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I'm very excited to introduce my new online print shop - Claudia True's Art Prints. Now you're able to purchase museum quality prints of your favorite art at affordable prices. You also may choose the size and the medium that the art is printed on - canvas, paper or metal (a very contemporary look). Pretty exciting, huh!  The art is divided into categories. This popular little dachshund is the cover for the collection of Holiday Art. Chinese New Year is February 16 - 2018 is the Year of the Dog! With prints you can afford to change your art for the holidays! Of course this little fella could hang in your home all year long and make you happy. "Year of the Dog" - Holiday Art Why did I love this print store - and think you will, too?
Categories of art in Claudia True's art print store. As I write this, I have 7 categories of art available:
"Potter's Goat" - Critter Club  Tomorrow I'm adding a new category - Faces. One of my art goals in 2018 is to learn to paint whimsical portraits. If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram you've seen some of these characters that I'm creating almost daily. I'm adding a few for prints. If you see one you like that's not included, please contact me and I'll add it. It's SO fun and exciting to learn something new and to see how these faces will evolve! "Abigail the Librarian" - Faces I mentioned the fun Wall Preview feature of this online print shop. Here's the deal - in the ordering process, you select a print and can see how it looks at different sizes in different rooms. This really helps decide on a size - here's an example
Check out Claudia's online print storeIt's a major accomplishment for me to set up this print store. I think you'll enjoy browsing the art and maybe you'll see something perfect for your home or office.
Tomorrow I'm sending an email with a Valentine's Day promotion - a 20% discount good for 3 days starting tomorrow. Wouldn't your loved one be surprised with a gift of art! So head over to the the store and check it out - start your wish list. https://shopprints.claudiatrue.com/ Sharing with love and gratitude to my art collectors! Happy shopping - Claudia True p.s. my originals are on my website - www.claudiatrue.com Happy shopping there, too. Welcome to the 5th installment of 10 days of art and recipes! Each day I'm sharing a recipe that I think you'll enjoy during the holiday season - one from each of the 10 Cooking with Friends calendars. Cooking with Friends, 2013 Five years of calendars! I was pretty proud of myself by now and was getting the hang of doing these colorful collections of my friends' recipes and the art they inspired. This recipe is something light and healthy that would be a good break from all the heavy holiday feeding frenzy. It's a little time consuming but oh so worth it. While doing this calendar project, I've expanded both my cooking and painting skills. I even got some stackable bamboo steamers to make this salmon dish. This was my first attempt at writing Chinese. I love the look, the "message" is simple ("salmon"). I took it to a server at our favorite Chinese restaurant to be sure I hadn't written anything obscene. I think the script added a nice design touch to the fish painting. If you don't read Chinese, you might even think it says something profound. Cute, huh. Cathy's Salmon by Claudia True available in print of various sizes Chinese Steamed Salmon by Cathy Bennett4 pieces of salmon filet (single serving sized pieces)
A: Slice the Serrano chile into very thin matchstick shreds, and combine in a microwave safe bowl with approximately 2 T of cilantro leaves, the sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar, 1 ½ T wine, and a couple of pinches of salt and pepper. Set aside. B: Cut 4 green onions into 2” thin matchstick shreds and slice 2” of ginger into very thin matchstick shreds. Combine in a small bowl, and set aside. C: Roughly chop the remaining cilantro (including stems), slice the remaining 2” of ginger into thin coins, and slice the remaining green onions lengthwise, then into 2” lengths. Cut a parchment paper circle to fit your Chinese bamboo steamer or stainless steel steamer basket. Spread “C” evenly over the parchment. Place the fish filets over the vegetables, and pour approximately 1 ½ T wine over the filets. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Put approx. 2” of water in your wok or other large pot. When it boils, place the steamer basket over the pot. Steam till just barely done—it cooks fast—approximately 10 minutes per 1” thickness. When done, remove the fish from the steamer, and arrange on a platter. DO NOT remove any of the steaming vegetables—discard them. Meanwhile, microwave “A” for about 30 seconds, until hot. Pour A over the hot fish. In a small skillet, or a wok, heat the peanut oil till nearly smoking and stir fry B for about 10 or 20 seconds, then pour it—sizzling!—over the hot fish. Serve immediately with steamed rice. Serves 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No Chinese bamboo steamer? You can use a stainless steel veggie steamer, if you have one, and it is big enough to hold the fish. Otherwise, use a heatproof plate that will fit into your wok (or other large pan that has a domed lid) to create a makeshift steamer. Use an inverted, small, shallow bowl to support the plate over the simmering water, making sure the lid will still cover. You do not need to use parchment if you use a plate. Check out the front and back covers of the 2013 Cooking with Friends calendar. My calendar partner and graphic design partner Holly Bikakis has done the layouts for all 10 calendars. She makes us look "mahvelous!'
Happy Cooking and Happy Holidays!
