Written by Way back when I was a little kid, if you had shoved a plate of escargots in front of me, I would have probably run from the table screaming. My Midwestern American diet was not particularly adventurous and only included foods that you might see illustrated on the food pyramid chart. Those edible basics that don’t require a lot of imagination to either cook or eat. As an adult, I’ve had the pleasure of sampling a much wider range of food and I’m excited to try the “exotic” ones that I’ve yet to sample. A plate filled with snails filled with a buttery sauce is not something I thought I would ever enjoy, but it’s really quite tasty. Each time I actually get the courage to try something new, I nearly always find that my initial fears prove to be unfounded. Though I might never try China’s dish known as drunken shrimp, where instead of cooking them they just get them really drunk on alcohol and eat them alive. That’s perhaps too exotic for me, unless I was similarly “cooked” first.
Yet, there are plenty of other things I still want to pursue. They say that you’re supposed to have something known as a “bucket list” as you get older. A rather morbid name for a list of all the things you want to do before you die, or well… kick the bucket. By the way, this phrase actually comes from how they used to hang and slaughter pigs, so I’m thinking there really needs to be a much better way to describe it. It’s an intriguing thought nonetheless. The bucket list, not the poor pigs. While thinking about all of the things I would put on the list, traveling to places I haven’t visited yet, rose to the top. This would then take care of the second, which is one of the main reasons I enjoy travel in the first place. The food! It’s amazing to sample dishes that you’ve never tried before, or in some cases, may have never even seen before. Granted, one has to be a bit cautious so as not to spend the remainder of the vacation moaning in a toilet, but it’s a fabulous experience. Discovering delicious new food, that is, not the toilet bit.
If a couple of years ago, you had told me that one day I would be painting on a daily basis, I probably would have laughed at you. I hadn’t painted in years and had never tried watercolor before. Being a painter or an illustrator was one of those things that seemed too far removed from my reality. It simply wasn’t going to happen. Today, over 620 daily paintings later, I would be the first to apologize to you for thinking you made such a wild comment back then and laughing in your face. And then I would, of course, thank you for believing in me and thinking that I could do something like that. Seriously, you’re awesome and I would be sure to let you know it. These days, I’m completely convinced that we are all capable of doing whatever it is we want to try. It just takes being brave enough to have that first bite. Sure, it’s definitely scary to try new things, but fear is only an excuse. All food is exotic, until you’ve tried it.
Join us for the March Art Challenge: Paint What You Love,
Click Here to Learn More!
About the DoodlewashSennelier L’Aquarelle: Quinacridone Gold, Red Orange, Sennelier Red, Phthalocyanine Blue, Phtalo. Green Light, Burnt Sienna and Payne’s Grey. Lamy Safari Al Star pen with Platinum Carbon black ink in an A6 Hahnemühle Watercolor Book. |
 |
|
End of first paragraph, I’m laughing out loud. They can hear me in San Diego. I very rarely drink any alcohol and then it’s only a tiny sip, but in my youth I was occasionally cooked. Danced on a table top once, so I’ve been told. But have never eaten snails and I don’t care what you drown these guys in – not going to give them a try.
But boy is your Doodlewash of this platter beautiful, and so artfully arranged. I think I’ll leave them just the way the are, sitting pretty for their portrait. Eating them would spoil everything.
As for awesome, just look at your paintings over less than two years – talent oozing everywhere. This one is lovely, another for a place on the wall.
Thanks so much, Sharon! 😃💕 It’s been fun to see improvement from the initial paintings… hehe… still a lot more practice to go! And yeah, drunken fish was a new one for me! Lol Just stumbled across that yesterday. Though I do love escargot, but anything drowning in garlic butter is usually delicious! hehe
“The Title is
Like
a
Tiny Poem”
hehe… it is! Thanks so much! 😃💕
Wonderful painting again, Charlie! Your rendering of the various textures is just superb.
I’m vegetarian so haven’t tried snails but my kids tried them when they were wee and found they loved them. They were not easy to find in Scotland (snails are but not the edible variety) and I’ve not seen them in stores here in the Philly suburbs either. I wonder if they would turn their noses up at them now or see them as even more of a treat.
Thanks so much, Laura! 😃💕 Glad you liked this one. And yeah, it would be so interesting to see if they would still think it was good. hehe I think they’re delicious!
Such beauty in those snails, amazing detail Charlie, I have tried them, and I thought they were OK, but I have a better love for mussels 😀
Thanks, Rebecca! 😃💕 Ooooooo… mussels are definitely high on my list as well! Yum!
I wonder if snails qualify as shellfish (which I am unfortunately allergic to)…well, these look delicious! I’ll have to check it out. (K)
Thanks, Kerfe! 😃💕 And I’ve no idea! If they aren’t in the same camp, then add snails to the menu! Delicious!
Beautifully painted Charlie! I tried Escargot in my mid 20’s. I loved the butter and garlic sauce, but not so much the snail. I was told by those who were with me and ate them they were delicious and some of the best they’d eaten.
I decided then and there it must be an acquired taste. One I’ve not pursued. 🙂
Thanks so much, Deborah! 😃💕 Yeah, don’t think these little things are for everyone. The texture set me back a bit when I first had them, but they tasted so good to me that I quickly got over it! lol
Nice sketch Charlie, but I am not sure I would eat this one, lol! I am not very keen of raw fish or slimy shells, and yes, that puts Sushi out of reach to me! I know, right? How could I NOT like Sushi??? No idea why, but my taste buds said “Nope-not doing this again”(At least I tried). I am told you need to eat sushi in an awesome place before turning it down, so maybe I need to give it another shot. The shells though are “tough to swallow”, i mean the contents of the shells 🙂 Hey, if I do not eat them, there will be more for others, right? As for the bucket list, I heard “no man (i imagine it applies to women too!) should die without writing a book, planting a tree and having a child”. Hummm. Food for thought 🙂
Thanks so much, Yvonne! 😃💕 hehe… Yeah, I think some foods you have to try a few times in order to truly appreciate them. But I like the idea of you being so generous that you’d leave more for me!! Lol