Painting an Idea

So in my "about me" section I wrote that I would write about food, fashion, art, anything that peaks my interest really. Due to technical issues all I have been posting about is classic movies and some recipes. Well I finally got it together! Without further ado here is a feature about one of my favorite contemporary artists.

Now I have been researching Will Cotton for quite some time and as far as personal information there isn't much out there. If any of my lovely readers know any more about this artist please feel free to post in the comment section.

Ron 2009 oil on linen

Born in 1965 in the great state of Massachusetts, he moved to New York in the 80's and pursued a degree in fine arts.  In the early 90's Mr. Cotton used pop iconography aimed at rapture. He sums it up perfectly, "My initial impulse to make these paintings really came out of an awareness of the commercial consumer landscape that we live in. Every day we're bombarded with hundreds, if not thousands of messages designed specifically to incite desire within us."         

In 1996 he continued with the theme of desire and instead of pop icons, he used the landscape itself as an object of affection.  Since 2002 he has painted pin up style and nude women featured in the landscape and has later used cotton candy clouds with the nudes. Mr. Cotton has stated that he is inspired by painters Frederic Edwin Church and Francois Boucher. He is also influenced by pin-up painters such as Gil Elvgren and the photographer Carleton Watkins. You can really see the influence these artists has on Cotton.

Monument 2009 oil on linen    

  " I love the idea of showing someone a picture of a place they've never seen before that might inspire them to want to go there, to force them to imagine what it might be like to experience such a place."      

In 2004 he received the Princess Grace Foundation awarded to artists under the age of 40. In 2008 Mr. Cotton started to show pieces of sculpture comprised of real looking cakes and sweets with loads of frosting. In 2009 he installed a pop-up bakery so he could use real baked goods as a model for his sculptures. For the 3 weeks it was open, every employee got to wear a cupcake tiara that Cotton made for them. 

Will Cotton(center) and the baking team

SWEET, 2009-2010, polystyrene, acrylic polymer, pigment, gypsum

Cotton was the artistic director in 2010 for Katy Perry's music video California Gurls. He also constructed props including the candy land board game set and props using real baked goods. For Katy Perry's album Teenage Dream, Cotton painted a portrait of Katy Perry amongst cotton candy clouds.     

cotton candy katy 2010 oil on linen

Cotton has just released a new book entitled Will Cotton Paintings and Works on Paper.

2011

Well that is it for now... Everyone have a great weekend!

Mrs.M

Where does the time go?

Hello lovelies, I am still troubleshooting what is going on with my computer and I don't want to bring you justputtogether content. So hopefully I will be able to post something of worth by the weekend. Everyone have a great Tuesday!


Mrs.M

Ding Ding Ding with the Bell

1944

Set in St.Louis 1904, the four privelaged Smith daughters love the town they live in. Esther Smith(Judy Garland) falls in love with the boy next door when Mr.Smith learns he has an opportunity to move his family to New York. I love this musical! I love the hair, costumes, the singing is amazing. I have found that most people who haven't seen the film immediately recognize the songs.

Judy Garland singing The Trolley Song

The Smith's home.

 I love the architecture of this period.

Now time for some fun facts:



Judy Garland didn't want to play another virginal teenager, Director Vincente Minnelli convinced her play the role. Years later she said it was one of her favorite roles.

Makeup artist Dorothy Ponedel changed her appearance in several ways, including changing her hairline, reshaping eyebrows, and reshaping her lips. Judy Garland was so pleased she written Ponedel into her future contracts with MGM.

During filming, a steamy affair between Judy and Vincente began, they married after filming. Garland was 21 and Minelli was 43.

Vincente Minelli and Judy Garland 1945

Less than a year later, they had a daughter, which they named Liza with a Z. 

Portrait by Andy Warhol 1977

I want to apologize for the lack of posts from last week. I had several posts ready to go and for some reason it didn't save to my hard drive so Mr.M deleted my files on the computer. As you can guess I was a bit miffed. So I will try my bestest to recover the info I researched.

Everyone have a happy Tuesday

Mrs.M





Ahoy hoy!

Today I introduce to you the sister of Anchors Aweigh....

Skirts Ahoy! 1952

Starring the wonderful Esther Williams along side is Joan Evans and Vivian Blaine. The story is about 3 women who join the Navy and while in boot camp one of the ladies goes on the hunt for a man. Again, lovely costumes, and I just love Esther Williams in the swimming scenes.

Teaching the gals how to swim

Publicity shot of all the ladies.

The movie is very light and is funny in ways it wasn't back then. I don't really know how to explain it. Let's call it escapism, shall we?

It's trivia time!

Esther Williams was a champion swimmer before being discovered by MGM.

She was married 4 times.

As of August 8 of this year, she is 90 years old!!!

Well that's it for now. Happy November everyone!

