Hi everybody, welcome. "Rooster Tail" oil on canvas 18" x 24" Where in the world did this summer go? 🥰 I have been loving it. Here is another in my surf series. What a spectacular day this was and everybody was out to catch a slice of the good life on the beach!! The wave in this painting was as much of interest to me as the surfer, the color and the light. Thank you for looking at my art today. Art © 2021 Alan Phillips www.alanphillipstudio.com #alanphillipsfineart #surfer #waves #florida #Hi beach #ocean #sports #watersports #atlanticbeach #neptunebeach #pontevedrabeach #staugustinebeach #micklersbeach #jacksonvillebeach #fernandinabeach #bluesky #summerfun #roostertail #cutback

 Hi everybody, welcome. Feeling mighty proud and very honored for "Loving Hanna" 36" x 48" oil on canvas has just won the top prize "Best Of Show" The Jean Wagner Troemel award in The Saint Augustine Art Association "The Great Outdoors" exhibition May 7 - 28 In Gallery 22 Marine Street St. Augustine Tuesday - Fridays 1 to 4pm (Covid guidelines) and online

I am grateful to The Saint Augustine Art Association for being a venue for local artists and the great work the staff and volunteers do to make it a great experience for the artists and the gallery visitors. It stands shoulder to shoulder with the best art being shown in a vibrant, destination art community with high standards. Congratulations to all who were juried into the show and the others to receive awards Randy Pitts, Richard Lundgren, Marilyn Antram. Robert Leedy, Kate Barker, Walter Cartategui, Daniel Voellinger, Juliana Romnes, Marty Holland. Special thanks to Allison Watson, Judge for the exhibition (and superb artist) for the exhibition for choosing my art for this honor. Thank you all for looking at my art today. www.alanphillipstudio.com to see art to purchase. Art © 2021

Turkey - it's not just for Thanksgiving anymore!!

Hi everybody, welcome. Ok well, here is the first in hopefully a long running series of insights, ideas, connections about cooking, thinking, reading, learning, failures, success - oh yeah, some coastal art and wildlife photography along with a link or two from time to time if I have done due diligence and find it worthy of attention.

Turkey. I know some of you love turkey sandwiches as a matter of course. I have been buying oven roasted turkey breast from the deli for about six months. It's good. It's tasty. It's lean. It's got lots of stuff in it I don't want in my body anymore.

Most of my adult life I have had turkey as a Thanksgiving main course, whether at my home or others. Woooh, not my favorite dish. Yan,yan,yan - cheeee - uwee!! Dry mouthfuls of very chewy protein hopefully aided by some cranberry sauce, gravy, mashed potatoes - lol! 

Not this Thanksgiving though, I was hosting the feast and I decided to brine my turkey in organic chicken broth, apple juice, brown sugar and sea salt. Twenty four hours did the trick. Next day I hoisted it outa the pot, rinsed it and toweled off and set it on a rack of carrots in the roasting pan - you know 'cause I over estimated the size of the metal rack I would need. 

After an olive oil rubdown and seasoned with some Tuscan and Montreal mixed herbs and spices I stuffed it with fresh apples. It was a 14 pounder so I'm trying to recall - how long it was in for, many hours. I used a thermometer as well as keeping an eye on it - mos def used the tin foil tent to keep it from burning on top - removed for the last hour to make the skin crisp.

My friends, it was divine! So tender, so juicy, so aromatic with the herbs and the apple infused into every crevice. Woohoo sang my tongue!!

Needless to say I was hooked. Subsequently I have purchased hormone free, no additive Butterball whole turkey breast boneless and one with ribs in. I gave them the same treatment as the 14 pounder and they came out 'melt in your mouth', delishush!! That's the most recent one in the top photo baked on a bed of halved apples - can't begin to tell you how THEY tasted!

Grape tomatoes got a little olive oil in the skillet treatment. I toasted the Asiago sourdough loaf slices, added a splash of olive oil to it. Next I added a few finely sliced basil leaves, some arugula, spinach and romaine mix and the turkey of course. Just a smattering of cracked black pepper and you're set.

Yes, you will need a nap after. Lol - reserve time!

Thanks for checking in today. Bon appetit!!

Photos, words and recipe © 2021 Alan Phillips

My website for art  https://www.alanphillipstudio.com/

 

Happy Valentines.....

 Hi everybody, welcome!

