My Vegetable Calendar for 2017

You might have seen some of the sneak-peeks of my 

2017 vegetable calendar. I’m so excited that it’s almost complete. 

It will be available at Portland Open Studios 

and Washington County Open Studios in October. 

I chose vegetables this year because I eat them every day, 

they’re beautiful to look at, and there are SO many of them!

I discovered the Vegetables by Month chart by Cook Smarts, in my research. It’s a handy and beautiful way to make sure you’re buying your veggies at their peaks! 

I’ve had fun this summer going to the Portland Farmers Market to buy vegetables... 

(and fruits, and flowers, and listen to music...) 

and create them into still lifes ... 

 and do some color studies.

 I've done studies of the reds in beets, red onions, and tomatoes.... 

and the amazing orange hues in carrots, yellow beets, and pumpkins. 

I had an idea of how to make the calendar even more fun...to add in recipes and stories from my friends.

So, here’s my request: 

If you have a favorite recipe featuring one of the following vegetables, please send it to me—along with a short story about the recipe. It could be why it’s your family's favorite, how your mother/grandma taught you to make it, or that time you served it at a fun dinner party, etc.
  
And, I would like to send you one a cd calendar (small desk size), as a thank you gift!

DEADLINE: midnight PST on Thursday, September 15. 

LENGTH: 250 words or less for recipe + story together. 

CONTRIBUTOR: I can use your name or leave it anonymous—just let me know which you prefer. :)

SEND TO: annie@anniesalness.com

Here’s the line-up of vegetables for 2017.

Choose your favorite one—and have at it!

My mouth is already watering in anticipation of the FANTASTIC recipes I know you will contribute!

• beets
• bok choy
• pumpkin
• carrot
• red pepper
• red onion
• tomatoes 
• garlic, rosemary
• brussel sprouts 
• asparagus
• artichoke
• eggplant

Gotta share!

Here is this little boy, at the Farmers Market, holding an artichoke!

I couldn't resist sharing one of my favorite Little Rascals scenes of Stymie...

"It might choke arti, but it ain't gonna choke Stymie." :)

Listening to while I paint:

Audiobook:  

Watership Down, by Richard Adams, narrated by Ralph Cosham

Podcasts: 

Building a Story Brand, hosted by Donald Miller
American's Test Kitchen, hosted by Christopher Kimball
Online Marketing Made Easy, hosted by Amy Porterfield

Beyond the To-Do List, hosted by Erik Fisher

Artists Helping Artists, hosted by Leslie Saeta

Social Media Examiner, hosted by Michael Stelzner
Splendid Table, hosted by Lynne Rossetto Kasper

Robcast, hosted by Rob Bell

Music: 
My iPod
Pandora

Celebration of Creativity - Stained Frames - Art Classes

Tulip

10"x10" framed, oil

$350

Click here to purchase

I was honored to be a part of the Celebration of Creativity  in early March. It featured original works from 80+ artists from 15+ different media categories.

I took 6 out of 12 pieces I had remaining that I painted for the calendars that I made for the Portland Open Studios. 

They wanted all the pieces framed, so I bought 6 plain, unfinished frames from Canvas Place. I sprayed them with water and I stained them with acrylic paint in the same colors I used in the original artworks. Then I finished them in acrylic gel gloss.

They turned out excellent! I think I will do them again. :)

Art Classes

I have made a bold move! 
I couldn't talk for about two weeks after my stroke, so I was unsure of offering to teach art classes. Well I'm doing it and my first students said that I did great! 

There are still two spaces available in my upcoming art class, March 29 and 31, from 9am-2pm. I'm fixing a tasty lunch for my students on the 29th. Beginners welcome!

Details here: http://www.eventbee.com/v/anniesalness/event?eid=168236983

Listening to while I paint:

Audiobook:  

The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield, narrated by George Guidall

Podcasts: 
Better Call Saul Insider Podcast, hosted by Kelley Dixon
American's Test Kitchen, hosted by Christopher Kimball
Online Marketing Made Easy, hosted by Amy Porterfield

Beyond the To-Do List, hosted by Erik Fisher

Artists Helping Artists, hosted by Leslie Saeta

Social Media Examiner, hosted by Michael Stelzner
Splendid Table, hosted by Lynne Rossetto Kasper

Truth For Life, hosted by Alistair Begg

Music: 
My iPod
Pandora

What I am reading:
Color and Light, by James Gurney

Really helpful:

I am continually checking a dictionary, thesaurus, spell check, but one thing that has been particularly helpful is the grammar check and Hemingway App. Please excuse any errors that I make and tell me! :)

Decarli Restaurant and Catalyst Wedge

These are 3 out of 5 paintings that will be on display 

at Decarli Restaurant from July 8 - September 8, 2015. 

