Wintertime in Pennsylvania often brings periods of dreary, overcast days with intermittent snow flurries and/or drizzle. Sounds lovely, right? The gray days seem interminable at times, so when we finally get a dazzlingly sunny day, it puts a smile on everyone’s faces and makes my spirits soar.
This scene is the view from my front porch and from the study where I’m sitting to write this. The pin oaks in the foreground are both the same variety but one sheds its leaves each fall and the other holds onto them until spring.
I had the entire sketch painted when I decided to add a yellow wash to the sunlit snow. It looked so cold without it, and I like the warm glow it added to the painting. But when I showed the sketch to my husband, he felt compelled to make a comment about yellow snow (yes, that yellow snow!) so now that’s what I think about every time I look at this sketch. Thanks a lot, Fred! 🙂
These sketches are part of the gratitude journal I’m keeping this winter. I’m using a 6×6 handmade sketchbook that was the result of my first attempt to make my own journal.
The French link binding is less than perfect, and the whole thing is a little loose and floppy, but I love it, because it reminds me of the day I made it. A group of us had gotten together at my friend Carol’s house, and she not only taught us all how to construct the sketchbook but gave us lunch besides. How I long for a return to those days of happy camaraderie!
One evening I made a really yummy dinner and decided to serve it on pretty blue-and-white plates. The colors of the shrimp and asparagus against the patterned plate inspired me to snap a few pictures for a sketch that I worked later that evening.
The shrimp, asparagus, and mushrooms were easy to paint, but that risotto gave me fits! How do you paint a mass of tan mush with white feta cheese crumbles on top?
Well, you just dab on some paint with a round brush and hope that the rest of the sketch distracts from it!
To paint the pattern on the table cloth, I masked out the light gray lines and dots first and painted the blues over top. After the masking was removed, I went back and painted the pattern.
For the plate, I lightly sketched the larger shapes in pencil to give myself some guidelines, then I just winged it with a size 4 round brush, painting the pattern freehand. It doesn’t exactly match the complex pattern on the actual plate, but it creates the impression of it.
One of my favorite parts of keeping this gratitude journal is that I get to play with all sorts of fun lettering styles. I like the challenge of finding just the right font to fit the look and feel of a sketch. In this sketch, a Greek-style font was the obvious choice and a fun script variation provided a note of contrast.
My go-to website for fonts now is fontspace.com. Check out their styles and collections to find the perfect style for any sketch. You can even preview your sketch title in different fonts right on the website.
If this sketch has you feeling hungry for some delicious Greek Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto, give this recipe a try!
Greek Shrimp & Asparagus Risotto
3-4 C. sodium chicken broth
1 C. water
1 T. olive oil
1 ½ C. Vidalia or other sweet onion (about 1 medium)
1 C. Arborio rice
2 garlic cloves
1 ¾ C. ½” slices asparagus (about 8 oz.)
8 oz. white button mushrooms, sliced
1 pound peeled and deveined medium raw shrimp
½ C. (+ extra to sprinkle on top) crumbled feta cheese
1 T. chopped fresh dill (or 1 tsp. dried)
2 T. fresh lemon juice
¼ tsp. salt (to taste)
1/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper
Bring broth and 1 cup water to a simmer in a medium saucepan (do not boil). Keep warm over low heat.
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in rice and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add broth mixture ½ cup at a time, stirring frequently until each portion of broth is absorbed before adding the next (about 30 minutes total).
Meanwhile, steam asparagus slightly.
Separately, sauté the sliced mushrooms, then set aside.
Pre-cook shrimp by sautéing for a few minutes in a skillet.
When the rice is cooked, stir in asparagus, mushrooms, and shrimp, and heat through.
Remove from the heat; stir in the cheese and remaining ingredients. Serve with extra feta.
Yield: 4 servings
Serving size: 1 ½ cups risotto
8 Comments
Thank you for brightening my gray day with your wonderful art and recipe, both look very yummy!
You’re welcome, Laura. We have to do something to get through this winter. Food and art help me. 🙂
Love the idea of sketching food along with recipe. You could publish and sell! I can’t eat the cheese…..wonder if it would work without it…
It would still be good, even without the cheese, because it has the dill and chicken broth in it that give it flavor. Plus all the other yummy ingredients. Give it a try!
Well, you did that risotto right! It works — even when you focus on the rice and feta! And it’s beautiful — I can imagine that lovely and delicious dinner — maybe even while looking out the window as dusk falls on your view. I do adore feta — can’t get enough. This might have to be on the menu!
Thanks, Jeanie, that’s so sweet of you to say. I love feta on a salad – Athenos is the best brand I’ve found around here. It seems to be closest to the taste of what I had in Greece. It’s so yummy!
Thanks so much for the information about fontspace.com – I have been looking for something like this – very easy and helpful!
Glad to help, Carol. I used dafont.com for years, but I’ve found that fontspace.com has more ways to search for interesting fonts. And they have fun categories like Funky, Cute, Whimsical, Quirky, etc. I’ve always loved lettering styles, and sketchbook journaling gives me an excellent excuse to play around with them.