A Taste of Morocco in Harira Soup

January 14, 2012January 14, 2012 / Terrill Welch / 21 Comments

Sometimes my creativity takes me out of the studio and into the kitchen. So how about we go from Mayne Island to Morocco?

A few years ago I found the most delicious Moroccan soup in one of the Moosewood Restaurant cookbooks. This Harira soup, in its many variations, is usually eaten to break the fast in the evening meal during the Muslim time of Ramadan which will begin on or close to July 20^th in 2012. Just the smell of this fragrant soup being prepared has me smiling with satisfaction and delight. It is a great addition any time of the year to inspire freshness and renewal.

I have made some adaption to the recipe, of course – as any creative person might.

Terrill’s Taste of Morocco Harira Soup

1 cup chopped onions

4 cups vegetable Stock

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds or a bit of fresh fennel

1 large table-spoon finely chopped fresh ginger

A tiny pinch of cayenne

3 or 4 peeled or unpeeled and chopped carrots

2 finely chopped sticks of celery

3 or 4 medium chopped organic tomatoes

(you can leave the peal on if you like but be careful not to get too much tomato as it can overpower this delicate soup)

3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes washed peeled or unpeeled and chopped soup size

(any firm-meat potato will do as will no potato at all)

A small pinch of saffron soaked in warm water ahead of time to release its goodness

1 small (14 ounce) can of organic lentils

1 small (14 ounce) can of organic chickpeas

A good squeeze of Lemon Juice

A dash of Madeira if you have it

A bit of good black pepper and sea salt to taste (a sprinkle of cherry wood smoked rock sea salt is nice)

A nice clump of fresh cilantro chopped

(a must unless you hate it then use parsley)

Sauté the onions in large a soup pot with a bit of olive oil. Add in spices and ginger. Then add carrots and celery followed by vegetable stock and potatoes and finally the tomatoes. Simmer until potatoes are tender. Now add lentils, chickpeas and saffron. Heat through but do not over cook. The celery will tell you when it is cooked just the right amount for you. Add Madeira, lemon, sea salt and pepper very last.

Serve with fresh cilantro and lemon wedges and a smile. We had crackers too but you could have hard-boiled eggs on the side just as easily.

Please feel free to substitute many items in this recipe while keeping the spices consistent. Small amounts of meat can be added such as beef, lamb or chicken. This time I added a little cabbage and it was a nice addition. I didn’t have enough onions so I used a shallot. Tomatoes are not in season so I used canned tomatoes and so on. But always keep the cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, saffron, lemon, fresh cilantro and the tiniest pinch of cayenne.

Side note: this is one of the few soups that I make which tastes best on the day it is made. It is a large pot of soup so invite friends.

Today is my daughter Josie’s birthday and I know how much she loves soup and foods that fill her senses with their natural goodness. Happy Birthday Josie!

SPROUT: What foods fill all your senses with their natural goodness?

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

Reflections: Staying Warm During Winter… (eof737.wordpress.com)
Leek & Potato Soup – Vichyssoise (hopeeternalcookbook.wordpress.com)
Carrot Soup with a Squeeze of Lemon Juice (icanhascook.wordpress.com)
Hungarian Goulash Soup – perfect poured over mash! (tastyadvice.wordpress.com)
Wizard Soup! (ashleighgarmon.wordpress.com)

Begin 2012 with what you have – oil painting in progress

January 1, 2012 / Terrill Welch / 8 Comments

I am hoping to get down to the seashore for dawn but the rain has arrived first. So, refusing to be left empty-handed on the first morning of the year, I have decided to share a detail from a painting in progress.

The over all painting is still not settled on the canvas yet but I like this part of it.

SPROUT: Do you find this sometimes too – where a detail may even become the finished work?

In this case, I think the complete 12 X 12 inch canvas will come together but we shall have to wait and see.

Wishing us all the most inspiring, imaginative, creative and successful 2012!

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

Studio Tour Tomorrow (creativepotager.wordpress.com)

Twice Around

December 27, 2011 / Terrill Welch / 12 Comments

Today is twice around the calendar year for Creative Potager. As part of my seasonal rest period, I have not posted for 25 days. It has been almost a month since I entertained a sprout question or gathered together my thoughts for a submission to all you wonderful creative beings. Yet, I have been thinking about Creative Potager – about its purpose and how it provides a sustaining sense of direction and community for me and maybe even for you.