 Ominous

48" x 36" x 1.5
oil on canvas
$1200
Click here to purchase

Grasslands
48" x 36" x 1.5
oil on canvas
$1200
Click here to purchase

Coastline

48" x 36" x 1.5

oil on canvas

$1200

Click here to purchase

Here is my husband, Lad, hanging them!

Process: right now I am using a Catalyst Wedge in my work. 

I took a close up of this photo of Coastline so that you might see it closer.

Catalyst Wedge  

I like the wedge because it allows me to move color 

and drag it around and extend a simple movement or direction. 

Does this make sense?

I have tried an old credit card, palette knives, matte board, 

card board, etc., but I like the Catalyst Wedge best.

I am anxious to try the squeeguee like artist Charlie Hunter.

Do you have anything that you prefer or that 

I might have missed? :)

 Listening to while I paint:

Audiobook:  

How to Win Friends and Influence People

Podcasts: 

Beyond the To-Do List, hosted by Erik Fischer

The Nerdist, John Cusack, hosted by Chris Hardwick

Artists Helping Artists, hosted by Leslie Saeta

The Chalene Show, hosted by Chalene Johnson
Social Media Examiner, hosted by Michael Stelzner
"Wait, Wait.... Don't Tell Me!", hosted by Peter Sagal
Splendid Table, hosted by Lynne Rossetto Kasper
American's Test Kitchen, hosted by Christopher Kimball

Truth For Life, hosted by Alistair Begg

Music: 
My iPod

Really helpful!:
I am continually checking a dictionary, thesaurus, spell check, but one thing that has been particularly helpful is the grammar check. Please excuse any errors that I make and tell me! :)

Randall Tipton Demo Using Yupo Paper!

Donna Sanson and I had the privilege to see Randall Tipton demonstrate at Museum 510 in Lake Oswego, Oregon. 

He is a very accomplished and wonderful painter, and he is one of my favorite art friends!
He was demonstrating  with watercolor painting on Yupo paper. "Yupo is a compelling and unique alternative to traditional art papers. It's a synthetic paper, machine-made in the USA of 100% polypropylene. It is waterproof, stain-resistant, and extremely strong and durable." 
From Blick Art Materials

He says:

       "It's plastic, nothing is absorbed! The water in the paint must evaporate. This [use of Yupo] requires a completely different approach. A major difficulty is getting the paint to stay 'still'. I can do something I like, turn away, and when I return, it's different! It's as if the paint has its own agenda. This can be a strength as well. Watercolor can do marvelous things on this brilliant white surface. What would be muddy on true paper becomes rich, subtle, and sometimes profound".

From: Writing Without Paper 

It was a pleasure watching him paint. He uses a big, soft brush down to smaller one....well, I let him describe all the tools he uses: 

          "A natural sponge for pre-wetting and later lifting. Lots of Kleenex for blotting, Q-tips for drawing through wet paint making a soft fat line, a silicone spatula for drawing with a sharper line, a piece of mat board with a bevel edge for scraping like with a squeegee, cheap house painter brush for blending and then the watercolor brushes. Note those at the top have extra long soft bristles. I`ve come to prefer this type because you can really load them up yet they`ll also come to an edge or point. I`m using a bristle filbert that is extra long for oil painting too. Then there is the angle brush up above. I love these because they double as a wash brush but also can be used for line.

On bigger paintings I`ll use a much larger assortment. Often I`ll stop in my process and look over the choices to choose the best one for the task at hand. I feel like a surgeon sometimes"!

Randall started a magnolia painting. He says,"I try to get something I like...something to encourage me".

He left the demo with this......

