Anima Cucina. I see you in my dreams.
This painting holds in it many of my dreams actually… First, it was painted in the aforementioned Anima Cucina, a delightfully posh and well-designed “Italian Eatery” in downtown Bismarck, ND. The menu is thoughtful, pricy, and DELICIOUS. I have dreamt of eating here again after my first experience with one of their charcuterie boards in November of 2021.
Second, I was out and about and feeling good. This painting occurred on the fourth day of my week-long artist in residence, teaching art to 7-12th graders in Elgin, ND. My trip to Bismarck happened out of unfortunate necessity (do NOT put unpackaged lithium coin cell batteries together!! They will all be dead within a couple of weeks. Bone dead). I was tired from the week, depressed from the lack of culture, and here I found myself drinking in beautifully textured walls, elegant light fixtures, young and slightly pretentious waiters, and food with finesse. I needed the respite.
Third, and most importantly, I was enjoying my first bowl of Cacio E Pepe! When I say enjoying, I mean I couldn’t get enough. The savory, salty, peppery noodles were calling my high-cardio-workout-name and I was spooning in bite after bite of the long hollow chewy noodles into my mouth on an intoxicated train of pleasure. I have been wanting to try Cacio E Pepe ever since reading through Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat. Finally, it was time. Now I can make it myself someday and I will have a worthy benchmark to compare to.
I wanted to immortalize this pleasurable moment of respite. Despite my waning desires to paint, which I had courteously agreed to respect, the need to pull out my watercolor kit prevailed. I had an excuse to linger in the details of the moment and I was taking it.
In addition to fulfilling my dreams, this painting holds its head high artistically as well. I wanted to capture the values in watercolor, always a challenging feat, and I wanted to do so quickly so I could make it home in time for bed and the final day of my residency.
I formed the values of this painting with my pencil before I went over with the paint. Thus, the drawing process took a large bulk of the time to complete this painting.
I also heavily utilized my white gel pen as the pencil marks were darker than I had expected when paint was added to the top. This was a fairly expedient process which is useful to know. I also added some darker spots with sharpie to help with the contrast in the noodles which were a challenge to signify as individuals. I utilized advice I heard on the Plein Air Podcast on a few separate occasions: paint enough for your viewer to know what’s going on and let the rest be.
This high-contrast painting was more of a value study than a color study and I was tired when I finished… But a week later looking back… I would do it all over again. Even the battery part because it led me to a moment worth savoring.
