Bitter, Honey and Spice (a reboot)

Bitter, Honey and Spice. Original oil on panel, 8" x 8".

Three paintings into my second Mixology book, I decided to scrap it.

Not the book---the three paintings. When I finished the first book I already had an idea how the second book would look. A book of modern recipes should look, well, modern. In my mind that means a clean design and simple, fresh-looking paintings. 

But, a little too taken with my new collection of props, I overloaded still life setups and made busy, futzy paintings. Not exactly what I was after. I didn't even want to post them, which was telling.

It nagged at me until I reached a decision: reboot. It's early days, there's time. I sketched out some composition ideas and re-painted Bitter, Honey and Spice. I'm so much happier with this one!

I should also mention that the drink deserved better. Bitter, Honey and Spice is the creation of Ryan at Izakaya Meiji Company in Eugene, Oregon. Kate and I discovered the place, and the drink, during our Carol Marine workshop last January. Meiji's drinks were so good, we went back every night we were there. Ryan generously shared his recipe with me last month. It took some sleuthing to find all the crazy ingredients for the B., H. & S., but it is so worth it! (Allspice Dram, Vanilla Paste, and Batavia-Arrack are a few components…)

I suppose since I mentioned it, I should probably post the first painting. Grudgingly. If you're curious, it's below the break.