Magnolia and Sky with watermedia and oils 20 x 20

.....and finished it at home. Because he started it with watercolor, he sealed it with spray acrylic. He then added acrylics and finally oils. Above is the final piece. It's beautiful.

There were several of his works at Museum 510, these are the few I took photos of....

"Randall thinks of himself as a realist who paints personal subject matter. 'I'm a nature boy'. His loyalty is to the process. Randall begins with an idea. He's not a slave to an image and paints mostly from memory. 'I look at the image in my head'. While painting, 'I keep the thing in play, in process. I might focus on the tangle in the front with the distant meadow as a quiet moment. Being in nature and/or thinking of nature is something I do 24/7. That's why I live in Oregon' ".  From Sarah Peroutka notes.

I look forward to his blog because it is so well written, honest, and full of the most interesting and fun things. (check out the new cat carrier!) 

His work is available in his studio.

Listening to while I paint:

Podcasts: 

Beyond the To-Do List, hosted by Erik Fischer

The Nerdist, hosted by Chris Hardwick

Artists Helping Artists, hosted by Leslie Saeta

The Chalene Show, hosted by Chalene Johnson
Social Media Examiner, hosted by Michael Stelzner
"Wait, Wait.... Don't Tell Me!", hosted by Peter Sagal
Splendid Table, hosted by Lynne Rossetto Kasper
American's Test Kitchen, hosted by Christopher Kimball

Truth For Life, hosted by Alistair Begg

Music: 
My iPod

Really helpful!:
I am continually checking a dictionary, thesaurus, spell check, but one thing that has been particularly helpful is the grammar check. Please excuse any errors that I make and tell me! :)

Curiosity

Curiosity 

18"x 24"x 1.5"

oil on panel

$625

Click here to purchase

I can't wait to take pictures at the summer farmers' market. 

(The Beaverton Farmers Market starts Saturday, May 2.) 

I take pictures of people sitting on benches relaxing or eating, standing in line waiting for the food vendors, playing with their children, etc..  

I don't have a plan in mind (maybe I should?), so I take lots of random photos and then I look at them on Photoshop to see what I have captured. 

I took this photo a few years ago. I love the little girl's posture and the way she is looking curiously at.....? 

I wanted the attention on *her* in the painting. Coming from a illustration and a bio-medical illustration background it was hard for me to vary the edges and distort the background. That pink shirt in the middle? It was just too much!  I had to add a little blue and a pink drip down her leg..... 

Here's is a close-up.

I found a new tool I used, the gray Catalyst Wedge . It has a flexibility that I like and I can drag my paint across with a big sweeping motion! :) (not really)

This is another one at the farmers' market: people standing in lines, talking to each other, but not this boy. He is just so curious about his shadow...

Shadow
8"x 10"
acrylic on gessoboard 
$195
Click here to purchase

Listening to while I paint:

Podcasts: 

Beyond the To-Do List, hosted by Erik Fischer

The Nerdist, hosted by Chris Hardwick

Artists Helping Artists, hosted by Leslie Saeta

The Chalene Show, hosted by Chalene Johnson
Social Media Examiner, hosted by Michael Stelzner
"Wait, Wait.... Don't Tell Me!", hosted by Peter Sagal
Splendid Table, hosted by Lynne Rossetto Kasper
American's Test Kitchen, hosted by Christopher Kimball

Truth For Life, hosted by Alistair Begg

Music: 
My iPod

Really helpful!:
I am continually checking a dictionary, thesaurus, spell check, but one thing that has been particularly helpful is the grammar check. Please excuse any errors that I make and tell me! :)

Always Together

"Always Together"

12"x 12"

acrylic on canvas

SOLD

I did this commission for a very dear friend who's children were 8, 5 and 1 years old, and are now 36, 33, 29.
Growing up, we were neighbors and I was best friends with her little sister. I hadn’t seen them in over 20 years, and then they paid me a surprise visit at the hospital right after my stroke. It meant so much to me! I was thrilled to do this commission for Colleen and her husband, Jim, knowing that every time she looks at it she is going to remember that time in her life 
and think of me.