The year of 2011 has seen many paintings completed and photographs captured. There have been interviews and guest post on other blogs. We have entertained special Salish Sea Saving days, home studio tours and seen publications of work in brochures, newspapers and on the glossy front page of a regional magazine Island Gals.

There has been the release of my new book Precious Seconds – Mayne Island in painting and photographs which many of you now have in your possession.

There has been the successful STUDY OF BLUE solo exhibition with more than half of my original oil paintings sold and finding their way to new homes.

I have received recognition for my photography and won several website features. Paintings, books and photography and painting prints, calendars and cards have been sold to buyers around the world. The introduction of Google Plus has offered a whole new community of more than 10,000 artists, photographers and art lovers have “circled” my profile.

I have been invited by a new online Gallery ArtsyHome to show my paintings and my latest original paintings are now easily available for purchase by international buyers.

On all fronts, it has been a creatively successful fine art year for me, one where Creative Potager has been a central connection for sharing my adventures.

However, a question seems to be presenting itself without a satisfying or conclusive answer:

What is next for Creative Potager?

My Google plus has scooped up much of my Twitter community and its micro blogging with gorgeous image capacity makes separate blog posting less of a necessity and in many ways less of a hub for connecting with my much larger Google Plus community. My Facebook has always been about family and closer friends for but it is not really a place of deeper contemplation and creative connection. I link these readers to Creative Potager for this even if they reply on Facebook. Some of you are part of all of my various social platforms. Others connect only here on Creative Potager or in only one or two other networks. So there is always the risk of repeating posts for some of you and of missing out on opportunities for others. Each platform comes with its own time commitment which is starting to take away from, rather than enhance, my actual creative process. I know I must shift and change something.

What should I do?

Some ideas are taking root but nothing has grown large enough to be a distinguishable pattern of lines and shapes. So, though it is the second anniversary of our creative connection here in the blogosphere, we must be patient until such time as the flip-flopping musings inside my head settle into a discernible direction. In the meantime, I shall post more frequently in a micro blogging fashion that is dispersed across my various social networking platforms. As my readers, you can choose your favourite means of connection to engage in our conversations. It matters not really though I do like to see the comments directly on the blog post because they are more lasting here and it is easier to skip through to your own posts.

The “sprout question” will become more sparsely presented as simply “Sprout.”

I shall also add a “Seed” which is a seed for creativity, learning and discover. It is a study element that I am introducing into my upcoming year. I thought you might like to be privy to this “seed planting” as well. “Seeds” shall generally have links and will only share a snippet to entice further exploration.

Possibly, not all posts will have a “seed” or “sprout.” Some may only have a photograph, a paragraph or painting. We shall just have to wait and see. Posts will have no prescribed time of day or days of the week. By now I trust that I shall post regularly. I desire maximum flexibility to create and to connect with a spontaneity that keeps both fresh and engaging and exciting. This is built on my belief and trust that both shall happen without prescription because they do.

Intention: For me, according to the answer to my I Ching question, this is anticipated to be a year of modesty and moderation. It appears to be a time of balancing extremes and harmonizing interests and requires a modest and sincere attitude and the limiting of obvious excesses while exposing myself to new areas of experience. This is also a time of conflict, external or internal, and one of spiritual maturing. It may lead to reconsidering my original premise. My intention is to be open, curious and unattached to what I know to be true so I can explore and honour what is yet unknown to me. Oh where might this take us? It promises to be a grand adventure.

As the sun comes close to setting on 2011, thank you so much for being and continuing to be part of my creative journey.

(image may be purchased HERE)

As we shoot for the moon…

(image may be purchased HERE)

with our arms full of flowers…

(image may be purchased HERE)

Sprout: What is currently soft and undefined in your creativity?

Seed: What new might we learn about composition? Has it changed through time? Are their histories of creativity that have handled composition with different views? These are the questions I am musing about as I begin my next painting. Let’s start with a good grounding in the basics of composition that are available on wikipedia.

