Bright as Bulbs

Peel. Acrylic on unstretched canvas, 24 x 24 inches by Sarah Atlee

It's citrus season, a time when I'm extra-thankful for living in central Texas. Just yesterday I was given what I think is my first orange with its leaves still attached:

Gosh, maybe I should paint a picture of these.

Holding, peeling, and eating a succulent orange is its own special set of pleasures. Following are some other artists' interpretations of orange - both the fruit and the color.

Vincent Van Gogh. Child with Orange, 1890.

Luis Feito. Untitled (Orange, red and purple).

You know that moment when you first dig your thumbnail into an orange and begin to peel back the skin? When the scent of citrus oil fills your nose and the juice starts running? I think Feito has captured that here.

Fernando Botero. Orange, 1977. Update: Check out Fernando Botero's page on Artsy to learn more.

Johannes Itten. Composition in Orange and Blue-Green, 1957.

Itten's composition above interests me both as a painter and as a quilter.

In a 2010 radio essay you can read here, Paul Marion describes the joy of seeing oranges in the winter:

"Bright as light bulbs on the kitchen table, the oranges promise sunshine as late December daylight shrinks in the shortest days of the year."

Avocado and Shades of Firefly

Avocado: Shades of Firefly. Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 24 inches by Sarah Atlee.

You already know about my love for Persea americana. Here is another tribute to this fascinating fruit.

Shades of what now?

When I say "Firefly," I'm not talking about this.

Not now, Mal. I'm working.

Nor am I referring to one of these lovelies:

Photo by Terry Priest. Click image to view source.

I mean this Firefly.

Firefly, from the first generation of My Little Pony toys. Source unknown.

Sometimes, when I put the right pink and the right blue next to eachother, I get a nostalgic flashback to the mid-eighties. I didn't collect all the My Little Pony dolls, and lord knows what happened to them. But I do remember this one. I think so, anyway - I feel like the one I had was a lighter shade of pink with a darker shade of blue...

Color can be funny that way.

See Avocado: Shades of Firefly in Person

Avocado: Shades of Firefly was shown in February 2015 at Ro2 Art in Dallas.

Guests In The Kitchen

Tuna Steaks. Acrylic on unstretched canvas, 30 x 30 inches by Sarah Atlee.

As you might imagine, I take a lot of food photos. A few of them turn into paintings. The piece you see here is from a wonderful meal cooked in someone else's kitchen, where my companion was housesitting.

It's a strange thing to try and find your way around an unfamiliar kitchen - it's that feeling of being slightly off-balance. It's also a great opportunity to compose a food photo using something other than your usual props. In this instance, I had access to a chartreuse cutting board and a very nice chef's knife. Not to mention these beautiful tuna steaks.

My perspective on tuna changed completely after seeing Jiro Dreams of Sushi, a fascinating look into the process of one of the world's great sushi chefs, Jiro Ono. Have a look at this clip to see how the tuna market has changed over the years:

How did our meal turn out? Beautifully! See for yourself:

See Tuna Steaks in Person

Tuna Steaks will be available for purchase in February 2015 at Ro2 Art in Dallas. Join us at For Real featuring Sarah Atlee and James Zamora. Contact Ro2 Art for more details.

UPDATE: For Real has been reviewed by Jenny Block for The Huffington Post! Read the full review here: "A Hyperrealism That Questions Reality With James Zamora and Sarah Atlee at RO2 Art"

A Harvest Already At Hand

Harvest. Acrylic on unstretched canvas, 24 x 24 inches by Sarah Atlee.

Art is recuperation from time. I lie back convalescing upon the prospect of a harvest already at hand. - R. S. Thomas

The summer of 2006 was a hot, dry one - my first in Oklahoma. While I was busy napping and otherwise taking respite from the heat, our vegetable garden was busy producing its bounty. That year we had green chiles, Thai chilies, zucchini, lots of tomatoes, a watermelon or two, and one giant sweet potato (pictured at top). My mother and I thought those sweet potato vines were just ornamental - we didn't realize they were attached to such a prodigious root.

Other Bountiful Harvests (and Summer Heat) in Art

Corneille, 1971. Click image to view source.

Kateryna Bilokur, 1946. Click image to view source.

Ronnie Landfield, 1981. Click image to view source.

Vincent Van Gogh, 1888. Click image to view source.

Paul Gauguin, 1888. Click image to view source.

George Saru, 1988. Click image to view source.

Natalia Goncharova, 1911. Click image to view source.

See Harvest in Person

Harvest will be available for purchase in February 2015 at Ro2 Art in Dallas. Join us at For Real featuring Sarah Atlee and James Zamora. Contact Ro2 Art for more details.

UPDATE: For Real has been reviewed by Jenny Block for The Huffington Post! Read the full review here: "A Hyperrealism That Questions Reality With James Zamora and Sarah Atlee at RO2 Art"

To Shaking Things Up

For last year's words belong to last year's languageAnd next year's words await another voice. -- T. S. Eliot, Little Gidding

Manhattan, acrylic on canvas, 30 x 30 inches by Sarah Atlee

Happy New Year everybody!

Although we typically toast the New Year with champagne, allow me to suggest the classic Manhattan cocktail as a festive alternative.

How to make a Classic Manhattan Cocktail

The basic Manhattan is very simple:

3 oz bourbon 1.5 oz sweet vermouth dash of bitters

Pour over ice, stir and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry and/or orange twist.

Manhattan Tips & Variations

Like any classic, this recipe is infinitely adaptable. I'm certainly not a purist when it comes to tweaking traditions.

For a dryer Manhattan (my preference), use rye rather than bourbon, skimp on the sweet vermouth, add an extra dash of bitters, and skip the cherry. Or at least use a good cherry, if you can get them.

A very Dry Manhattan uses dry vermouth rather than sweet. A Perfect Manhattan uses 50/50 dry & sweet vermouth.

Stirred v. shaken: Personally, I like a shaken cocktail, even when it's de rigeur to stir (as with a mixture that's all spirits and no juice or cream). I like the extra ice fragments and don't mind if things get watered down just a tad. It's a personal choice.

As far as glassware goes, any pretty stemware will complement this colorful quaff. Some prefer their Manhattan served on the rocks, like an Old Fashioned. Again, adapt to taste.

Don't forget that garnish! If you don't have the fancy cherries on hand, an ordinary orange will do nicely. Peel off 1-2 inches of the orange's skin (not the pith), hold it over the glass, and crease it longways to release those aromatic oils. Swipe it around the rim of the glass before dropping it in. (Nice how-to video here.) Using orange bitters rather than Angostura enhances this wonderful citrus aroma.

See Manhattan in Person

Manhattan will be available for purchase in February 2015 at Ro2 Art in Dallas. Join us at For Real featuring Sarah Atlee and James Zamora. Contact Ro2 Art for more details.

UPDATE: For Real has been reviewed by Jenny Block for The Huffington Post! Read the full review here: "A Hyperrealism That Questions Reality With James Zamora and Sarah Atlee at RO2 Art"

What are you shaking up this year?

Let us know in the comments below.