OMG those paintings are fabulous! And so are the pics of the real people. I would have loved to have crashed your SoCal/NorCal gathering. I use to work in SoCal so maybe I would have been legit.

Thanks for sharing.

In my haste to pack and leave and my panic over my crashed hard drive with all of my client files the night before all of my gifties were left behind at Alice's apartment. :( I didn't realize this until I was long at home. Alice's loves to cook and one roommate is a culinary major so everything will be happily put to good service. I asked Alice to take a photo and send it to me.

Left to right: My peach/brandy jam and flavor emulsion (link below), the pie bird and red trivet were goodies Alice and I selected from Jessy's deep and generous grab bag. Ellen gave me the cooking bands and yummy tea. Gina brought Penzey's spices. The whole wheat almond biscotti was consumed. :)

I have been around here since before one had to register to post here as well. I know I found the forums in 1998 or so and began to post regularly shortly after. It was SO much fun to finally meet Jessy - who isn't at all evil, Gina - my kindred atheist ;), Ellen - my Facebook friend who is even sweeter in person, and long time CFer Janene! Lars and Kevin I met several years ago and feel like old friends. I missed meeting our other Ann due to illness. :(

Yes, Alice is MUCH taller than I am! I think it's easy to see I am the one in the group who needed a booster seat at the restaurant. ;) Her roommate whispered to Alice on meeting me, "your mom is really short!" I think people expect to see an older clone of Alice and are surprised when we appear to be from different gene pools. But she's mine!

A reunion soon, I hope. Pam and Cathy, et al please join in!

Here is a link that might be useful: Baking emulsions.

Grin. Can you believe it has been almost 10 years since we did the first get-together?

It was wonderful to see my old homies and my new homies, LOL. I even dug out my GW t-shirt. I was going to wear the 'I'm Evil' one, or my Saints Championship from Karen, tough choice!

Ellen is looking FABULOUS. Eileen, Alice is even more 'Alice' in person. It was nice to meet both of you! A big thanks to Lars and Kevin for hosting and hors dourves. And thanks Gina for driving, I'm usually the one behind the wheel. Next time, your place!

Food pix next!

All of you look just wonderful, and it looks like you all had a great time. Thanks for sharing your day with the rest of us.

Kevin's paintings are truly amazing! They remind me of the surrealist works of Magritte.

Sue

WOW, it keeps getting better and better! I can't decide what is more impressive--the folks, the paintings, the food, the gifts. Totally great get-together.

Great to see everyone....but I am enamored with Kevin's paintings!!
Linda C

(Correction: Gina brought the gadget grab bag, and she and I split the Penzeys goodies. It was a confusing day!)

Oops! Apologies to Gina and Jessy! I got confused by everyone's generosity!

Thanks Eileen & Lars for posting the photos! It was a lovely afternoon!

My dish is a chicken kabob served with saffron rice with barberries. They're a dark sweet dried berry that's delicious!

Here is a link that might be useful: Barberries explained

Ugh, I cut my bangs too short, LOL.

When I was at Penzey's I first thought of getting all exotic spices like sumac and zatar, but when I smelled everything, the basic things smelled so good I decided to go with basics like toasted onion powder, garlic granules, powdered ginger etc. You never know when you run out of fresh garlic or ginger - so these will come in handy I hope.

I took photos of Gina's gifts - she was very generous and brought me a hostess gift of the beautiful silicon spatulas that I absolutely love! I love them so much I started using them the same day! They go perfectly with my tribal decor and even the spirals on the tablecloth. It was a very confusing day for one reason or another, and I've been in a fog since due to pressures at work that I do not usually have. I'll try to get more pictures up this evening - yesterday I fell asleep early and didn't wake up until 7:00 AM. I've been eating the biscotti that Eileen made, and they are quite delicious - perfect with the tea that I drink. I haven't tried Ellen's tea yet. I mentioned to Gina that you could make Cajun seasoning from the selection of spices that she and Jessy bought, with the addition of salt and cayenne. This will be handy because I'm out of the Cajun seasoning that I make and generally always have on hand.

Lars

Wow, what a wonderful looking group. It sounds like you had a great time! Aren't Cfer's get togethers GREAT!!!

Kevin, your paintings are remarkable!!! What talent.

Thanks for sharing all the pictures. I wish I could have been there.

Karen

Great to see all the faces we know from here!

Looks like you all had a good time. Yes, the paintings are incredible.

To answer the question about my hair - it was never that dark naturally, but I did dye it dark from time to time in the 1980s and occasionally with a blue streak. The painting is from 1982.

Yesterday it was so hot when I got home (86 outside, 82 inside) that we had to go out to eat, and so I did not even turn my computer on at home, and I went to bed at 9:30. However, I did manage to find photos from our previous get-together and posted one on the gallery side - see link below.

Lars

Here is a link that might be useful: Cafe Brasil 2004

I'm sorry I didn't have the chance to meet Scott, Kathleen, Diane, or Ann who were all unavailable due to scheduling and other issues.

