To the folks who have subscribed: I owe you an apology. More importantly, I owe myself an apology.
Over the past few years, I have allowed some sort of malaise to settle upon me. The artist circles that I used to frequent have dramatically shifted into directions I wasn't going during the past 2 or 3 years and I have found myself adrift in uncharted waters. But, be patient: I think I may have found my compass.
In the days to come, I am going to post the work from my older journals -- a task in itself since posting and scanning is time-consuming; but it is what I think I have to do before I post more up-to-date items as I move forward.
Putting it another way:
"It is never too late to be who you might have been."
~George Eliot, English Novelist (1819 - 1880)
Friday, April 17, 2015
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Milano
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Copyright © 2012, Scotti Vaccaro
from Mon Journal de Montréal
sketchbook journal entry dated 6/11/12
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Milano is another one of those places that I am drawn to as if magnetized. From the street, it is an unpretentious urban grocery storefront. It is only after you open the door and walk inside that you realize that you have entered an Italian food paradise.
Inside that front door, the first hint of what awaits you are baskets and shelves filled with every conceivable shape and size of pasta -- more than a you could imagine if you are not Italian and maybe even more than the average Italian knows about. We have gotten so accustomed to the same ol' that we don't even know what we don't know.
But that is just the start. The bread nook has long loaves, skinny loaves, breadsticks, soft loaves, fat crusty loaves, round crusty loaves, and multi-grain loaves ... and not a single one of them wrapped in a plastic bag wrapper, but in open ended paper bags like from a bakery, which of course, they are. The cheese area has every cheese known to mankind and then a few that are mysterious. The meat section contains beef, veal, pork, lamb, chicken, various forms of seafood, yes. But how about duck, pheasant or rabbit, too? There is an olive oil section. That's not an exaggeration; there are more types than I've ever seen in one place. There is a table or two of containers of nuts -- nearly any that you can name -- including chestnuts, raw, roasted, and ground into flour, as well. When was the last time that you can recall seeing them at all, other than at Christmas?
Of course, I love to cook and I love to explore new-to-me foods. I also deplore the chain grocery store "this is all we have in stock" mentality and the everything prepackaged sameness. Milano is the way I imagine it has always been. That makes Milano a very special place, indeed.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?” --Marianne Williamson
Inside that front door, the first hint of what awaits you are baskets and shelves filled with every conceivable shape and size of pasta -- more than a you could imagine if you are not Italian and maybe even more than the average Italian knows about. We have gotten so accustomed to the same ol' that we don't even know what we don't know.
But that is just the start. The bread nook has long loaves, skinny loaves, breadsticks, soft loaves, fat crusty loaves, round crusty loaves, and multi-grain loaves ... and not a single one of them wrapped in a plastic bag wrapper, but in open ended paper bags like from a bakery, which of course, they are. The cheese area has every cheese known to mankind and then a few that are mysterious. The meat section contains beef, veal, pork, lamb, chicken, various forms of seafood, yes. But how about duck, pheasant or rabbit, too? There is an olive oil section. That's not an exaggeration; there are more types than I've ever seen in one place. There is a table or two of containers of nuts -- nearly any that you can name -- including chestnuts, raw, roasted, and ground into flour, as well. When was the last time that you can recall seeing them at all, other than at Christmas?
Of course, I love to cook and I love to explore new-to-me foods. I also deplore the chain grocery store "this is all we have in stock" mentality and the everything prepackaged sameness. Milano is the way I imagine it has always been. That makes Milano a very special place, indeed.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?” --Marianne Williamson
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Marché Jean-Talon
Copyright © 2012, Scotti Vaccaro
from Mon Journal de Montréal
sketchbook journal entry dated 2/20/12
I love to venture to several particular places in Montréal. I enjoy the Old City, Complexe Desjardins and Atwater Market. But of all of the places I go when I am there, possibly my most favorite places are Marché Jean-Talon and an Italian grocery called Milano.
Marché Jean-Talon is in a class by itself, though.
