Two Rat Claws Up For Ratatouille!

Wow, how brilliant.....perfection. They couldn't have done it better. I'm not going to write a full review as there are plenty of those, but let's just say I'm going back for seconds. What a beautiful film.

The short film before the feature is hilarious as well. Oh, and make sure you have plenty of snacks to nibble on, because the presentation of food (similar to Big Night for example) will make your mouth water. I, unfortunately, had my first run in with MOLDY POPCORN! I have seen movies in theaters throughout both Europe and here in the US, and have never come across moldy popcorn before. I mean, how do you screw up popcorn? I got my five bucks back from the less than happy or sympathetic manager, and rode home hoping I didn't end up sick in a few hours. They were funny without knowing it too--they asked if I wanted a replacement. Yes, more moldy popcorn please.... yum!

Get your family together and expect a little less than two hours of pure delight. Click here for a whole collection of video clips from the movie if you can't wait, or can't get to the theater this weekend. Enjoy!

And to add to the festivities, here's the recipe for Ratatouille (Remy is the name of the main rat character, and Ratatouille is the name of a French stewed vegetable dish, so no it's not a recipe for rat stew I promise!):

Serving Size: 2

Ingredients:

• 2 small onions, cut in quarters
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 eggplant, cut in bite sized pieces
• 2 bell peppers, de-seeded and cut in bite sized pieces
• 4 tomatoes, cut in large pieces
• 1 zucchini, cut in bite sized pieces
• 1-3 tbs. olive oil
• 2-3 teaspoons herbs de Provence
• salt to taste
• dash of cayenne pepper
• 3-4 tbs. liquid (it can be tomato paste with water, or often, if a jarred bell pepper is used, it can be the liquid from the jar).

Directions:

1. In a large skillet or frying pan, place the olive oil and begin to saute the onion.
2. Add the bell pepper pieces, and the zucchini pieces.
3. When they begin to soften, add the eggplant, garlic and tomatoes.
4. Add the seasonings and lightly saute all the vegetables until al dente.
5. Add a bit of liquid so the vegetables don?t stick to the pan, but not so much that they are swimming in liquid.

Notes:

I usually use either the yellow or red bell peppers. They are sweeter and milder than the green ones, but usually more expensive.
Using 1 of each (the yellow and the red) gives the dish a more colorful appearance.

Guess What I'm Seeing Today...

From what I've read, Ratatouille is supposed to be like the old Disney films.....I'm SO there.

Nicholas Pond

This is another story I'm developing...

Three ways to get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice!

Right now I have my nose in various watercolor books, including both step-by-step to learn new techniques, and books of my favorite watercolor artists: Homer, Hopper, and Sargent. I want to learn to paint well with this medium not only for the enjoyment of painting, but to improve my illustration work. I've also been using a lot more references for my pieces to get that extra spark of life in the drawings. And of course I'm always collecting books of my favorite illustrators from the library to study their work as well. All this study though isn't as boring as it sounds---in fact seeing my work grow and striving to better my ability to capture the image in my mind's eye is very exciting. Even when I've been doing this for 20 or 30 years, I will still be studying and perfecting my craft--it's what keeps things interesting.

Now, don't be too hard on me, I have not done many still life paintings with watercolor.

Finished Robert's Snow Snowflakes

Well here are the final versions of the snowflake--back (cookie image) and front(Christmas ornament).

My Robert's Snow Flake

Painted with acrylics--a medium I haven't used in ages!

For more info on Robert's Snow for Cancer's Cure, click here:

Robert's Snow

Making Of "Pigeon Park"

This is a quick, rough sketch of the idea:



And here are some pigeon sketches. I thought this sort of study was going to be rather boring, but turned out surprisingly interesting, especially drawing the birds in flight. I also tightened up the main character so her form was a little more dynamic and in motion. Oops, where's her hand? Must have been one hungry pigeon. ;-)


To be continued!

Cookies

Charcoal was the first dry medium, besides a pencil, that I learned to used when I was a kid. I loved how easily I could shade with it, and erase areas for highlights. I drew my first succesful sphere with charcoal when I was 9 during a summer art class taught by a very special teacher named Mrs. Knight. She didn't teach down to us in the least. We learned perspective, shading and all sorts of advanced drawing skills that other teachers wouldn't dare to attempt. Wonder what she's doing now?

Some Line Art

Ice Cream

You're not truly enjoying an ice cream cone unless you're wearing some of it.

Illustration Friday: Camouflage

This cold and shivery little guy is trying to blend in to the snow.

Okay, I'm Done With My Break

I couldn't stay away for long, and the new scanner didn't help things. It kept calling out to me....Paige....Paige...come see what I can do..post to your blog.... I'm still ironing out the kinks as far as color settings, but it's fast and quiet and all around excellent.


A friend of mine back from college (ugh...I just said 'back from college' ...was it really five years ago??) recently had a baby named, Adam!! So above is my gift to her. You can't see the penciled words at the bottom, but it says,"Welcome to the world Prince Adam".

Here's a bit of news. And I'm only sharing this to warn other illustrators of the possibility of this happening. When I went on my trip I stuck an original illustration in a book so it wouldn't get bent. When I got back, I forgot about the illustration....and RETURNED THE BOOK TO THE LIBRARY. Needless to say I will be up and over there as early as possible and hope that no one decides to check out the book before I arrive.

Taking A Break From Blogging

I might be back on one week or ten, not really sure. In the meantime I'm leaving up the archive of posts. Hope everyone enjoys the summer.

Six Year Old Sings...

...."Over The Rainbow" - very touching. Have tissues available when viewing ;-)

R.I.P. Canon Lide

Well my Canon scanner has kicked the scanning habit and is going to the big computer store in the sky. Finding new hardware is never fun because there's always a sea of bad equipment waiting to be bought by a sucker. I'll make sure to read through reviews of course, but I sure do miss my old scanner--I loved it--it was light as can be and about 1 inch thick. It must not have been a good traveler because it conked out soon after returning from my trip. I'll make sure to search for the label 'jetsetter' in the newer scanners.

Illustration Friday: Suit

Birthday suits: zero dollars
Snow cake: zero dollars
Homemade sparkler: zero dollars

Birthday bash between best buddies? Priceless

Hey Look..A Fox..How Appropriate!

You'd think given the name of my blog that I do a lot of fox drawings. But I haven't..save for the blog titles. Well since I do like the little critters, and especially all the delicious reds and bright oranges that I get to play with, I thought I'd add some to the portfolio.

I'm still on the road, so had to use a cheap student grade spiral watercolor notebook that I grabbed at Michael's. But I was pleasantly surprised with the quality. As long as I didn't try too much layering it worked well.

This is the first time in over a week I've really gotten a chance to relax a bit and it feels oh so nice!

Paula's Place

Right now I'm really diggin' Paula's Place

Out Of Town

Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm still out of town - will probably be back this weekend some time, and can get back to doing some more kid's illustrations! :0)

Life Meets Sketchbook

I've been wanting a place to post my watercolor Moleskine journal entries...so here it is. Brand spanking new blog...

Life Meets Sketchbook