Photo Class

February 5th, 2010 by donna

8-second nighttime exposure of this backyard character using a fixed 50mm Nikkor lens on my Nikon D60.  f1.8 = love!

Lyric-Inspired Scribbles

January 28th, 2010 by donna

tick, tock…a sudden cuckoo

Kitty

January 23rd, 2010 by donna

Just another pencil sketch. kitty

Chalkboard Art

January 22nd, 2010 by donna

Some work I did for my friend’s specialty foods store & deli, Gaucho Gourmet Market. Acrylic on chalkboard.

Also, they make the best pulled pork sandwich you will ever have.

Espresso Bar

Gourmet Delights

Cheese Platter

Grilled Panini

Sausage on a bun

Grilled Sausages

DIY iPhone-Inspired Kitchen Computer

January 21st, 2010 by donna

For the past few years, I’ve been looking for something like this for my parents: a large (yet unobtrusive), video-streming, wall-mounted, internet-connected touchscreen monitor for the kitchen. What a fun DIY project! Check out the details here.

iPhone-inspired kitchen computer

Whoever decides to take this from a DIY prototype to an affordable commercial product could make some great cash! But then, Apple is probably all over it (iKitchen?).

Akutunes!

January 17th, 2010 by donna

Recent discovery: Akutunes, by Akutou. Fun electro-pop mixes!

1.   Listen to Akutunes radio here. Check out the pop-cool graphic design work while you’re there.

2.   Download album “Milkshake For Everyone!” here (free).  Great music blog for this genre.

3.   See full album list available here. Want.

milkshake

Portraiture

January 10th, 2010 by donna

I did my friend’s portrait for her birthday.

Becca

A better likeness would be if she was smiling, but it’s a lot to ask of someone to hold a frozen smile for 20 minutes while they’re being drawn.

Current Vocal Muse: Karin Dreijer Andersson

January 5th, 2010 by donna

…a.k.a. lead singer from The Knife.

With such a distinctive voice (she somehow makes ’shrill’ sound good), it’s easy to recognize her in other collaborations (i.e. multiple tracks with Royksopp).  So refreshing to hear a female vocalist that doesn’t fall into the category of Miley-pop, Bruni-folk, or Winehouse-whining (ba-dum-bup).

This track, ‘When I Grow Up’, is off her solo album Fever Ray. Hypnotic, icy-cool pop-synth with a primal touch. Are those whale sounds?

I got a tablet for Christmas.

December 28th, 2009 by donna

It’s a Wacom Intuos 4.

Zomg. Best. Present. Ever.

I’ve been using the tablet in Corel Painter 11, which has opened up a world of infinite artistic possibilities. I’ve also, consequently, lost all desire to ever paint realism again with real media – the results using Painter to convert photos to paintings are too good.

Messin' around with new tablet using Corel Painter 11.

Messin' around with new tablet using Corel Painter 11.

More random tablet-messin'.

More random tablet-messin'.

The result of converting a photo I took at Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, to an 'oil painting' using my tablet and Corel Painter 11.

The result of converting a photo I took at Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, to an "oil painting" using Corel Painter 11 + tablet.

Conversion of a photo of me in Waikiki to "watercolour painting". In addition to being able to select brush type and medium from a wide variety, in Painter you can also select paper type (i.e., watercolour paper).

The result of converting a photo of me in Waikiki to a "watercolour painting". In addition to being able to select brush type and medium from a wide variety, in Painter you can also select paper type (i.e., watercolour paper). It still looks too photo-like, but I also did a rush job. Corel Painter will emulate wet and dry paint characteristics, brush angle, and smudging/blending/mixing of media. Tres bon!!

Christmas is Cookie Season

December 20th, 2009 by donna

Once upon a Sunday in December, three girls drank a pot of spicy mulled wine, listened to cheesy Christmas music, and baked gingerbread, almond biscotti (recipe given below), Italian ‘pizzelle’, and shortbread.

pile of gingerbread peoplesea of gingerbread

sdf Best Almond Biscotti Recipe                                                                                                                                                                                               2 cups of all-purpose flour
2/3  cup of sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into bits
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup of whole almonds

1. Preheat oven to 350 F, line baking sheet with parchment paper

2. In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon zest.  Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles corase meal.  Add eggs and vanilla and almond extract.  Pulse just to blend. transfer to a bowl.  Lightly knead in almonds.

3. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and divide in half.  Shape each half into a 10 inch log about 1 1/2 inches wide.  Place logs 3 inches apart on prepared baking sheet

4. Bake until logs begin to turn golden, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool to touch on a wire rack.

5.  Raise oven temperature to 400 F.  Transfer logs to a cutting board.  Using a very sharp chef’s knife, cut each log into 18 equal slices.  Lay slices cut side down on same baking sheet and bake for 7 minutes. Turn oven off and turn cookies over. Return to oven until golden and crisp, 10-15 minutes.  When cool, store in an airtight container.

Italian pizelleshortbread up fronticing sugar paintdemi gingerbread man