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.

The Most Important Cup of the Day

Breakfast: Peaches, Coffee, Shogun. Acrylic on canvas, 12 x 12 inches by Sarah Atlee

"Shogun," you ask? No, that’s not a typo. The object peeking down from the top of the composition is a worn paperback copy of Shogun by James Clavell that I was reading at breakfast that day.

This image represents one of many breakfasts I ate between 4:45 and 5:15 a.m. before heading off to work at a previous job. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am so very glad I don't have to do that anymore. But hey, my day still starts with coffee!

And what goes better with coffee than poetry?

Presenting To Some Coffee Cups I Have Known (An Excerpt)

Dear Center for Quality and Applied Statistics,

What you were doing in the art building I'll never know. Unclear origins enhance your misplaced charm. I nicked you from atop a mobile coatrack outside a cleared meeting room and the rest is history.

Eminently utilitarian you seem more cup than the others.

Dear He Man / Skeletor vessel made by 2004-05 ceramic artist-in-residence at the Rochester Institute of Technology School of American Craft (traded for small silverpoint drawing on found wood block),

If you had a handle I'd use you more.

Dear Sanctuario de Chimayo souvenir,

(broken) You cannot be healed still I cherish your best part.

Thank you.

See Breakfast: Peaches, Coffee, Shogun in Person

Breakfast: Peaches, Coffee, Shogun 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"

Peachy Patchwork

Peaches & Quilt. Acrylic on canvas, 12 x 12 inches by Sarah Atlee

Peaches are revered in many cultures as a symbol of longevity, vitality, and wealth. Small wonder - who can resist the sweet smell and juicy flesh of a ripe peach? Each fruit is a treasure.

Peaches. Janet Fish, 1971. Click image to view source.

In this painting by Janet Fish, the tempting peaches are sealed in plastic wrap, increasing our anticipation.

Riverbank of Peach Blossoms. Shi Tao, Chinese, 17th century. Click image to view source.

Peach trees blossom before their leaves appear each spring, contributing to their association with health and vitality. Here landscape painter and poet Shi Tao treats us to a whole riverbank alive with peach blossoms.

Fanciullo con canestro di frutta. Caravaggio, Italian, 16th century. Click image to view source.

In European painting, the peach represents the heart, while a leaf attached to the fruit suggests the tongue. Put them together and you have a symbol for speaking from the heart. The young man in this work by Caravaggio looks as though he's about to do just that.

By now, I know you're thinking about it. Who can forget the immortal tribute to peaches by The Presidents of the United States of America? Here's a cover of their famous song "Peaches" played on actual peaches.