olechko

2008, oil on board, 6×6 inches

I saw an ad for the herring, and sketched this little oil to illustrate the most memorable food from the trip we jus had.  This guy looks like he is goign ot slurp the poor fish tail down in a minute and with great gusto.

Check out this artist that was selling these brilliant realistic paintings on a street market in Amsterdam.

Please send your bid by email if you want to purchase a similar painting.

Separately about Catalan food: with omelettes served every hour of the day, instituted two breakfasts and very-very  late dinners offering tapas of beans, potatoes and seafood, pan con tomato, manchego cheeses.  For drinks it was the  local bubbly Cava or Rjoha and sometimes sangria , as well as local beer Moritz - all yum!  Had a great time packing myself with  salads like nicoise, great cheese plates, and bocadillos ( with honey and brie and walnuts, brie and tomato with olive oil and lettuce..)  Best food experience we had was at  Cava Fumada in Barcelonetta.  Fine dining experiences were not as memorable, on average the food seemed a bit too greasy with all the pork sausages and all… Maison Jesus and a small place in Gerona (that I don’t remember the name of) were very good.  Almost every single chiringito on the Barcelonetta beach served great shade, view of the sea, drinks and snacks.  It was pleasant to find out the city full of ancient established farmers’ markets where the locals usually stock up for the week.

Katherine Tyrrel at Making the Mark pointed out at the show of entymology illustrators exhibit at Getty.

15 x 15 cm, oil on board, 2008, private collection

David’s been working hard at home this week, his only outlet was taking some tea, and that was still at his desk - you can see our two laptops in the background here.  Btw, I’ve painted this rooster pot before, it’s my mom’s prize item in her china collection. The cups come from different service and yet perfectly match the teapot in a shabby chic kind of way, but of course it’s just about the tea for poor overworked David.  He always brings some variety from his regular London trips, this one was the Harrods kind from the duty free store. Tastes surprisingly good and justifies it’s 10 quid per can price tag.

15×15 cm, oil on board, 2008, private collection
… selling potatoes and pickles - the typical Ukrainian winter fare. She had the look of dignity and dreaminess in her eyes that can only be compared to that of the Unknown Woman by Kramskoi. The trick must be in the hat.

Speaking of traditional realist painting (which I sure hope to develop s I have more time to spend on each piece), a great young American painter Jeremy Lipking seem to carry on the traditional Russian realist painting with great success.

We’ve met up last night at my place with LittleMissMoi and MindtheGap to size up the apartment for the upcoming exhibit and think of the best way to arrange the works on the walls.

Fruit seller, 15×15 cm, oil on board, 2008 private collection

I’ve been producing one such little painting almost at a daily rate this week. They are 15×15 cm, painted in oil on board panel. This fruit seller personage comes from nearby where I live on Vorovskogo st. As you know, for same macabre reason the supermarkets hardly carry any fruit and vegetables here in Kyiv, so these entrepreneurial folks in tents on street corners (rain or shine) fill in the niche.

Looking for a fine dining experience, Yuri Uzzband and me came to Korona Vitovta - the best restaurant in Lutsk, standing right at the door of the Lubart castle.  It  all started well, the funnest part came with the bill. at the dinner.  We had one glass of wine each,  and the bill modestly displayed six of each ?! ‘Funny,” thought I and went asking about this number 6. “The foreigner (Yuri) asked for a “big” glass of wine,” explained Luda (our waitress).

By now you (who spent some time in Ukraine) all know  that Ukrainian menus like to trick you with items priced by grams, and then the waiters take the liberty at judging how many of those grams your wallet can handle.   Luda’s stab at this problem exceeded all expectations: 6×50=300 grams of wine. “Why didn’t you bring us the whole bottle in that “big” glass?” we asked, very annoyed. “You should have declined the glass when you saw it was 300 gram”. “Forgot my measuring cup at home,”  I defiantly thought. The worst part was that the wine in question was flat. Be on guard if you see too many kinds of wine by the glass in the menu. It could have been sitting open for months, like ours did.

Appalled at this Luda’s lame attempt to trick us, we demonstratively payed the $25 per glass, promising we’d tell every expat to avoid the place. So now you now.  Btw, with the quick poll via blackberry among his “high-flying” friends Yuri Uzzband concluded, that $25 per glass could  cost at only other place in the word - the Beverly Hills Hotel bar!

The old Dzyga art center in Lviv refurbished and opened it’s indoor restaurnat Pid Klepsydou on Virmenska st. this season. Love the newspaper-like menu, napkin holders made of picture frame cut-offs, authentic vaulted ceilings. The second floor space is particularly nice. And you can go check out the gallery too while waiting for your order. I heard a lot of praise about gtheir chicken intestents soup, xoxo. And, don’t get the mulled wine - they put way too much mint in there.

Great place to pop in before catching a movie at the Kyiv theater across the street. I am going nuts over their chocolate moose. The baklava trays remind me of sushi. The savory food is authentic enough to attract lots of Turkish-looking guys to the place which vouches for its authenticity.

12 Velyka Vasylkivska

Many times i hear complaints about liqueur represented in the supermarkets ten times over fresh produce, summer and winter alike. This proud representation on the picture took up about a quarter of the store and three or four isles. The reason for paying attention to this issue once again is that a quaint drink has emerged from on of these isles - Obolon’s Beer Mix. This is the Ukrainian alternative to cider. It comes in coke, lemon, raspberry and cherry flavor. I compared the cherry one with the real cherries here below, there is nothing in common. Seems like this is the only option in sweet beers market.

The wonderful benefits of staying with my parents in the summer - produce fresh from the garden in the back yard. Radishes, salad greens, scallions and cucumbers are in season at the moment. mmm.