Ugh, the old me...less wrinkles, but more of me!
Lars- Linda's GW name was shermangardens or something similar.
BTW Gina-- the tarragon was delicious and inspired me to make a turkey breast. I like turkey and tarragon paired.

I will have to suggest that to Alice who has "my" tarragon!

You guys look great! Now I really almost sort of kind of want to visit my sis in El Segundo.

Everyone looks so great and it looks like everyone had such a great time, I'm almost wishing I lived in California! Kevin's pictures are fantastic! I'll have to show them to my DH. I'm so glad y'all had such a fun time. Great gifts, too.

Gina, your bangs are not too short. I like them like that.

Beautiful girls!

Sally

Looking at Lars' pictures from 2004 I surprised at how little everyone has aged in seven years. You all are doing good!

Re Kevin's paintings, they're certainly not what I'd consider "my style" but yet I'm really drawn to them. I keep coming back to this thread to look at them. More than at the college girls, and for me that's saying a lot, LOL! Is he an artist by profession?

Kevin is not an artist by profession, although he does have an MFA from SUNY Albany. He never wanted to go into any kind of commercial art and has had quite a few gallery showings, but not enough sales to make a living. He works for Sony Entertainment in Culver City where the old MGM studios are.

I'm still working on getting more of photos ready - last night was a very late dinner, due to the heat and the lack of wind.

Lars

FOAS, "----Re Kevin's paintings, they're certainly not what I'd consider "my style" but yet I'm really drawn to them. I keep coming back to this thread to look at them. More than at the college girls, and for me that's saying a lot, LOL! Is he an artist by profession?---"

FOAS, it's interesting that's your reaction.

IMHO, the definitions of "Art" and "artist" have been completely muddled up.

Someone who makes a beautiful painting is a decorative painter, but not an artist. Someone who does a portrait with incredible likeness is a human camera, but not an artist.
Someone who can do an interesting"Abstract" painting, well, may be he /she just don't have good drawing skills.

A graphic designer is not an artist, an illustrator is just an illustrator, and someone who can carve a mustang in motion is a craftsman, not an artist.

An artist, to me, is one who can transcend the ordinary chromatic flair, and the Renaissance perspective skillfulness, into multidimensional vehicle into your/his cerebral hidden universe, in a manner that is humble and without deliberate idiosyncrasies,

The paintings are haunting. Whether it is intentional or unpremeditated, symbolisms are subtly incorporated throughout, there to engage and provoke the beholder's conscious and unconscious thoughts.

My goodness! Two men with unique life styles playing "Double Solitaire" against a horizon that is tilted and divided. The smoke from the pipes and cigar that rise to form the clouds in the sky, --- are those clouds? Or are they like bubbles in cartoons for the cartoon character's speaking dialogs? However, in the painting, they are saying nothing, which is saying a lot. I can go on.

The wreath of "Artist" laurel conferred on Kevin is well justified. Yet notice, I haven't said if I like his work or dislike his work, because that is irrelevant as far as art is concerned.

Lars, recently I visited my friends in Sony, Culver City, the building with that angled atrium. I had a tour of the studios. The food in the employee's cafeteria was not that great, (not the Executive side). That is a huge complex of facilities. Which Building is Kevin in?

Great thread!

dcarch

"A graphic designer is not an artist, an illustrator is just an illustrator..."

Not to diminish in any way Kevin's incredible gifts, I am both a graphic designer and an illustrator and I fully believe I am an artist.

Eileen

The Penzey's garlic added yumminess to our supper -- a baked boneless, skinless full chicken breast with fresh rosemary, Meyer lemon juice and sea salt.

I can't wait to try the other treats you generous CF folks brought, and will bring doubles to the next get-together.

Dcarch....it's rather obvious you have a very limited exposure to....shall we say great masters and things like the works of Alfred Steiglitz. So Gilbert Stewart is not an artist? Tiepolo is not an artist, nor Velasquez? How about Pollock? Andy Warhole? Pablo Picasso?
By putting together a string of words that agree in neither form nor sense, you have managed to insult and diminish many contemporaty and classical artists.

I am not in any way diminishing Kevin's talent and skill, because I think he well blessed with both and would like to see more of his work.
Linda c

Posted by barnmom "------ I am both a graphic designer and an illustrator and I fully believe I am an artist. Eileen"

Exactly. I am of the opinion that a creative graphic artist should not be called a graphic designer, and I like to think that Norman Rockwell is different than an illustrator who works for Sears's catalogs.

dcarch

Why is Norman Rockwell different than a Sears illustrator?....in your opinion.
Is an artist someone who paints better ? Or someone who.."...one who can transcend the ordinary chromatic flair, and the Renaissance perspective skillfulness, into multidimensional vehicle into your/his cerebral hidden universe, in a manner that is humble and without deliberate idiosyncrasies, " (sic)

Sooooo, I guess, Dcarch, that means you're not a culinary artist, you're just someone that likes to play with his food?