"Quiet In The Cove" oil on canvas 9" x12" Here's the next gestural study in my 9" x 12" coastal series. It was the end of the season. The sun was sinking in the West. These were the boats that would stay moored in the harbor until just before the first freeze. I lived on the tree side over there a little to the right just beyond the little white posts. One of the most comforting sounds in the fall nights when it was cool enough to leave the windows open I would listen to the sounds of the sheets (lines/ropes) tapping gently against the masts in a gentle breeze. It was like a windchime lullaby. Thank you for looking at my art today. Art © 2021Alan Phillips www.alanphillipstudio.com #alanphillipsfineart #boats #boatpaintings #harbor #compo #compoharbor #compobeach #moorings #connecticut #florida #interiordesign #decor #coastaldecor #quiet #serenity #art #coastalvibe #yachts #yachting #sloops #sailboats

The Old Florida Road

 Hi everybody, welcome. "The Old Florida Road" 9" x 12" oil on canvas.

My friend Kerry used to say that he and I cut the paths for roads less traveled. There were many times I would have to agree. But here, discovering this peaceful little stretch of old road that had not seen a car rolling on this asphalt for at least a decade. It was just something I stumbled upon. I like it. The Saturday morning sun feels the same as it did when I was 10 - nobody up, nobody out - but me. I wonder about the people who drove past this scene. I wonder if they got out and took a dip or even a moment to stretch and appreciate the serene beauty. I walked the road and listened to the quiet. Gulls circled and egrets sailed across the bay. It was a good day. Yet again, any day you can spend on an old road with a beach and water at it's edge - gonna be good day.🥰 Thank you for looking at my art today. Art © 2021 Alan Phillips www.alanphillipstudio.com #alanphillipsfineart #oldflorida #coastallife #atlanticocean #one ocean #coastaldecor #shoreline #oceanside #oldroads #florida #oilpaintings #coastalart #truesaltlife #wandering #saturdaymorning #interiordesign #interiordesigners #hotel #resort #vacation

Out On The Marsh

 "A Beginning And An End" (sold) 11" x 14" oil canvas

Hi everybody, welcome. This work sold today to a collector who I know will treasure it. It's a cool little piece done with a sacred kind of reverence for nature, the love of the ever changing marsh and light. It's fittingly apropos for the times. Thank you for looking at my art today! Art © 2020 Alan Phillips www.alanphillipstudio.com

 Hi everybody, welcome.

"Morning Stretch" !8" x 24" oil on canvas. Here is one you may have seen before - sort of....😆 I can finish a painting and know that it needs more work but I don't exactly know what that is at that moment. So, I just let it be. Once I figure it out or it becomes apparent I proceed slowly and appease my sense of - "Hmmmmm, what's bothering me about this?" I paint them as I see them - until. Until something bothers me, something needs to be added or subtracted - something needs to be moved. I was ok, with the version of this before because I liked the result and it was accurate - it could stand on it's own over the centuries. But now? Now I think this lil' bad boy is just singing!! 🎼🎼🎼 What was occurring with this Royal Tern was that it was stretching it's wings to adjusted comfort before settling into some morning sun worship. Sounds familiar! Thank you for looking at my art today. Art © 2020 Alan Phillips www.alanphillipstudio.com for more originals to purchase and https://fineartamerica.com/art/alan+phillips for available prints to purchase #alanphillipsfineart #pontevedrabeach #staugustinebeach #atlanticbeach #interiordesigner #coastaldesign #floridaart #coastallife #saltlife #shorebirds #royalterns #coastaldecor

The long view

Hi everybody, welcome. "Two Kings, Three Aces" 30" x 48" oil on canvas This one is still a work in progress but nearly complete. My first new painting of 2021. Love the shrimp boats. Love the idea. In some ways they are a metaphor for freedom to me. Those boys work their asses off, it's a fact but the smell of the sea, eating fish - a boat that earns it's keep that can take some rough passage and keep you safe - wooden hulls, Capn's who know their waters. I feel it. My own history and ancestry with my grandads being builders and growing up on Prince Edward Island. It has to be a great vibe heading back in after a solid trip, a good catch - 'bout to get some money and some sound sleep. This work is part of a new group I will be pursuing. I love it out in the open spaces, wind in (what's left of my hair😂😅 ) my face, the gulls, the pelicans, all the different kinds of fishing trawlers, the white boot brotherhood, the dolphins and maybe a thunderhead off on the far horizon catching the blush of the sun. Thanks for looking at my art today. Art © 2021 www.alanphillipstudio.com for more art