"Red Berries"13'" H x 10" WWatercolorThis is the newest of my paintings and I tried something new. I decided not to trust in masking fluid when putting in the background on this one because of the delicate stems in it. Masking fluid is a wonderful tool but it is TREACHEROUS!There is nothing so disheartening as finding a missed area after you've removed the mask! Those little failures always seem to show up in a conspicuous area and they're so difficult to fix.So this time I decided to carefully paint in the background freehand. I think it was pretty successful but it certainly was tedious.
Another sign of fall is all the little red berries that are appearing on the plants and bushes.I found these ones down by the edge of the lake water. I don't know if the birds eat these ones, but they have been eating the ones we have in the back yard. The squirrels and chipmunks are also joining in.I have one little red squirrel that breaks off a branch with the berries, climbs to a nook in a tree branch, picks all the leaves off, then eats each berry and discards the branch. Quite a pile of leaves and twigs are building up under that tree. Of course, when I go out with the camera, he beats feet and is no where to be found. I think he is laughing at me because he watches me watching him through the window.
Another sign of fall is all the little red berries that are appearing on the plants and bushes.I found these ones down by the edge of the lake water. I don't know if the birds eat these ones, but they have been eating the ones we have in the back yard. The squirrels and chipmunks are also joining in.I have one little red squirrel that breaks off a branch with the berries, climbs to a nook in a tree branch, picks all the leaves off, then eats each berry and discards the branch. Quite a pile of leaves and twigs are building up under that tree. Of course, when I go out with the camera, he beats feet and is no where to be found. I think he is laughing at me because he watches me watching him through the window.
This is my husband´s favorite shortcake. In winter frozen berries work fine. They do not even need to be defrosted. Cake pans come in a wide range of sizes, from a round cake pan, to a loaf pan, to a rectangular pan, to a ..... I have tried them all for this recipe of shortcake. Once, or perhaps twice, I divided batter and poured it into two loaf pans.The choice is yours! Therefore I do not mention the baking time.The batter will bake much more quickly in a large, wide oven baking pan. Check yourself for doneness by inserting a wooden skewer in to the centre of the cake. When no batter sticks on the skewer, the cake is ready.INGREDIENTS:* 75 g butter* 1 ½ dl (150 ml) milk* 3 eggs* 3 dl (300 ml) sugar* 2 teaspoons vanilla sugar* 4 ½ dl (450 ml) wheat flour* 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder* 1-3 dl (100-300 ml) raspberries or red current berriesMETHOD:Preheat oven to 175 degrees C (about 350 F).Butter an ovenproof cake pan (any size will do),Cover sides with breadcrumbs.Melt butter, pour i
Click to enlarge either image:Red Berries and Silver Guitar7 x 5", double matted to 10x8", Gouache on Fabriano Artistico 100% rag paper$100 double matted, unframed via PayPal, free shipping within US (email me for international rates)This painting is sold in a beautiful double mat (shown below), ready to hang in any standard 8x10 picture frame. The camera angle below was a little skewed. The mat is perfectly even around the painting.This is a painting filled with things that are so special to me. The little silver guitar was given to me by a wonderful student of mine. The red berries are from a bouquet that my husband gave me for Valentine's Day. The beautiful red pot was made by a local artisan. I got it at the RiverWinds Gallery while out gallery-hopping with my friends last weekend. As soon as I saw it there on display, I knew I had to paint it!