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

Life and the Bounty Hunter (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
Studio Tour Tomorrow (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
Third Thursday Teaser (creativepotager.wordpress.com)

Not Much to See

November 28, 2011November 28, 2011 / Terrill Welch / 10 Comments

Sometimes when there is not much to see it still feels just right, particularly on Monday morning. I like to ease into the week still blinking away the coziness of the weekend.

It is an ordinary sort of morning down by the water and there is not much to see.

I like it anyway, the quiet, unimpressive business of ordinary life. The studio is about the same. I finished one painting but I still need to take a photograph. Then I started on another. As I have been saying, not much to see yet. But would you like to peek over my shoulder? Alright, but no comments about my painting apron only partially covering my nightgown. No complaining that it isn’t quite daylight yet, nor that I didn’t make everything pretty. It is a reference snapshot. It is also going to be a bit crowded but I think we can all squeeze in. Okay, okay I will show you….

Sam, can I get you to move to right so Leanne can see as well. Laurie I know you are excited but there isn’t enough room for you jump up and down right now. Maureen, you can come a little closer and squeeze in there on the left. Jeff if you come over by me I think you can see over top of Patricia. Shakeira, Sue and Josie… hum! Oh no! Here comes… we are just going to have to have another viewing when the painting is finished.

Sprout Question: What is your favourite not-much-to-see view or moment?

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

FromMayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

Flying Through Home Studio Gallery Day (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
The Quiet (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
Sitting on My Ordinary (creativepotager.wordpress.com)

Savouring the Blues

October 24, 2011 / Terrill Welch / 20 Comments

Yesterday was a fantastic Sunday for a stroll and to a poke about at the light house on Mayne Island. What really grabbed my attention was a clump of maples against the blues of the water and sky.

I also like this perspective and can’t decide which I like best. Because they are so similar I should probably only post one on my redbubble storefront.

Do you have a preference?

However, it is almost always the sea that pulls me into sublime bliss. This Sunday was no exception.

This brings me to some Monday morning news from Creative Potager. Do you remember the small 8 X 8 inch oil on canvas painting A SUMMER DAY that was the third I did during a plein air session this summer?

Well, it SOLD this weekend and is going to a lovely home here on Mayne island where it will be treasured.

The second good piece of news is that PRECIOUS SECONDS – Mayne Island in paintings and photographs

is now available as an ibook for $9.99 for those who have ipads or iphones. Isn’t this exciting? It can be purchased at the same place as the hardcopy on BLURB HERE.

Since I do not have an iphone or ipad I put in a request to a tweet-friend and iphone artist Sandra Lock in Liverpool England. Sandra reviewed the ibook for me and left the following comment on BLURB…

“I can wholeheartedly recommend the iBook. It looks fabulous on my iPad, there’s nothing quite like a backlit screen for making images really pop…”

If you get a chance, I suggest you check out Sandra’s COLOUR YOUR WORLD Art Blog. And thank you Sandra for taking the time to review my first ibook 🙂

I have one more piece of news but I am going to wait until Friday to share it. I will give you a hint though – I made the cover or rather my painting did.

Sprout Question: Where are you finding sublime bless today?

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

PRECIOUS SECONDS – Mayne Island in paintings and photographs (creativepotager.wordpress.com)

Sitting on My Ordinary

October 21, 2011 / Terrill Welch / 16 Comments

It is an ordinary quiet week here at la casa de inspiracion. In fact it has been quieter and more ordinary than usual. With only a few outside commitments, I have even been sitting on my ordinary – well, backside. Shhhhhhh! Don’t tell anyone.

Oh I did dive in and order new print stock, clean the studio and get a few other household chores out of the way… but only worked at these pesky necessaries for a short while each day. Mostly it was a week of relaxing and the easiest route to an end goal. Do you ever take a few days to do this?

Sitting on my ordinary is about being with the everyday in an unhurried fashion.

It is about quietly observing and nurturing and replenishing my inner strength and resilience.

(image may be purchased HERE)

It is about honouring and reflecting on – exactly where am I anyway and what is it I really want to be doing?

(image may be purchased HERE)

Most often it means time in nature feeding my soul.

