Artfest 2016 Starts Friday!

Shake it Up. Oil on panel, 15" x 30".

Artfest is coming! Spokane's own Northwest Museum of Art and Culture hosts its annual juried art festival June 3rd through 5th this year. The festival takes place at Coeur d'Alene Park in Browne's Addition, just west of dowtown Spokane and a few blocks from the museum.

I'll be back at Artfest with Mixology paintings, reproductions and books this year. I'm so excited! Many of the original paintings from both Mixology: The Art of Classic Cocktails and Mixology With a Twist: The Art of Modern Cocktails will be available for purchase, along with dozens of smaller pieces and some larger works created just for the show. And of course I'll bring along lots of the popular Cocktail Cards!

Here are the details:

When: June 3–5, 2016
Where: Coeur d"Alene Park, Spokane, Washington
Hours: Friday, Noon–8, Saturday, 10–8, Sunday, 10–5.
Booth # B-23.

Hope to see you there!

Here's an Artfest map, with South at the top (I think.)

Siesta

Siesta. Oil on panel, 8" x 8". 

$295. [buy now]

As May approaches, I'm fondly remembering our lovely trip to jimgermanbar a year ago. The way things have been going, it seems miraculous we were able to gather ten people for a weekend getaway!

Since then, we've been busy moving Iron Goat Brewing to its new location in downtown Spokane, and in what meantime was available, I created an entirely new body of work in enamels and snagged myself an exciting new gallery.

But as the weather warms up, it feels like time to make one of Audra Wint's summery Siestas: reposado tequila, chamomile liqueur, Cocchi Rosa and lemon in perfect, refreshing balance.

I can't think of a better way to toast some exciting Mixology news: Mixology With a Twist will be featured in the May issue of Spokane Coeur d'Alene Living magazine. 

And in June, all things Mixology return to the Northwest Museum of Art and Culture's Artfest. As always, I'll have original paintings (this time from both books!), copies of the books, small originals, and giclée reproductions. New to Artfest this year, the popular Cocktail Cards, which combine all recipes and paintings from both books in a handy deck of 52 recipe cards.

So if the Siesta looks good to you, please join me this year and pick up a book! Or a painting! Or several!

(The museum emailed me this cute e-card as I wrote this post, so I can't resist...)

MI6

MI6. Oil on panel, 12" x 12". Not for sale.

Many homework assignments were given over the course of making Mixology With a Twist, but Ruins' Crystal Bertholic dished out the biggest one of all.

She sent not one or two, but five recipes to try. By the time I collected the ingredients, the book deadline loomed large, and painting time was nearly gone. So we had to narrow it down to one. 

Vying against contenders such as DJ Lance and the Black Yukon Sucker Punch, MI6 stood out. Clean and light, this spiritous drink filled a needed position in the recipe lineup. The MI6 is a twist on the classic Vesper, and is named for the British secret service. It adds a lovely, subtle floral note with chamomile liqueur, offset with a dash of bitters.

Wanting to capture the bright elegance of the drink in the painting, I bought a mid-century stainless mixing pitcher (thanks, Raising the Bar!) as a nod to the 1953 James Bond novel "Casino Royale," in which Vesper Lynde appears. The metallic pattern in the art deco wallpaper reflects in the drink, emphasizing its clarity. MI6 ended up one of my favorite paintings from the book. Lucky for me, as my husband claimed it, and now I will have to look at it for a very long time.

Adriana Janovich featured the MI6 prominently in her article about Mixology With a Twist in the Spokesman-Review. You can read the article here.

Bad News From Houston

Bad News From Houston. Oil on panel, 12" x 12". 

$595. [Buy now.]

It's January already, and time to ease out of the deadly holiday combo of insanity and debilitating laziness. Naturally, on the first post-holiday Monday, I came down with a cold. Small wonder it isn't worse, given the number and strength of cocktails consumed over the preceding weeks.

On the subject of strong cocktails, I give you Bad News From Houston. (Well, not literally give, but it is for sale.) This is one of my absolute favorite drinks from both books combined, hands down. The mix of rye whiskey, amaro and two vermouths is already right up my alley, but the real kicker is the little bit of salt that makes the whole thing so buttery-awesome.

The recipe came to be in Mixology With a Twist courtesy of Seth Sempere at Spur in Seattle. Seth also happens to be the vice president of Washington's chapter of the national bartender's guild, as if this drink isn't proof enough that he knows what the hell he is doing. (Trust me, it is.) 

This was one of those paintings that I did twice, as the first painting didn't come close to doing the drink justice. Not sure what painting would, honestly, but I was much happier with this one. Both paintings featured the "horn"-handled mid-century bar tools and wagon-wheel-esque fifties coupe found at a second-hand store in Sunnyside. But this painting succeeded with a simplified—therefore strengthened—composition.

If you desperately want the recipe but don't have the book, please click this link to get it. If you desperately want the painting, please find the link under the photo above.

Happy New Year!