Claudia True Please forward to someone who might enjoy a good recipe for steamed salmon Chinese style, or a high quality colorful print of a colorful Chinese salmon. Or a new Cooking with Friends calendar! This is the 2nd post sharing art and recipes from 10 years of Claudia True's art and recipe calendars. Want to get the 10th calendar in the series? Click here to order Cooking with Friends 2018. The Art of Cooking, 2010 For the second calendar, I asked my "chef friends" to share their recipes. And they agreed! The pressure was on to do a painting that lived up to their delicious dishes. This painting was inspired by a recipe for Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup, shared by Rogelio Fernandes who was Corporate Executive Chef at Timbers Hospitality Group, based out of Triple George Grill in downtown Las Vegas, NV. The chicken definitely had to have some Vegas "sass!" I think she achieved that with her beautiful full plume, reminiscent of Vegas show girls! She's one of my best selling prints - everyone loves her sass! I love Ro's recipe - "Vegas Chic" - Claudia True available in print in various sizes Chipotle Chicken Tortilla SoupINGREDIENTS
Sauté onions and green bell peppers in olive oil for 4-5 minutes or until they are partially translucent. Add chopped garlic and sauté 1 minute. Place 1 can of diced tomatoes and 1/2 can of chipotle peppers (chop them first) into a blender cup. Blend in pulses to leave the tomatoes a bit chunky. Do not puree completely. Add all remaining ingredients, except for the chicken, to the onion/pepper mixture. Simmer for 15 minutes over medium heat. Once soup has simmered for 15 minutes, add the broiled and diced chicken breast. Serve immediately. Here are the front and back covers of the 2nd calendar. Check out the names of the recipes and the chefs who shared them. You proably know some and perhaps you've had these dishes prepared by them in their restaurants.
Happy Cooking and Happy Holidays!Please forward to someone who might enjoy a good recipe for Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup! What a wonderful dish for the holidays!  Lenora's Cats - 18" x 48" acrylic on canvas - Claudia True, artist Look at all of these darling cats! My friend Lenora Larson commissioned a painting of her 2 cats plus 8 of their "friends." Lenora's cats are Chevelle - (2nd from left, top row) and Cher (middle, bottom row). What a delightful project this has been for this cat loving painter! Previous critter paintings.This was actually my first commissioned critter painting. I've done many critter paintings. Most were inspired by recipes for my Cooking with Friends art and food calendars. Think chickens, cows, pigs and goats - check out some on my website. As I said, I truly love cats and have painted them in a very fun, whimsical style. For some reason I've been reluctant to paint a cat in a more realistic way so I made this one of my goals for 2017. I even set a stretch goal to paint 10 in this new style by April. I must have put this vision and goal out in the universe where it was swirling around and captured by Lenora! A couple of months ago she contacted me to paint cats. As we discussed the project, she said she wanted the painting to include 10 cats!! Wow! I just recently realized how serendipitous this has been - kind of gives me goosebumps! What made this project even more special is that these cats all live with Lenora's very dear friends! This is also a painting of human friendship and love for those who adore the incredible friendship and love of our feline babies. I know cat lovers will understand . . . I sure do!  So here's a glimpse at how this painting evolved. Lenora sent me lots of cat photos and potential layouts and we talked about the style. She wanted "whimsical realism." (Okay I just made up that term.) After we selected the 10 cat photos to include, I did "value sketches" in black and white. She sent photos of the front porch of her farm home where this painting would hang, especially showing me the red bench and lavender accents. Her favorite color is lavender so she wanted some of that and a little red to tie in with the bench. Lenora even shared insights into personalities and moods of the individual cats - pensive, stern, sleepy, laughing, etc. At this point I understood what she wanted with color and layout, and I was ready to do the fun part - adding colors and personality.  Here's Lenora and her cats! I think her smile reflects her happiness with the final result! It was a real pleasure to work with my friend and try to bring her image to life. She had a very distinct vision of what she wanted - I'm thankful I could make that happen.  And here's the "end product" - those 10 whimsically realistic cats in their new forever home. The living/breathing Chevelle is saying hi to her painted pal Cher. How cute is that! I think she approves - Are you interested in commissioning a painting of your pet? If so I hope this story gives you an idea of what to expect. Contact me and we can discuss your project. Hope you enjoy this one too!
Fiesta Chick - inspired by a recipe and ready for a new home! Kansas City Artists Coalition - Art AuctionSaturday - Feb. 18 - is the annual art auction for Kansas City Artists Coalition, an organization of visual artists. My Fiesta Chick is there looking for a new home. She's hanging out with close to 200 other pieces of original art donated by artists from throughout the Kansas City area. This auction is the place to be for artists and collectors! First - the artwork is amazing. Kansas City artists are extremely generous with their donations. Second - it's an exciting and fun event! $25 entrance gets you heavy, delicious appetizers - enough for a meal plus beer and wine. I promise you won't go home hungry! Sometimes the bidding wars get pretty crazy which can be quite an adventure. Tres Amigos |
Claudia TrueI'm an artist living in Kansas City with my hubby and cats. My passions: colorful paintings, yummy food, and sharing my love of art and cooking with others. Archives
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