Mrs.M





Happy Halloween

  Today is Halloween, one of my favorite holidays.  Wll I love all holidays, any excuse to have a party and dress up and Im for it. This past weekend me and Mr.M had some friends over for an impromtu Halloween party. We weren't going to have one this year because most of the people we know are out of town currently, so I just figured everyone had plans. I was wrong, that is what happens when you assume and don't ask. I tried to go for a black and white Pleasantville look. That makeup is so hard to work with so I ended up looking more like a fresh zombie.

Braainnnss

Mr.M as David Lee Roth

 (I know all of you ladies are so jealous right now)

The Brawny paper towel guy who was captured by pirates.

My awesome friend went as a sugar skull!

I could NOT stop staring at her makeup

I lovveeddd her costume, so creative and inexpensive. What did everyone do for halloween weekend or does anyone have plans tonight? We are just passing out candy to the trick or treaters and watching another Tim Burton Movie Nightmare Before Christmas. I remember I first saw that movie in theatres and it scared the poo out of me, literally I pooed my pants.

Happy Halloween everyone! Be safe and send me all of your candy.

Mrs.M

Blending is the Secret..

I am back! Whew that trip was a whirlwind, I will have some pics to post soon, promise! Now back to this blog, so I usually do a classic movie review along with some stills and maybe a video. With the holiday season approaching I am currently obsessed with Tim Burton, and my favorite film of his is Edward Scissorhands. 

 

                                                                              1990

I love this movie! It is about a creator who is in the process of making Edward (Johnny Depp) and he dies before he is complete. Edward has lived alone for a long time until a local neighbor takes him in. I love the imagery they play with as well as the characters. This was Vincent Price's last role before he passed away. The role of the creator was specifically written for him.

Vincent Price

I wouldn't mind hanging my hat there *drools*

I remember watching this in grade school and the scariest thing to me, was the actual neighborhood.

To me, it is still creepy to matching cars and houses.

Well that is it for now, hopefully I can get caught up and get my blogs I have been working on to load on the actual computer. Everyone have a great Hump Day!

Mrs.M

Hop, Swing and a Jump Away

There are only two emotions in a plane: boredom and terror. ~Orson Welles

I can say that quote is definately true for me. That being said, I won't be on a plane but I am taking a trip a few states away for a bit of work and a bit of R&R. So this week on my blog is going to be a bit scattered but I will try my best. So thinking of traveling on the open road it got me thinking, has anyone ever seen an airstream trailer? I have seen one in real life. I am so in love with them but oy vey, they are $$$$$. Without further ado here are some lovely vintage photos related to travel.

This is how I *dream* of looking while going on a trip.

Don't they look fabolous?

Trivia Time!

Judy Garland had a tremendous fear of flying and would travel by train, car or ship.

I will try my best to keep up with the lovely blogs I follow while gone and be able to comment when I return. Hopefully  I will get some good road pictures and the like to share!

Have a fabulous Saturday!

Mrs.M



It's that time again..



1955

 Starring Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron

I have to admit I am biased, I love anything with Fred Astaire in it. His acting, singing and most of all his choreography just gets me everytime. The plot consists of a successful millionare who anonymously sponsors a young french girl to attend college in the states. During her time at college she writes her sponsor and falls in love with him, but he never reads the letters and shows up at a dance 3 years later. The dancing is amazing, there are some dream sequences which I just adore.

Some of the dream sequence shots

I love any movie with costume changes and a dance number. I think it's because it really is fantasy and light hearted.

 Here is a bit of trivia related to the movie Daddy Long Legs;

Fred Astaire's wife of 21 years died of lung cancer right before filming was to take place. He was convinced to continue with the movie, and inbetween takes he would go to his trailer and cry his eyes out.

Leslie Caron in real life is a ballet dancer and was discovered by Gene Kelly.

Fred Astaire personally requested that Leslie Caron be in the role.

Everyone have a great Tuesday! Im almost 100% better from the flu, woot!

Mrs.M



Happy Happy Birthday

Hello everyone, I hope you all had a great weekend. Currently I have the flu, my hubby gave it to me on Saturday afternoon(he's so sweet in that way) Anywho this past weekend was my hubby's birthday so I have a few photos from the weekend. On Friday we went bowling and then on Saturday we had a little get together to celebrate!

The birthday boy!

About to start bowling!

My dear friend Mrs.T

Mr and Mrs.T

Nachos!!! I love bowling alley nachos, I can't help it.

There are some more pics from the weekend but I didn't want to do a pic heavy post.

Remember tomorrow is Classic Movie Tuesday!

Mrs.M

Weinerville

Happy hump day kids! Now for another recipe. Im not too keen on making up fancy food names,when it is what it is, know what im sayin? This is an easy crockpot meal. It is one that I make in the fall and winter months and when I'm a lazy ass and dont have many ingredients available.

Sausages and Split Pea Soup

(Same crockpot)

Now I will be the first to admit that I never liked pea soup much. Most of the time it is pureed until it resembles baby food. It was always the texture never the taste that I had a problem with. So this is my remedy for that and for my hubby who also isn't a fan of the baby food texture pureed soups have.