Anyone who knows me can tell you that I am a country girl at heart. One of the things I enjoy is the look, smell and feel of vegetables that have just been brought in from the field. I love the whole idea of fresh, wholesome crops just harvested -- the more dirt still clinging to the root vegetable, the happier I am! So, I can usually tell you where the nearest farmer's market is located. When I was in France, I loved market day in the village where I was staying.
It may not be France -- no live bunnies hopping in cages waiting to become dinner and no chickens waiting for the same fate -- Marché Jean Talon banned on-site butchering in the 1960's. But in the fresh fruits and vegetables category, as well as herb plants and garden flowers in season, Jean-Talon is A+.
“You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it.” -- Robin Williams
Friday, January 20, 2012
Out with the Old...
Copyright © 2012 , Scotti Vaccaro
from Every Day Matters
sketchbook journal entry dated 1/20/2012
And in with the new...
Once upon a time, a very long time ago (14 years plus or minus a few months), I began to work in watercolors. Some of you know that my main interest is in pastels, but I didn't start there. I began with watercolors.
Like any newbie, I made newbie mistakes. I bought a profusion of tubes of watercolors; Maimeri had a post-Christmas special at one of the big art supply places online and, since I didn't have a preference, I bought the entire set, many of which are still sitting in their pristine, unopened state. (Two hundred years from now, archaeologists are going to wonder, "What's that all about?")
Over time, of course, I learned. There are some that I can't live without, particularly what I call the "mud colors"-- raw sienna, burnt sienna, raw umber, burnt umber -- because they really are (were) made from the earth dug up around Sienna and Umbria in Italy. My palette will probably always contain Ultramarine blue and Cobalt blue, because I don't know anything better to depict warm and cool skies, respectively. Then, there are the remainder and these are more-or-less expendable.
So, as I began to contemplate the New Year, I made a big decision. After 14 years of paying my penance, I was going to allow myself to let go and do something really, truly wild: I was going to change my brand of watercolors and I was going to change the shades and tints I used. I know. It makes you gasp, doesn't it?
Oh, alright. Glib comments aside, I decided that I was going to reach for a different, more mellow look to my watercolor sketches... just to see what the overall effect might be. Same old pen and ink sketches (Uniball Vision, fine point, black) ... just new watercolors, this time from Da Vinci, which is a California company, instead of from Italy.
So, let the New Year begin!*
"Marriage allows you to annoy one special person for the rest of your life."
*In case you wonder: I have had the bulk of this post prepared for quite some time. I have been sitting here waiting for 3 backordered tubes of watercolor from DaVinci to be able to finish. Stay tuned! I have been working on a few other things while I waited and will post them soon.
Friday, December 16, 2011
My Little Christmas Wish...
Copyright © 2011, Scotti Vaccaro
from Every Day Matters,
sketchbook journal entry dated 12/16/2011
Friday, December 09, 2011
The Loft
It has been 2 years this week since I first walked in the door to the loft in the Old City of Montréal... Everything about it was perfect. The location was perfect. The gate and the walk to the exterior door were perfect. As hostess, there to meet and greet me, Ginger was perfect. And the loft was absolutely perfect...
Copyright © 2011, Scotti Vaccaro
from Mon Journal de Montréal
sketchbook journal entry dated 12/09/11
It had a superbly outfitted kitchen, was decorated with just the right country chic touches and had both a working fireplace and a tin pail full of firewood. Mother Nature cooperated by giving me just enough cold and snow flurries to give me an excuse to have a fire. Nothing could have been better than what the Universe delivered!
Never attribute to malice what can adequately be explained by stupidity.
Friday, December 02, 2011
Baby... It's Cold Outside!
I was going through some spam email today and came across an ad for a pet catalog. When I saw it, I couldn't stop laughing and I knew that until I memorialized it, I wasn't going to be satisfied. So, I decided to preserve it in the only way I knew, which was to stop right there and draw it from my computer screen... Really, sometimes, things are just too good to let go and this was one of them!
Copyright © 2011, Scotti Vaccaro
from Every Day Matters,
sketchbook journal entry dated 12/2/11 (derivative work)
I don't know who the photographer was, or even the stylist, but I think the image is wonderful!
(And by the way, it's amazing what our dogs are willing to tolerate from us!)
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