             "We had just moved to Honolulu and were staying in the Hale Koa, right next to the Hilton, which is the military hotel where we stayed until housing was available. I would take the kids to the beach in the morning, then nap time and when Jim came back from work we would go back down on the beach. It was not posed-they just ended up sitting like that and Jim just happened to have his camera with him. I think he just always loved the innocence and sweetness of it. We are so fortunate that they have grown up to be close as adults and it would not be a surprise to see them sitting together on the beach today. I should have added that the specialness of the picture is the reminiscing of a magical 3 years - the beauty and wonders of living on the island, the magic of kids growing up on the beach, and the memories of the making of lifetime friends! And all created by a very special lifetime friend of whom Jim and I have very dear memories!!”

Listening to while I paint:

Audiobooks:
The Bourne Identity, by Robert Ludlum, narrated by Scott Brick

Podcasts: 
The Alton Browncast, hosted by Alton Brown
The Lede, hosted by Jerod Morris

Artists Helping Artists, hosted by Leslie Saeta

Social Media Examiner, hosted by Michael Stelzner

"Wait, Wait.... Don't Tell Me!", hosted by Peter Sagal

Music: 

my iPod

YouTube: Daryl's House

I am having a Pet Sale! From now until the end of August 2014,  I will do any pet painting for 15% off the regular price. Just send me your photo of your pet and then we can decide on the size! I will take requests and photos all month long....To see more pets click here!

Really helpful: 

I am continually checking a dictionary, thesaurus, spell check, but one thing that has been particularly helpful is the grammar check! Please excuse any errors that I make and tell me! :)

Soldier/Dogs

Soldier/Dogs

11"x 14"

Acrylic on canvas

SOLD

I finished a commission for a client who has a lot of veterans come work for him. He offers them jobs because they have a hard time finding them elsewhere. My client shared some amazing stories with me, and I was surprised and touched to learn about the importance of the relationship between dog and soldier:
   "One of the key themes my guys tell me coming home is that dogs helped get them through the war. These guys credit the dogs with saving their lives. I never would have guessed that to be the case, but it was. I never realized it until someone came into my office and commented that there were dogs with all of my boys in the pictures I had on my desk." 

Listening to while I paint:

Audio-books: "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell. Read by the author.

Podcasts:
              "Wait, Wait.... Don't Tell Me!" hosted by Peter Sagal
               Here's The Thing, hosted by Alec Baldwin
               Social Media Examiner, by Michael Stelzner
               The Splendid Table by Lynne Rosetto Kasper
               Artist Helping Artist by Leslie Saeta
Music: my iPod

                 

Stroke Update - "Not Leaving"

Rose Bush
11"x 14"
acrylic on gessoboard
$375
Click here to purchase

"The Book Thief", an audio book by Markus Zusak, takes place in the fictional town of Molching, Germany between 1939 and 1943. Often, a little girl in that town had nightmares and her Poppa, would come to her in the middle of the night and "not leave" her alone.....

A quote from the book:

                "A definition not found in the dictionary, 'not leaving'; an act of trust and love often deciphered by children."

I cried when I first heard this because, ever since my stroke, I've had to depend on people "not leaving" me. Everything I do, driving, walking and especially my one armed reverse double flip hand springs (just kidding!), requires having them near me.   

There have been many people in my life who are "not leaving": acquaintances, friends, 

but most of all my family. :)

Listening to while I paint:

Audiobook: The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell, read by the author

Podcasts: The Nerdist, by Chris Hardwick

                 Social Media Examiner, by Michael Stelzner

              Artist Helping Artist, by Leslie Saeta

                 Oh So Pinteresting, hosted by Cynthia Sanchez

Music: my iPod

NY City

NY City

12"x 12"

acrylic on gessoboard

$375

Click here to purchase

This was a challenge for Daily Paintworks. 

I haven't been to New York since I was 11? ... I remember this one thing... my family and I were sitting at this cafe and this homeless man walked up to us and asked us for change. I smiled at him, with my mouth full of braces and he smiled back, removed his teeth, and said, 

"take care of them"! :)

Listening to while I paint:

Audio books:  "Someday, Someday, Maybe", by Lauren Graham read by the author

Podcasts: The Nerdist, by Chris Hardwick

                Social Media Examiner, by Michael Stelzner

                     The Splendid Table by Lynne Rosetto Kasper

                    Artist Helping Artist by Leslie Saeta

Music: my iPod