 So You will need split peas, I get the ones with the fake ham packet, but I never use the packet.

Sweet sausages or you can get any kind of sausages you like, just make sure they arent smoked.

parsley, tarragon,pepper, salt, minced garlic.

Half of an onion (white or yellow) rough chop.

1. Pour 1 cup of rinsed peas in crockpot, add 2 cups of hot water.

2. Add the chopped onion, then add all of the seasonings. I don't measure, so I took a pic of the amount I use.

As you can see, on the left is about the amount I use for all of the seasonings, on the right is the salt, keep in mind that I use sea salt, if you use table salt reduce it by half.

3. Add the sausages, I do 3 for two people. put the cover on the crockpot and put it on low for a minimum of 4 hours. Then it will be ready to eat.



 Mmm Mmm good. For some reason it isn't as bright and appetizing in the photo.

I will work on it.

Toodles!

Mrs.M



Let Me Entertain You

Happy Tuesday Dolls. I apologize for the lack of posts these past few days, there was quite a bit going on this weekend and the hubby had a few extra days off so quality time was definately spent. Now on to the second installment of Classic Movie Tuesdays.

 Straight from 1945 supporting the war effort is Anchors Aweigh! Starring Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Kathryn Grayson.
The plot is...light..Two Navy buddies on leave in Los Angeles, one is naive(Frank Sinatra) and the other is more experienced in the ways of the world(Gene Kelly.) There are some great dance numbers as well as beautiful costumes.

Kathryn Grayson and Gene Kelly

Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra

The movie is in Technicolor! I don't know about you, but I like black and white and color movies. Some of the 1920's films are a bit hard to watch due to lighting and the technology they had at the time. There is a very famous scene with Jerry Mouse and Gene Kelly dancing together. Family Guy even spoofed the scene in one of their episodes. Below is a video of the scene. On the left is the Family Guy spoof and on the right is the original.

An interesting bit of trivia, Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra were the same height, Gene Kelly had was 30 lbs heavier and all of it was muscle.

 If anyone has any requests about a particular movie feel free to just ask! Everyone have a great Tuesday.

Mrs.M

Another Manic Monday

I had planned to post a few blogs this weekend, but wasn't able to because we(hubby and friends) have been painting the kitchen and living room, alllll weekend long, and we still arent finished. So once the painting is caught up, which should be by the end of today, I will post my blogs again. Everyone have a great week!

Mrs.M

Hump Day Cookin'

I hope everyone's week is going well. Every Wednesday I will be posting a new recipe whether it be a dessert, snack or main dish. Today is going to be something easy with little fuss.

Chicken Wings & Dummies!

Usually Hot wings and drumsticks  have a light flour coating and are fried, fried and then fried some more. For me it is easier and just as tasty to bake them in the oven.

What you will need:

1. A package of wings with attached drumsticks. *If you would like to purchase already separated wings and drumsticks, feel free!

2. Aluminum foil, cooking spray or olive oil, knife, cutting board, 2 cookie sheets, pepper, garlic salt, and wing sauce of your choice.

*The pepper and garlic salt are optional, if you would like to use other seasoning or none at all, go for it. This recipe is easily interchangeable.

Now on to pictures....WARNING!!! Pictures of raw chicken are just gross looking, to me at least. Moving on...

So this is what an attached drum and wing look like. Place the wing/drum on the cutting board and take out your knife. Before cutting the chicken, Preheat the oven to 375.

Cut here and...

here.. You want to cut in between the joints, so you dont dull your knife or have chicken shrapnel all over you. Discard what is left or you can freeze them in a bag and boil them for home made chicken stock.

Next, line the cookie sheets with the aluminum foil and then using cooking spray or olive oil, lightly coat the foil. On a side note, I look like I have an E.T. finger(hoommeee)

For some reason I separate the wings and drums from eachother. You can mix them up it wont make any difference cooking or taste wise. Anywhoser, so put the chicken on the foil and if you choose to put any type of seasoning on them , now is the time.

I went with the cracked pepper and garlic salt combo, I know I know it's a bit fancy but damnit Im a classy kinda gal.

Now put the chicken in the oven on 375 for 30 minutes. Then take them out, and flip all of the chicken to the other side, bake for another 30 minutes.

When they come out of the oven they will be lightly crisp. If you really like crispy chicken add another 15 minutes to the cooking time.

Once ready I smother and cover them in my favorite locally produced wing sauce. I have another wing sauce that I make when I want something with a little spice.

Texas Pete Wing Sauce

All you need is Texas Pete hot sauce and a stick of butter.

1. Melt butter in microwave about 20 seconds

2. add 1/2cup of Hot sauce

3. Mix and smother with wings

Ta-da! quick and easy.

Voila! Ready to eat! Don't they just look delicious?

In the words of Julia Child- Bon apetit!