VeganMoFo: Stuffed Mushrooms

Happy Mushrooms and Snail is for sale here

Medium: Watercolor on Arches paper
Size: Approximately 5"x7" (image size is 4"x6")
Will fit in 5"x7" frame! Signed on back.

Note: I am doing a painting-a-day challenge for VeganMoFo, and will be creating a new painting of rescue animals or vegan food throughout the month of October, and placing them for sale. All proceeds (minus shipping) will be donated to For the Animals Sanctuary, because they are a pretty super-great non-profit animal rescue and sanctuary, in Blairstown NJ, and are vegan owned and operated. Feeding, housing, and taking care of these animals costs a lot of money, and as a non-profit organization, they rely entirely on donations. Hopefully (with your help!), I'll be able to make a size-able donation at the end of the month!  You can check out all the paintings I have created so far that are still for sale here! 

The mushroom lady at my local farmer's market had some really nice (and huuuuge) crimini mushrooms last weekend that were practically begging to be stuffed.  So stuff I did.  I made the filling from the Seitan and Mushroom Empanadas, out of Viva Vegan, because I thought it would translate well into a stuffed mushroom (and into my tummy!), and because I had a dinner party full of omnivores to go to this Saturday, and it was a test run to see if I should bring the empanadas (I did!) Holy delicious!  It's the Kalamata olives that do it, I'm sure of it. It's a great unexpected salty twang that I just loved.  Also, I could eat stuffed mushrooms everyday. 

New things and Shop Update

So I went to a concert a month or so ago, and I was feeling rather down and sad and frustrated, and was hoping one of my favorite bands, Broken Social Scene, would cheer me up. Of course they did. Kevin Drew has this cheesy way of saying things that most people don't say (because they are corny/cheesy sounding), that actually make you feel good. Charles Spearin performed his "Happiness" project, where he recorded his neighbor, Mrs. Morris, talking about happiness, and played it to the audience. And then he played it again, but this time with a saxophone accompaniment that played in the same tones as Mrs. Morris' voice. It was amazing and the "happiness is love" part she said kinda stuck with me. Later in the night, Kevin Drew was building up to a loud part in one of their songs and he kept saying things like "just let out all your frustrations and angers and sadness" and "just scream as loud as you can." The crescendo happened and at the final climatic horn-blasting part, everyone in the room just screamed and yelled as loud as they could and it felt damn good. I needed that and it completely inspired me and that is what this series is based on.

A lot of crappy things are happening around the world right now, that can't be solved in a day, or a week, or even years. Wars, genocides, environmental disasters, economic downturns, corruption, layoffs, fights, injustice, unfairness, prejudice, hate, ignorance, sexism, and on and on and on. Sometimes you just have to step back and remind yourself and others that there is still some good in the world around us, among the bad, and that it is good to take a deep breath and think something positive. Not to be corny or anything, but sometimes you just have to tell yourself or others to relax, or to be happy, or godammit, just let it all out.

These are watercolor, dyes, and pen/ink on paper. Click for a more detailed view! All roughly 8.5"x11" Prints are available in my shop!

Happy New Year!!!

To say I'm ridiculously happy today would be a complete understatement. Happy new year!!