Everything is princess lately for HM. Sparkles. Jewels. Wands. Dress-up. She would correct me if she saw this, letting me know she was a queen, not a princess here. All decked out for a harvest party in Bellingham with Nanna + Poppa.
OK, real quick. This is not a sketch {too busy with real work to sketch lately!}, but just an update on this specialty food shop opening in Ballard soon.
Driving past Savour, you will now see a "Coming Soon" sign! There it is — logo by Spill Studio. In case you haven't seen it yet, check out the Savour business suite here. Coming soon to Spill Studio's Design Portfolio: custom cheese cards for Savour's deli case and gift certificates for Savour guests to purchase — all complete with illustrations to complement the Savour look.
Savour is located at 2242 NW Market Street ~ Seattle ~ 98107.
Got back yesterday from a weekend of camping at Gold Basin Camground. Four families. Seven kids. Great campsite. I had a second while the rest of my family was napping in the tent to sketch this as I sat along the Stillaguamish River. Usually I get bored drawing outdoor scenes. This time I was thankful to have a few quiet moments to myself. Sketching quickly helps too — not being worried about getting every detail just right. Just trying to get the essence of the scene. Painted it back at the campsite with my Winsor & Newton travel watercolor set (surrounded by kiddos this time).
Check out last year's camping painting here.
I needed something to distract me from Ezra's bedtime cries last night. Michael has taken it upon himself to help Ezra cry it out. We need some sleep in the middle of the night. If he can learn to put himself to sleep, we will all be happier!
Everything for the strawberry shortcake was ready (which I kept statusing about on Facebook, hoping to get a spontaneous dessert guest...turns out it was just us). Waiting for Michael. I took Hannah Mae out to the studio to get my paints. She loves painting with me, especially before bed since I put off putting her to bed as I get too into painting. The longer it takes me, the later she gets to stay up.
I got out my usual black pen and started to sketch the bowl containing the strawberries. Not into it. I didn't want to use black. I really wanted to get that feel of everything toppling over onto the plate. The melding of everything together. The seeping of the strawberry juice into the biscuit. Soft edges, not hard. Lots of bright red splashes, not thin black lines.
I painted the first layer with watercolors, thinking simple splotches of red would do the trick. I asked Hannah Mae if they looked like strawberries and she said no. It wasn't quite right. Neither were the biscuits. I was going to draw strawberry slices on top of the watercolor with black pen. Instead, I made myself ditch the pen for this one. Colored pencil added the right touch. I could get some detail and blending (love blending with white colored pencil) without getting too fussy with it. Hannah Mae had said that I didn't need to paint the whipped cream (or "whooped cream" as she says) since the paper was white. I had to do something though. After we finished eating and Hannah Mae was in bed, I completed the painting with thick splats of white gouache. Looks good enough to eat!
Sometimes the only reason to make pancakes is to have milk with them. My favorite combo. Must have a glass of milk with: pancakes, waffles, french toast, any cookies, sandwiches (Michael is repulsed by that!). I love milk. Need a recipe for banana pancakes? Check out the Leftoverist's here.
"Is that zest, Mom?" — Hannah Mae
Guess my frequent citrus zesting has taught Hannah Mae an important cooking lesson!
Still need to get groceries. Had Zippy's (best burgers in Seattle!) for dinner, but that was at 4:30pm! Hungry at 10pm with nothing to snack on. As long as there's popcorn around it's ok. Popcorn with Nanami Togarashi — Japanese assorted chili peppers.
I have fond memories of popcorn from my childhood (sans chili peppers). Making popcorn with my sister in that beat-up, heavy pan with the bent lid that never fit quite right — spurting out bits of hot oil. Shaking it vigorously in our after-school hunger. Popcorn made in the morning by my Mama. Bagged up in our school lunches. I always think of that when I am out of a store-bought snack for Hannah Mae's lunch, and turn to my canister of kernels.
Thought about adding a splash of bright red, but decided to keep it simple. Pen only.
I love blueberry muffins lately. So quick and easy. Moist with those bits of juiciness that literally squirt out when bitten into. Here's some bits from our Father's Day breakfast I drew on Sunday. Finished up coloring them today. Thought it would be too boring to draw a grapefruit. Just a simple sphere? So much more detail upon looking closer — the numerous tiny indents, the curves of the edges forming a not-so-perfect sphere. Couldn't resist getting down all those sunshiny shades of orange and yellow on paper. Forgot how much I love blending with colored pencils.
