park a few years ago and I wanted to see the mountain range profile leading to Rocky Mountain National Park.  The wind was blowing -- early spring! -- and the clouds were drifting over the tops of the mountains.  I tried to capture the feeling in blue pastels and whites on sanded paper.  It's akin to being a  magician -- sticks of pigment applied to sanded paper and put in four bits of wood with a sheet of glass on top -- what a crazy thing to do, but I do feel that I was successful in capturing that brisk, breezy day. 

What do you think?

I'm in love...with flowers.  My latest crush is wisteria.  My husband and I were in Italy and wisteria were in bloom everywhere.  I couldn't get enough of them.  Their stems grow thick, twist and turn, and delicate looking petals of all shades of lavendar, lilac, and purple drape down.  Wisteria don't grow here in Colorado, too cold,  so I appreciate them even more when I get to see them a mere foot away from me.  The only other place I've ever seen wisteria in full bloom was years ago in California at a winery.  I hope to attempt to paint them soon, most likely pastel.  Wish me luck!

My other heartthrob is bougainvillea.  I have five hot pink  bougainvillea growing indoors during the winter.  I  put them outdoors on our patio in the summer.  The actual flowers are miniscule; the colorful brackets are actually leaves.  I've attempted to paint them several times, find them to be very difficult to paint to my satisfaction. 

Poppies are my all time favorite flowers to see and to paint.  In Italian they're "papaveri", in French, "coquelicot".  One way or the other, they look and sound happy!  At Giverny, Monet's poppies were pink.  They also come in oranges and yellows and even blue (Himalayan poppies).  My favorites are the European red poppies, which I paint often.  But here's a pink one to look at now. 

What do you think?

Well, this is my initial attempt at blogging, something new to me from the writing end but not the reading end.   Tell me what you think! 

I love art.  It soothes my soul, especially in turbulent times but also during pleasant ones.  When I paint, I go to Jupiter or Venus or somewhere.  I lose all track of time and problems.  All sense of the world of politics, weather, food, anything that is daily and can be mundane.  It's a journey into color, of which I am particularly fond, and forms.  Color can lift a spirit so quickly.  Forms are more difficult for me to attain to my satisfaction.  I could never be a truly representational painter.  I'd just take the picture, use the photograph.  That's not to belittle representational painters, just to say that I am a walking oxymoron -- an abstract realist or a realistic abstractionist. 

What do you think?