There's a girl I've admired for a long time named Nina Clough.
A while ago, I was lucky enough to adopt one of her works of art.
It came on the same day I'd made a rare stop at my favorite patisserie.
Their light & fluffy macarons that day were lemon, raspberry, and espresso.
They're sweet; one bite is plenty. I recommend buying two of each color when you buy macs. It's fun to give the second one away.
The smoky flecks & pale colors of the almond cookies reminded me of her Paris painting, so I took a photo:
When I came home, there it was in my mailbox:
I told Nina about my French-infused day and the color coincidence.
This summer, she had a sale and I decided it was time for her "Flowers in Greece" piece (ink and watercolor).
The art paper she uses is thick and the colors come through even better in person. You never know when a piece will arrive from any artist overseas. She is located in England.
A few days ago, I went to lunch with Peter at a Greek restaurant. As I realized he was eating a Greek meal, I wished the magic spell would work and I'd come home to her print. It happened again: Inside, there was a handwritten note to me, saying that she hoped it would happen again too.
Eventually on this blog, I'll show you photos of how everything looks on the walls of my place. There's more to share of her wonderful art...
More images to come .
Her work is available here: clickable link
Or, if you're in the UK, here: clickable link
Above images were used with Nina's blessing.
those macaroons are huge! i like the paintings- again reminding me of drawings from a book i loved as a kid. this one was about a poor girl who only owned one blue dress, but she told everyone at school that she had 50 dresses, in every hue and texture. and shoes to match. i can't remember if she was ever found out but MAN that was a sad book. i think it was called "madeline's 50 dresses" or some such. anyways: i like the paintings.
on a completely unrelated note: have you ever seen "la strada?" if not, please do so immediately.
Posted by: kerri | July 14, 2009 at 04:43 AM
holy cats! apparently it's called "100 dresses" and madeline is the mean girl who makes fun of wanda's lone blue dress but anyway, check it:
http://image.yes24.com/momo/TopCate55/MidCate02/5417844.jpg
i'm gonna wish list this sucker on amazon right now.
Posted by: kerri | July 14, 2009 at 05:04 AM
Am happy you like the paintings, Kerri. I never knew this much about your childhood reading material before (wait...I did now that I think about it. I'm sure other books of our youth have come up in conversation over the years) but who knew the blog would remind you of books from the past? Yay. I always remember you & your sibs read a lot when you were little, didn't watch the tele.
The macarons do indeed seem that way! It's how close I took the photo. The pink & beige ones were 1 inch across. Lemons flatter. I love how macs turn out subtly different depending on day & place. Some flake apart, some are chewy. The same flavor will be a pale version one day, other days saturated w/color. The middles are creamy sometimes, the next time they are fruit preserves. A bubbly dome on top, or flat. Do you make macs? Yours would be the best.
Posted by: h | July 14, 2009 at 09:30 AM