Can You Name this House in Twelve Books or Less?

Shelf Life: Chase Residence, Dining Room

9x12, oil on panel

Could you recognize another person's house by seeing just one small portion of one bookcase in one room? From the books in this painting, I not only know who's house I'm in (Grandpa's) - I can feel how it feels to be there (wonderful!) and remember what the shelves around it hold and conjure what delicious smells are coming from the kitchen right around the corner. I just love that.

Hope everyone is having a great May!

Happy Mother's Day - Festa Della Mamma Felice

Anna's Kitchen

12x24, oil on panel

sold

Happy Mother's Day to all, especially Anna and her bella daughter who commissioned this piece. I loved listening to Dean Martin sing Mambo Italiano in the studio while painting and dreaming about Anna preparing her famous homemade sauce: tomatoes, garlic, basil, Italian parsley, parmesano, olive oil from her rustic jug - delizioso!

Recipes and Friends

These still lives are in a series called Painting Recipes that I've played with for some time. I'm going to post a new one this weekend -- a Mother's Day gift -- so I've been thinking a lot about them. Here we have recipes for homemade lemonade, hot cocoa with marshmallows, Sharkboy's pumpkin pie, and -- well, the title says it all: Is There a Title That Doesn't Include a Tequila Reference?

Truthfully, I've been in a pickle lately. What time I've set aside for painting has been spent on commissions this spring (Yippee!!!) and that doesn't leave me much to "blog" about. Then a dear friend dropped by the studio and gave me some great ideas. She is the Sarah of Hyacinths for the Soul - click here to visit her beautiful blog - and so, of course, she knows a thing or two or twenty about blogging. So inspirational.