Sally

I do wish I'd taken more photos of Kevin's many paintings. I guess I didn't want to seem rude. We talked about mediums. I have experience in gouche, which I like very much, but not egg tempura - the medium of many of Kevin's exquisitely detailed works. I am an experienced watercolorist but don't venture much into acrylic anymore. Kevin works in acrylics often.

As a group we thought it would be fun to share photos of Lars with his portrait and Kevin with his self portrait.

Lars? Do you have images to post that you took before Alice and I joined the group?

About the food: I didn't get a photo of the crunchy rice that Jessy and several others had. Does anyone have a recipe? Jessy almost needed a hammer and chisel for hers but it still looked yummy. :)

Eileen, yes I do have more photos that I took and will post them on the conversation side as soon as I can get to it. I was going to do that last week-end, but I got too involved with yard work, and we ended up going to Reseda to buy a fountain for the back yard. It will be delivered on Thursday, and I will post pictures of that once it is installed.

BTW, Kevin now considers the furniture designs that I do to be "art", although he was taught in NY that designers are not artists. I'm much looser about the definition and am not concerned that much about it. The good thing for me is that I make a living designing, and that is very rewarding for me, even though a lot of what is design is mass produced, although in very limited quantities. My friend Bernard (who used to live with me in San Francisco) is also an artist, and he uses many media, including ceramics, although he used to do a lot in watercolor. I have quite a bit of his ceramic work and a few paintings. Some of his work gets to be quite bizarre.

Lars

Lars: "I'm much looser about the definition and am not concerned that much about it." Ditto my sentiments. I do not think of everything or even much of the work I do as "art" but I do consider myself to be an artist. My work falls under the category of creative problem solving most of the time. And I also find it fulfilling as well as exhausting at times.

Bernard's work sounds intriguing. And the fountain is very nice! I've seen your furniture design in the past but nothing recent. Where can I look?

Eileen, one of my recent chairs is in the Oct/Nov issue of Interiors magazine. I will email you a link to the company I work for and identify some of the designs that I have done. My early work focused a lot on lighting and case goods, but lately I have been doing a lot of upholstered pieces, which I think are more challenging than case goods but which have greater sales potentials, especially since people buy dining chairs in multiples from six to sixteen. BTW, my work sells better in NY than it does anywhere else. Certain pieces have been selling well in Europe.

Lars

It looks as if you had a great time! Thanks for sharing your photos.

Although I'm not an art expert, I really like Kevin's paintings.

Lars: here is a link to the current issue. What page?

Here is a link that might be useful: Interiors

I greatly admire Kevin's talent and my favorite is still the painting he did of his father on the ranch.

I'm not an art critic by any means, but I do consider many things to be "artistic". Lars' designs, Eileen's wine labels, Teresa's quilted pieces, Diana's photography, Linda's (doucanoe) jewelry and glass and pottery pieces, all require an eye for detail and perspective and color and design that I don't possess but greatly admire. I'd consider them all artists in their own right.

Annie

Yeh, I'm an illustrator, but because it pays the bills...no need to get all windy about what an artist is and isn't, they come in all sorts of forms and gee whiz, illustration is most definitely an art!! Check out any illustrators annuals...

Eileen, it's on page 54, and this is not the most flattering view of it, nor the best fabric. It looks better in silk mohair, and the dining chair version I did is better, I think. It's a very comfortable chair, but it was very difficult for me to make the full scale model in cardboard!

Lars

Here is the dish that both Lars and I ordered - fried eggplant and simmered beef. A Persian friend once told me how to make the rice - called 'tadik' (the 'triangle' at the top of the regular rice)- I think it needs to be cooked on a very low flame in a large pot, stove-top. It is probably something that needs to be shown how first. Regardless, om nom nom!

This recipe seemed pretty straight forward. It's mostly method.

Here is a link that might be useful: Persian rice recipe.

Lars, that is a lovely chair. Very graceful and balanced. What does silk/mohair feel like? It sounds luscious.

Jessie? What's the yellow? Saffron rice? Served over white rice?
And Lars....beautiful chair! Classic....but with an edge!

Bumblebeez, do you do medical illustration? It seems to me that someone here does. Medical illustrators amaze me. If not, what do you do? Please share!

We have many creative people here. I like this!

Many creative people indeed, and the rest of us to admire their creativity. That does look like a very comfortable chair, Lars, and like barnmom, I'm imagining how silk/mohair would feel.

And, back to food, is that triangle standing up on the side of the bowl the crunchy rice?

Annie

Thanks for the compliments, everyone! It was fun.

Kevin

It's KEVIN! Nice to see you here!

Yes!! I want to see a slide show of your works....if I can't see them in person.
Don't be a stranger now.....ya hear?

Eileen, I sent you an email, I am primarily a children's illustrator, have done books, work with most educational companies and have had an agent forever.
But I like to stay anonymous here!

Great pictures of all. Nice to always put faces to names.

Looks like you all had fun.

Linda

Bumblebeez, I don't often check the email associated with my CF registration. I will go look. I have two friends who are children's book illustrators, one has agent. One has not had much success via her artist's rep and I think they parted ways. I'll have to ask...