Bombay Sapphire martinis

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Oil on archival, museum quality 1/8" gessobord panel - 5" x 7"

I don’t know whether I am feeling particularly patriotic today or if I am caught up in the red state / blue state political rivalries that are dividing our country, but the red, white and blue palette of this piece can’t be denied. Since I am an independent, moderate, it is a good thing that purple is my favorite color. Certainly 2008 is going to be an interesting year that may require more than one of these martinis before it’s over. I am a scotch man myself although I wouldn’t turn down a good dry martini. "Here's looking at you, kid."

I was hesitant to try this composition on a bright red tablecloth as I thought that the subtleties of the pale aqua tones of the gin would be lost. To my surprise, the bottle took on a deep cobalt/ultramarine hue. Painting the Harley last week only whetted my appetite for more chrome, so the cocktail shaker was a good fit. My biker brothers say “chrome won’t get you home” but I am a sucker for the stuff. Now where did I put my shades?

"Cocktails"

Oli on panel = 5' x 7"
We celebrated my friend's birthday this past weekend at an elegant restaurant in Baltimore. The collection of preprandial apéritifs made an interesting composition. I particularly like the traffic light created by the Cosmopolitan, white wine and appletini. Please don’t brand me a Philistine for drinking my Laphroaig "on the rocks", ice is fun to paint. Hey, how did that water glass get in there?

"Bloody Mary"

Oil on archival, museum quality, 1/8” Ampersand Gessobord™ panel - 5" x 5"

Some say the Sazerac, a drink made with rye whiskey and Peychaud’s bitters is the quintessential New Orleans cocktail but for me it is the Bloody Mary. Every restaurant tries to give it their own twist (no pun intended), but one element that is constant and unique to the Big Easy is the inclusion of spiced beans. I always have a jar on hand and wouldn’t think of jamming a big old hunk of celery into one of my morning cocktails. This particular Bloody Mary was had this past December at Herbsaint. I tried to have some fun with the color and paint. Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans? I sure do!