(image may be purchased HERE)

These four images are a result of “sitting on my ordinary” this week. So as you can see, it doesn’t mean doing nothing but rather doing what you love in a way that gives back.

Best of the weekend everyone!

Sprout Question: How do you sit on your ordinary?

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

SEA AND CLOUDS original oil painting by Terrill Welch (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
Five new plein air oil paintings by Terrill Welch (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
PRECIOUS SECONDS – Mayne Island in paintings and photographs (creativepotager.wordpress.com)

The Good, The Green and The Ugly

September 16, 2011 / Terrill Welch / 11 Comments

Have you every noticed that things are not usually as they seem but more like what we make them out to be? Such is the story of these three tomatoes shown with the last of our peas and carrots.

The orange tomato on the left fooled me. I was waiting for it to turn red. Finally, slightly puzzled that it was taking so long to ripen, I reached under the plant and found its tag – Hillbilly (heirloom) Plant produces good yields of large orange yellow beefsteak tomatoes with read and pink streaks. Very flavourful. Excellent for salads and sandwiches.

It was ripe after all – just not red. It was also absolutely delicious.

Now the green tomato really is green. It accidentally came off with the other Hillbilly. But look at that big Ugly tomato – what happened to it? I can only guess that it was double pollinated. Let’s have a read of its tag – Carbon (heirloom) Flavour is exceptionally rich yet sweet and the essence of delicious summer tomato flavour. Medium to large, tomatoes are flattened round and smooth, without the cracking or blemishing that seems to plague some black tomatoes. They are dark purplish-brown on the outside with deep brick red interior.

I can tell you it did lived up to its flavour description but was maybe a little off on expected appearance. We had to eat it in three sittings. That was one monster tomato.

Speaking of descriptions our dear Laurie Buchanan received her birthday present copy from Len of PRECIOUS SECONDS – Mayne Island in paintings and photographs. Here is the comment she left on the Blurb publishing site under her penname Paden Plume:

This evening I sat down with a glass of wine to enjoy Terrill Welch’s new book. The description on the wine label said:

“This wine shows a heady nose of chocolate, deep rich blackberries, red fruits, and a creamy mocha finish that is unmistakable in its intensity and length. It’s reminiscent of a blackberry chocolate cupcake with a mocha coulis.”

If that description sounds good to you, let me say that turning and savoring each page of PRECIOUS SECONDS was an even more delicious treat! One that I will indulge in over and over again.

Thank you Laurie and thank you to everyone who purchased a book this week. Some of you I know who you are and others are friends in the universe who I greatly appreciate supporting my work. Thank you, thank you and thank you.

PRECIOUS SECONDS –Mayne Island in paintings and photographs now has its own facebook page HERE. Please feel free to come “like” its page and share your own “precious seconds” adventures.

And speaking of Laurie, she has brought the bubbly out to celebrate a blogging milestone. Speaking from the Heart has received over 50,000 views since February 2010. There isn’t a blogging party over there yet but we could always start one! Congratulations Laurie! I wish you many more views to your rich and engaging blog over the months and years ahead.

The weather has cooled and I have harvested the garden and the rest of the tomatoes are ripening up for dinner over the weeks ahead.

Sprout question: What do you have ripening for your creative dinner?

New: Check out my coffee table book PRECIOUS SECONDS – Mayne Island in paintings and photographs

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

PRECIOUS SECONDS – Mayne Island in paintings and photographs (creativepotager.wordpress.com)

Good Morning En Plein Air

August 8, 2011 / Terrill Welch / 17 Comments

What does an artist do on the morning after $2.5 trillion evaporates from global stock markets? Paint of course and not just any painting but en plein air by the sea.

It is 8:30 am. The morning is as gray unsettled as the global economy. It really didn’t hold much promise and looked like the bottom was going to fall out of the sky any second.

The only bright spot are these pink roses at the side of the lighthouse building.

The rocks down below me catch my interest but I have come to paint the sea.

Hopeful that the sun will recover its golden glow before noon. I set to work.

I stop infrequently. There will be no process photographs but I do catch a sailboat heading across Georgia Strait.

(this image may be purchased here.)

You can still see it in the distance as I leave aside the first 12 X 12 inch canvas to rest.

