Italian Pottery At The Japanese Steak House: Daily Art Practice
Couch Talk
We are working through sickness again, which upset our Easter Sunday dinner plans a bit but we still celebrate the Resurrection of Christ so there is no disappointment there! It’s no wonder sickness is still about with the crazy weather. I worked a bit in my garden on Saturday to ready the beds for planting. The weather was a breezy70 degrees. Today, as you can see from the above photograph, we are experiencing lovely winter weather. An accumulation of 1-3 inches has been predicted. I can imagine my flowers and trees are going into shock.
As you can see, I am showing off my new mug from Italy. My favorite people (my In-Laws), just spent a fabulous, fun filled 2 weeks in Europe and they brought me back this beautiful mug, complete with a tea strainer and lid! The other side of the cup has hand painted lemons. They visited a Italian pottery shop and they came home with some gorgeous pieces, depicting the Italian countryside. I have enjoyed hearing about their experiences and the stories that go along. They even took pictures of store fronts for me to paint.
Watercolor Travel Journal
I am not sure if my travel journal to Florida is complete but I haven’t worked on it in a while so I will share what I have so far. Some of you may remember that I traveled to Florida in February to visit my Grandmother, who just celebrated her 101st birthday.
This first layout I sketched and painted while flying. I had a sinus infection at the time and the pressure in my head was awful while ascending and descending BUT I was able to distract myself by sketching my snack. It was a good use of my time as I can never sleep on airplanes.
My next layout was a compilation of favorites during my visit. The third day we were there I woke up early. I am not an early bird by any means but instead of pretending to sleep, I got up and sketched the sunrise while looking out the window. The house is on a lake so one only needs to venture to the rear of the house to get spectacular views. This view could be seen from the bedroom where I stayed. Next, is the delicious strawberry pie that my aunt made. It was strawberry season at the time and we ate loads of fresh strawberries during our stay. I even brought 2 flats back as my carryon on the airplane.
Birds were everywhere in Florida and this Wood Stork was one of my favorites that we saw. The texture on the head was definitely similar to that of wood.
I am a huge fan of Asian food and could eat it for every meal. Our one and only visit to a restaurant during our stay was Sakura Japanese Steak House and Sushi. As you can see, we ate Gyoza (dumplings) and Coconut Shrimp for appetizers.
My main course was the Shrimp Tempura Lunch Box. It came arranged in this beautiful tray with various compartments. Everything was delicious and of course I ate everything on my plate.
Looking back at my pages, I can see that food is a big part of my documentation. I enjoy it not just because I don’t have to cook it, but because tasting it is such a pleasurable experience. When it comes to food, making it, painting it and eating it are all elements that I love.
Tea Day
I am joining the tea day ladies, hosted by Elizabeth and Bleubeard. My tea today is Candy Cane Lane Green Tea . One might think this is just a Holiday tea, but I found it to be delicious for any season. I am not a fan of candy canes but I do love a good peppermint tea and this one hit the mark. I love that it is decaf and the flavor combination was balanced well. I would highly recommend this tea.
Happy Tea Day,
Kate
Hi Kate, your new cup is lovely and I love love handmade kitchenware. that sounded like a fabulous trip
Your watercolor paintings are an inspiration for me to keep leaning so please keep sharing your pieces.
that tea is one of my favorites and perfect for snowy weather right now- I can’t believe the east is getting so much snow again sigh
I just started going through books and looking up prices today to hopefully be able to sell in my etsy shop. I put several on today
Happy T wishes
Nice new mug Kate.. This tea set sounds like a nice gift. And you sketchbook is coming along beautifully. It will be a great keepsake from your trip, and I bet you can looks back later on have some good memories. I’m glad you shared it. Have a great T day and week ahead. Hugs-Erika
So thoughtful of your in laws with their gifts for you along with photos for you to sketch and paint! Oh to spend 2 weeks in Europe again…
Really fab sketchbook paintings!!
There is a small chance of us having a bit of wet snow mixed in with the rain overnight but I’m hoping it’s just rain. Love peppermint tea when I’m cold. A bite or two of dark chocolate goes especially well with it;). happy T day!
Lovely paintings! Looks like you enjoyed your Florida visit! Happy T day! Hugs! deb
What a stunning mug. Your in-laws know how to spoil you. I love your beautiful paintings this week. I really enjoyed the restaurant and the beautiful Shrimp Tempura Lunch Box, So glad to read you love to draw and eat food. It made an interesting post. That tea sounds good, but I would need the caffeine. I am truly addicted. Thanks for sharing your beautiful drawings and your tea with us for T this Tuesday, Kate.
Hi Kate, sorry you had sickness in the house, hope all is well now. Your water colour travel ournal is fabulous. Happy T Day, Valerie
Love your travel journal Kate,. and the food all looks so good. Your new pottery mug is lovely. Happy T Day! Elle/EOTC xx
Hope you are all feeling better, Kate. That mug is beautiful and would perfect with your fab tea collection.
Love the journal – what a great keepsake and super practice for your sketching and watercoloring. Lovely looking food too – I would eat it all as well!
Happy T-day! Healing hugz
I’m sorry y’all had sickness on Easter, but you’re right that Easter is a celebration anyway 🙂 I hope all are well soon.
What an exciting trip! and the pottery is such a fun remembrance. I’ve enjoyed peppermint tea, but my mint tea is usually spearmint. Happy T Tuesday!
Your in-laws ahve been very generous to bring you such lovely things from their trip to Italy. The mug is so pretty and I hope we will see some of those store fronts painted by you. I like your watercolor paintings from Florida and I second your thoughts on food (altjough I don’t paint food, I photograph it). I do love Asian food as well and I still remember fondly the street markets in Taiwan where you could go from one food booth to the next – heaven.
Such a lovely teacup and so thoughtful of your in-laws. especially pictures of store fronts for you to paint. I enjoy looking at your watercolors. You have such a talent for the medium especially painting those delicious coconut shrimp. I hope you all feel better soon and this crazy weather settles down. But for the grace of God, we could have had your weather last night. Fortunately, we were on the warm side of the storm. Take care and Happy T Day
I love to see all the different teas you come up with, Kate. Thanks for sharing your art around food. I am glad you like to paint food. I hope you all get to feeling better. You are right though as the weather is going from 80 one day to 40 the next here! Happy T Day!
Ohhh I love getting new mugs and this one is a beauty. Lovely art as always. I am so impressed with how you draw and paint food. Well done and have a nice day.
Such a beautiful gift and a lovely reminder of Italy, the painted design is perfect 😁. Wow, your artwork is so realistic – love it! Candy Cane Lane is such a fabulous name and green tea is one of my favourites – Happy T Day! Hugs Jo x
You Hve a special mug and a favorite tea to go in it. Can’t beat that! Your travel jjournal is delightful.
Hi from my road trip, now in Tucson, Arizona, and enjoying the scenery. I’m afraid I can’t do detailed comments as there’s just too much to do!
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Hope you´re all fit and happy again – as always I love your work. No such luck here.. Happy belated T-Day!
Kate,
Your sketches and watercolors are so amazing- keep it up, girl!
That shrimp tempura lunchbox looks so good- it’s exactly what I would have ordered as well!
And Candy Cane Lane is one of my favorite teas too!
That mug is gorgeous. and your journal is absolutely stunning
Bridget #20