Blueberry Smoothie Recipe

Not long ago I posted a recipe for a Strawberry Shortcake Smoothie, and I recently tried it with blueberries... Yum! You would think because of the color that the blueberry taste would be overwhelming, but it's really not. It's quite subtle and it tastes very similar to the strawberry smoothie (because all the ingredients are the same except for the fruit). Here is the recipe:

 

2 cups of organic frozen blueberries (you can use fresh but then you need to include some ice cubes)

1 cup organic raw cashews

1/4 cup organic gluten free oats

2 cups of almond milk

1/4 teaspoon organic cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon organic vanilla extract

2 tablespoons organic maple syrup

You can tweak these amounts to suit your taste. Put all these ingredients in a blender (I use and recommend a Vitamix) and blend away!

Keep in mind that this smoothie, although healthy, contains just over 1000 calories, so you might want to split it with someone.

 

Oh, and make sure to brush your teeth after this one! :)

Pears On Deck - WIP

I don't generally post works in progress, but I thought I would today. The picture isn't that great, but you get the idea. I'm working on my first "painting of the month." It was a goal of mine this year to begin doing a painting of month, which is just a larger more detailed piece. This painting is only an 8 by 10, which isn't too large, but I'm low on large pastelbords.

I'm quite happy with the way this painting is progressing so far. I couldn't wait to get to the pears. I used masking fluid around the edges so that I wouldn't completely lose the lines when I did the background. Removing the masking fluid was a nightmare.

I'm going to continue working on this today, but wanted to show you what I have so far.

I hope you have a great weekend!

Apple Line Up

"Apple Line Up" 9 by 12, Pastel Painting

NFS

I completed this painting this morning in an effort to loosen up. I went along with a demonstration in a book I have. I didn't start with any drawing at all, which wasn't too difficult because they're just apples, but it was a different approach than I'm used to. I didn't want to use one of my pastelbords for this practice piece, so I used colorfix paper instead and I wasn't able to apply nearly as many layers of pastel.

I also completed this painting standing up at my easel, which I have never done. I usually paint small, so I find it easier to sit, but I enjoyed standing. I also think it may help me loosen up.

Have a great day!

Apples & Limes

Apples & Limes, 5 by 7, Pastel Painting

Available Here

I set up another little still life today. I had a little fun and put one of the limes on top of the apple. I thought setting up my own still lives was going to work out really well, but I'm not so sure. I think I prefer working from photographs. Maybe I'll experiment with setting up the still lives, and photographing them.

This painting was done on pastelbord, and completed with Mount Vision pastels, and a few Carbothello pastel pencils.

Just a little other news, I have been juried into Contemporary Fine Art International, and am now a member. Along with that, I will now be contributing to the Daily Painters of Wisconsin blog as well as the Pastel Artists International blog. So, I'm excited to become a part of this great art community. :)

I hope you have a lovely afternoon.

Apple Tea

"Apple Tea" 5 by 7, Pastel Painting

Available Here

I can't even begin to tell you how much fun I had with this painting this morning. I've never painted a background like this before (with the sheet or fabric draped behind). I had a lot of fun with all the loose strokes. I began layering and blending, but as the background started coming together, I decided to leave a few strokes expressive (not blended out). I think this adds a lot to the piece, and I might have to start doing it more often! I've thought for a long time that if I want to paint realistically that I have to blend my pastels, but I don't think that's true.

I was originally drawn to the photograph for this painting by the blue and red combination. I think the colors are just beautiful together. This painting was completed on pastelbord and I used a lot of Mount Vision pastels for the background, and mostly pastel pencils for the tea pot and apple.

I hope you have a nice afternoon!

Green Grapes

"Green Grapes" 5 by 7, Pastel Painting

This is my second painting on the Wallis paper. I do love this painting surface. You can blend pastel so nicely on this paper. A fellow blogger told me that she loves Pastel Card by Sennelier. I had a sample of it, and it's really nice too. I may order some bigger sheets to experiment with.

This painting was fun to do. I never would have thought that I'd be painting still lives, but I have to say that I enjoy them. Although I would like to try some different subjects soon including animals and people.

I used all pastel pencils for this little painting.

I hope you all have a great weekend! I plan on making a trip to the pumpkin patch! :)

Creativity Boot Camp Day 2 - Complete

"Fruit Picnic" 5 by 7, Pastel Painting

Fruit Picnic is complete! This is from Day 2 of Creativity Boot Camp. The word prompt was "picnic." I've never painted fruit before (I usually choose flowers) and I'm very happy with the way it turned out. So far I have painted 2 paintings that are very different for me - that is why I am loving Creativity Boot Camp! It's pushing me to try new things and I plan to continue challenging myself. If you are also participating in Boot Camp I would love to hear how it's going for you! And if you haven't heard of it, here is the link so you can get involved too - http://creativebootcamp.blogspot.com/

I really wish that I could "keep up" with the daily assignments, but because I'm a painter I just can't. This painting took me about 3 -3 1/2 hours to complete. That really isn't too bad, but sometimes they take longer (depending on the size). I'm just going to go at a comfortable pace for me because if I feel rushed to get something done, it won't turn out the way I want it to. So, if you're following my paintings for this camp, please have some patience :).

Creativity Boot Camp Day 2 - WIP

"Fruit Picnic"(Work in Progress) 5 by 7, Pastel Painting

The word prompt from the 2nd day of Creativity Boot Camp was "Picnic" and this is my response to that. I started it today and it took me about 2 hours to complete what you see above. It's a few slices of grapefruit on a mat, or cutting board. The background is pretty much done, but I have a lot of work to do on the fruit. I had a lot of fun working on it this morning, and I can't wait to get back to it. I do have to give credit to Kathleen Young for the photograph. She's a wonderful photographer and she's graciously allowed me to use her photos as references for paintings.

I just wanted to let you all know that I will be working on my art for Creativity Boot Camp daily, but I may not be able to finish a painting everyday. I just don't have several hours to set aside each day to complete a painting. As far as I know I am the only painter participating in the challenge. It's been great watching what others are doing! You can check out all of our work on Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/groups/creativitybootcamp/