(this image may be purchased here.)

The sky starts to clear as I set up for the next 10 X 10 inch canvas. I wonder what time it is? Hum, ten o’clock. Let’s see what we can do.

Again I work steadily as the light and colours change faster than my brush can make a mark on the canvas. The sun is so bright I have a hard time seeing my work and have an even harder time capturing a photograph for you.

It is not finished but it has the energy of the moment and can be completed once this first work has dried.

I am getting tired but I want to do one more painting on my small 8 X 8 inch canvas. It is now just after 11:00 am.

(this image may be purchased here.)

The strokes seem to slip onto the small canvas effortlessly.

Oh my! It is now 12:30 am and I am ravenous! Time to pack up three very wet unfinished oil paintings and head for home.

This past week’s financial upheaval is not a surprise. In fact it has been a long time coming for those of us paying attention. More than ever we need to build on our resiliency, our connection to community and set a course directed by what is essential in our lives at this moment. A morning painting was my perfect answer. This is how I fortify my strength and clarity for whatever may be next.

Sprout question: How are you creatively going to weather our global financial storm?

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com

My Grand Studio (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
Mountain Stands Alone (creativepotager.wordpress.com)
Being With What Is (creativepotager.wordpress.com)

Art Opening

July 11, 2011July 15, 2021 / Terrill Welch / 14 Comments

The large canvases are wrapped in sheets and plastic and stacked with even larger pieces of cardboard lying in between. We ceremonially carry each painting and place them into the back of my rather tired old ford pick up. The plywood dry box is already carefully stuffed with smaller canvas oil paintings. Now ready to drive the short distance to the exhibition venue I realize Miss Prissy’s cargo is worth many times more than she. But as usual, she doesn’t seem to mind. I am sure there isn’t a snobbish piece of metal in her paint-chipped body. Tomorrow, STUDY of BLUE will open.

The Oceanwood Restaurant and Inn has done a fantastic job of creating gallery space.

We take our time, deciding on the best location for each piece of work.

The next evening, with toes sparkling new polish, finger nails buffed and decked out in a very fun balloon dress I open the show.

I handed my camera to my daughter Josie who did her best to capture the evening. However, she said people kept looking like deer in the headlights so she stopped taking photos after a while.

We do have a few though.

The food was extra delicious, delicately flavoured and served with elegance.

And there is nothing quite like seeing a painting through a grand piano.

Somewhere between 40 and 50 art-loving individuals wandered around looking at each painting. Stepping forward. Then back. Then on occasion bringing a friend over to have a look as well. Sometimes eyes would snap with excitement and an intrigued viewer would say: “That one! That one is my favourite.”

My favourite comment of the evening was from a long-time resident who came by near the end of the evening to thank me for putting on the exhibition.

“It is good, very good. We now have culture right here on Mayne Island.”

I don’t think there was ever any doubt but it was a pleasure to be a spark for such sentiments. I would like to thank the Oceanwood Restaurant and Inn because they are ultimately responsible for orchestrating such a classy event which then garnered this comment.

At the end of the evening FIR TREE SKY sold to a lovely couple from Michigan, bringing the total sales so far for this exhibition to four original oil paintings. Considering our economic climate, I am pleased with these early results.

What is next? I have an offer to show at a venue on Salt Spring Island. I have an invitation to hang a piece or two in another local venue. There is a restaurant in Vancouver that is accepting original art work. I have also been asked to provide a cover image and feature interview for a regional magazine’s September issue. But I am wondering, is it time to seek gallery representation? If so, where might be a good place to start? Or do I put my focus into building my direct relationships with buyers? Or is it both? Possibly both but I am still thinking. While I think I shall paint.

Thank you for your special part in the STUDY of BLUE journey with me here on Creative Potager, and on twitter and facebook.

Sprout question: What is creatively next for you?

STUDY OF BLUE solo exhibition is up until July 27, 2011.

Note: Current paintings available can be viewed and purchased at TerrillWelchArtist.com

Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.

Purchase photography at http://www.redbubble.com/people/terrillwelch

Creative Potager – where imagination rules. Be inspired.

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch online Gallery at http://terrillwelchartist.com