Painting the Roses Red

Prompt: Tree

I've been on a kick to paint more these days. I don't do it enough, it's one of my favorite things to do, and I want to get back in the habit of doing something artsy "just for fun" daily. I bought a block of watercolor paper, some new brushes, and I'm not stopping until the block is full. It just so happens that Spoonflower is having a 30-day drawing challenge right now, so I have been hopping on their prompts and going to town with my paints. Cosmic alignment or something. Anyways, here is a glimpse of what I have been painting, and you can follow along via instagram (and maybe I'll post a few more here in a week or so.) 

Wheee!

Mountains

Cactus

Landscape, Lemons, and Arrow

054: Chickadee

365 Days of Animals
054: Chickadee
Pen/Ink/Digital

It's a dreary, rainy day here in Brooklyn that makes me wish for spring to come with it's blooms and cute little bird chirps!

xo,
Michelle

Rainy Days

An in-progress ink drawing I'm working on

Hello!  It's a gloomy day out here, and I'm taking full advantage.  Lotsa tea and drawing and scheming in the works.  I've been planning lots of things lately, mostly for the springtime, so all has been quiet around here.  I'm excited for this weekend, for daylight savings to spring ahead, and for there to be some more sunshine in my life!  

I really need to clean my studio and do my taxes, and I'm *really* good at putting them off!

VeganMofo 2010: Nachooo Love!

Soo full of nachos!  Holy delicious.  I decided to make a monster-sized plate tonight for Nik and I (cooked in the oven because I'm anti-microwave.)  We have homemade refried beans, chips, that new Wayfare 'We Can't Say it's Cheese' mexi-cheddar dip, Daiya cheddar, salsa, avocados, some seitan, and hot sauce.  

That new 'We Can't Say it's Cheese' stuff is pretty tasty. I found it in the store near my apartment yesterday and did a little happy-dance in the middle of the aisle.  They only had the cheddar and mexi-cheddar varieties, but I hope to try the hickory smoked kind soon.  Has anyone else tried it? This was the first thing I thought of to make with it. Other ideas?  

VeganMofo 2010: Sweet Potato Broccoli Bread

I had one of those lightbulb moments last week, where I was thinking about things to make for 'MoFo, and my mind wandered to grilled cheese and then to all that broccoli I received from my CSA...and DING DING DING!  Broccoli bread turned into a yummy grilled cheese!  I don't really have a "go-to" bread that I make, because I don't usually make my own bread (I know! I'm impatient with waiting for things to rise and usually think about making bread when it's too late in the game.)  Sooo, I started flipping through my cookbooks, looking for some sort of savory bread. Let's just say that there are lots of cornbread recipes out there...

Celine and Joni never let me down though.  There is a recipe for Potato Bread in 500 Vegan Recipes that fit the bill perfectly.  I used the sweet potato option in the recipe, because I thought it would go good with the broccoli I was going to add.  The only thing I changed in the recipe, was to add in 1/2 cup chopped broccoli instead of the seeds, and to throw in about a 1/4 cup of nooch to make it cheesier. Holy yum! The bread was super-delicious on it's own, with a little Earth Balance spread on it, and it was absolutely perfect in the grilled cheese form.  Nik gave it a double-thumbs up.  Hurrah!

Yeah, I like pet worms

So I haven't had a chance to scan that painting yet, as it's been rainy and gross here and I don't want to chance taking it outside to bring to work and scan. Hopefully it will be nice out tomorrow and I can bring it.

I've been up to my ears in planters! I almost had a crisis when Home Depot ran out of the terracotta planters and the sales associate was real lame about telling me when the next shipment would come in. I scoured the flower shops of Greenpoint looking for planters and managed to find 6 and this cute little lady's shop. Thankfully, Home Depot restocked today so I bought a big supply (now to get them home without breaking any...hmm). People like cuteycakes. :)

I do have a drawing I have been working on to show though! I have had a thing for fat 'lil birds lately. I think it is because of all the twitterpated boy birds I've seen outside, chasing after the girl birds, with their chests all puffed up. I'm not quite done with this image yet; I think I want to do an antiqued version with sepia-colored lines on a yellowed watercolor wash. Anyways, pet worms make me smile.