The colors of Santa Fe

So here I was, third day in an on and off pain. Trying to accomplish something on the home front during the off moments but they had been too few. Drugged but still waiting for the damned medication to work. With one eye, I was watching an episode of Take Home Chef (2005). I couldn't help noticing an interesting looking participant. Sort of a spaced out, long haired and very silent guy with no trace of smile on his face. He looked kind of Italian with thick black hair well down his back. How bizarre, I thought. To put a guy like that on the show where Curtis Stone already has a bit of a problem doing enough talking to actually keep the viewers from dozing off. (Believe me I do like Curtis, wild hair and cute smile, it's just that he's not the most talkative guy on earth.)

So I open my other eye and notice they're working in quite a stylish kitchen, and Curtis is holding a huge drink in the loveliest shade of hot pink, accented with bright green. Now these are definitely the colors you want to see on a cold November night. I turned up the volume. They were baking trout in clay wrappings which they hand decorated. Curtis did the scales and fins, so his wrapping looked like a regular fish, while the guy did a snake and complained that Curtis' wrapping was nicer. Some more cooking followed, then the silent guy took Curtis for a stroll near some art galleries and showed him an impressive, bold painting of which, apparently, he was an author. Aha. That might be why everything looked just right around his place. Wrapping up the episode, a lovely wife showed up with two daughters and they all sat down to eat outside a house painted in vivid colors, shining in the blazing sun. I was most pleased. A total eye-candy and the nicest family ever.

I was so intrigued who the silent guy was that I googled him as soon as his name appeared on screen. He turned out to be a well known Native American modernist painter from Santa Fe, Darren Vigil Gray. How strange that he would appear on an episode of Take home chef but he did. Looking at some of his works cheered me up even further, for one thing, I find the images of American desert extremely energizing. So if you need some color to lift yourself from November darkness, I believe these will do it.

Hiding Places of Natures Power #4 (2006) acrylic on canvas



untitled, acrylic on canvas



At the Gathering of the Clouds #1 (2007) acrylic on canvas



I Will Paint an Angel, acrylic on canvas



View of Abiquiu, oil on canvas



Morning Song (2007) acrylic on canvas

(Image copyrights belong to respective owners, I will take images off if required.)

Don't miss the Merry Cemetery

Today is a good day to mention the place I first heard about on The Hairy Bikers show (series 2, episode "Transylvania Part Two"): a Merry Cemetery in Sapinta (also spelled Sapanta) in the Maramures region of Romania. The bikers thoroughly enjoyed visiting it and called it, if I remember correctly, "a true celebration of life". The gravemarkers illustrate in vivid colors how the buried persons lived or died; brief text summaries follow. Apparently, many are hilarious and visitors leave the cemetery smiling. The place, originally virtually unknown, became one of the officially recognized tourist attractions of Romania. Click here to see the funny gravemarkers, including the above, which I copied to my blog.

PanAsia - Journeys in Asian Cuisine

Just watched an episode of PanAsia: Journeys in Asian Cuisine (2002?) on Thekkady. I really like the host of this show, Sian Richards. That woman is so gentle and charming. Very goodlooking but doesn't come off insecure or sometimes dumb like some other pretty exotic cooking show presenters whose name I shall not mention. And she's a talented photographer. Watching and listening to her is a pleasure.

Chinese tea Kung Fu style

This is how they pour tea in Hangzhou, China.

Stately Suppers - Chavenage House

I just watched an episode of the Bristish show Stately Suppers (2005) filmed at Chavenage House in the Cotswolds. I love the grand historic homes in this show but I am always particularly curious about what their kitchens look like and if they are comfortable to work in. That kitchen featured a huge black Aga range and a four burner cooking range next to it, with two undercounter cabinets on each side of the ranges. Above the ranges, there was a really long rod with hanging utensils, and above the rod a single long shelf with thick, curvy, golden-coated wooden supports, hosting shiny pots and bowls. It looked incredibly comfortable. So much space - a joy to the cook. I think I was also charmed because it seemed totally functional and unpretentious, just simple and inviting.