Sunday, July 13, 2008

At meal times, we had to have some of everything and eat all that was on our plates! This rule was most horrid when we had deep fried cod roe - grey balls with a gluey, granuley paste inside. The Rule versus the gagging throat... Fortunately, Dad loved cod roe balls so if he was hungry, he would suddenly say, "if you're not going to eat that, I'll have it," and swiftly spike it away. Relief, until next time.
That's the Assisi jug with the plaited handle.

12 comments:

Laura Frankstone said...

Another fantastic composition and charming story. Your colors are perfect to convey the subtlety of memory. Sorry about the icky cod balls--for me it was calf's liver that I had to eat and couldn't leave the dining table until I had. Your cod roe balls make a much better story ;D.

Tami said...

Great Drawing; another ghastly sounding memory!

Making A Mark said...

Lovely picture Alison - you have a keen eye for a good crop!

I don't think I've ever seen fried cod's roe. Now if you were talking taramasalata............

Penhallow Street said...

Alison, thank you for your visit to my blog and the lovely comments. I've been reading through your entries--your illustrations complement your childhood memories. I look forward to reading more.

caseytoussaint said...

Oh - I love this. The way you draw hands especially, but the color and composition as well. Do you set up a still life for these memory drawings, or does it all come out of your head? I'm so impressed by your ability to paint from your imagination. It's utterly impossible for me!
Sorry about the cod roe balls though - are they an acquired taste?

Alison said...

Casey - Mostly I feel as if I'm catching the image as it falls onto the page - hardly even consciously remembering. Sometimes I look at a real thing to see 'how it goes' - eg in this pic, I set a glass of water in front of my own Assisi jug which is a different shape but has the same pattern as my parent's jug, to see how the glass and water affect the jug behind. I also often use my own hand as a model - sometimes drawing my left hand and tracing through from the reverse if I need a right hand. If I had know how many hands this project would demanded of me, I never would have started! but now I think, however hard a thing is, I will just do my best and that will be good enough -and it is! I certainly never aquired a taste for cod roe balls and now cod are practically extinct. I'm waiting to hear whether Laura aquired a taste for liver under similar rules :)Thanks for visiting.

Anonymous said...

Hurray for dads! Lovely sketch alison!
ronell

Marva Plummer-Bruno said...

I love your artwork! I hope you don't mind, I gave you an award,details are here:

http://pencil-paper-paint.blogspot.com/

Marva

Clare said...

I gave you an award on my blog. You are a fantastic artist. In accepting the award, you are not obligated to continue with the nomination of others, but it is fun and encouraging all at the same time!

Lisa Adams Reed said...

Wow! Your blog is just filled with wonderful stories/paintings! Can't wait to come back!
Lisa

Hashi said...

Love the rooster jug and the mashed potatoes and peas!

ElizT said...

For me it was rice pudding. My mother always made a tough gluey version.