Vintage Stirrers

My new vintage find that will hopefully find their way into a still-life. 

They were found at a garage sale that was really an estate sale after a death. They are just a sampling of a large collection of swizzle sticks that apparently the owner collected from restaurants and bars over the years. They really intrigue me as I can't really remember this being a thing. I remember my parents collecting matchbooks from places, but I can't remember my Shirley Temples being adorned with such cute accessories. I do see large collections of them often at the antique dealers and yard sales, so I know it must have been a thing. Which years they were the most popular and when these are from would be nice to know. 

Don't you love the cow, and the woman figure, and the Sea Breeze. Sigh. I need to figure out how to use them.

Here's some info I found on swizzle sticks:

A brief description from Wisegeek

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-swizzle-stick.htm

The Rum Swizzle which they may have been created for in the 30's.


http://www.caribbeantravelmag.com/articles/rum-swizzle-0

& I got my answer about the glasses from Wiki. The Collins glass is taller and thinner.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highball_glass
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collins_glass

The beginnings of a drawing

I am a member of the Colored Pencil Artists and Lovers on Facebook and they recently started talking about how to take reference photographs, so I thought I would show you the beginnings of something.

I am starting a new vending machine piece that will be 18" x 24" and have 3 machines, each with a different color fruit. My mom actually told me I should do it and I thought she was right! I only have one bubble gum machine, so I photographed the vending machines separately and will combine them on the board. Just like my other image I want very bright light with just a hint of a shadow and an all white background. I may make it look like it is on a white shelf like Wayne Thiebauld did with his bubble gum machines. As soon as my Mom suggested doing 3 I thought of his painting!

Here is one of the 3 reference photos. There IS side light, but it is subtle. All the colors are very bright. My printer always prints darker than my screen, so I will compensate by setting it lighter in photoshop and upping the color saturation when I print. 

To photograph this type of lighting I have one foam board on the bottom, and one of those tri-fold foam boards kids use for projects in the back (you can spray paint them different colors) turned a little on the lit side to let light in. I have it all set up in my garage with the set up turned to the side, so the light comes in at an angle. The rest of the garage is dark, but gives off plenty of reflected light. You can do the same setup in front of slider doors inside. Its best (I think) to do it on an overcast day or from North light, but you can't ever count on that. If it is terribly bright you can move further into the garage. 

This is just one of the ways I might light/photograph a set up. It is great for high key situations. 

Some other lighting tips can be found here:

 http://www.nicolecaulfieldfineart.blogspot.com/search/label/photography

http://www.nicolecaulfieldfineart.blogspot.com/2011/02/2-light-sources-versus-1-light-source.html

Vending Machine

I just finished a little piece - again with a healthy twist. I had to smuggle my daughter's gumball machine for this one. She had said I COULD NOT put fruit in it. What can I say - bad Mom.

Vending Machine

8" x 10" Colored Pencil on Pastelbord

Prints! Culinary Color Wheel

Prints are Ready!

I got the proofs back and am really pleased with them!

I set up prints of Culinary Color Wheel at Imagekind where you can purchase the image in a variety of formats and sizes.

I recommend having it printed in matte at 30" x 24" - which is actual size. At actual size the fruits and vegetables will be just slightly bigger than life-size.

DO NOT GO OVER 30" X 24"! I can't figure out how to block larger sizes but if you get it larger than the original size, the grains of the paper/pencil will really show and the overall print not look as good. So I really recommend getting it at 30" x 24" with your choice of paper or canvas. Although I only proofed it on matte paper.

I am offering a discount of $15 for my blog followers right now! To receive the discounted price you must follow this link.

Any teachers out there looking for it for their classroom - contact me for a teacher price! nicolecaulfield@gmail.com

Culinary Color Wheel

Culinary Color Wheel 24" x 30" Coloursofts on Fisher 400

Here is the finished piece! I decided to withdraw my first composition with the squished fruit and replace it with some puree drizzle. I will be dropping it off to the photographer who knows how to light and focus better... so when I get it back I will try and repost it with the better photograph. I plan on using the photograph to enter it in a show as well as offer poster sized prints, so if you are interested, let me know!

I had so much fun with this piece. I put the idea off for a while because of how much produce I had to buy and the daunting task of what to pick. I wanted everything recognizable and of varying shapes and sizes. I bought an 18" round platter and brought it with me to the grocery store. I placed it in the bottom of the cart so I could arrange things there - mostly because I didn't want to overbuy fruits and veggies I didn't need.


When making the drawing I decided to punch up the colors so the color wheel aspect was really evident. That part was a lot of fun too because I could stray from the photograph to get what I wanted. Besides a play in color I realized pretty quickly how it is also a play in textures. To make the produce recognizable those textures had to be right.

I hope you enjoy this one as much as I do. It is really a reflection of my interests right now with the blog my sister and I started www.mealpod.us. Besides art and family, our health is a big priority and a big part of my time. If you don't know the message behind this piece... I also thought about naming it "Eat a Rainbow" but hubby nixed that idea inadvertently with a big laugh when I said it, lol.