Frýdlant Journals: Six - Weird Leftovers

Dear Friends,

Today my mother purchased groceries. We had to make room in the fridge for the beautiful bowl of summer blueberries and the new lettuce. As my mother unloaded the bags I frantically searched for things from the fridge which we could get rid of. I found several visually and olfactorally (this is not a real word, but now it is because it is on the internet) arresting items.

These items were fascinating. They had vibrant colours and textures. I took photos of them so that I could paint them later. I just finished the paintings. I tried to make them all in watercolour, but it was taking too long and I found my skills were insufficient to capture the beauty of the weird leftovers. 

Here are my feeble attempts:

1. Squid?: This leftover was old marinated squid. The squid was trapped in its own hard, yellow lard. When I scooped it out of the tupperware it looked like a hunk of white chocolate, which, incidentally is my dad's favourite kind. He also loves squid (which is why we had some in the fridge). I think he would probably love squid chocolate. 

For this drawing I started out with some watercolour contours. The yellow, brown and the outline of the blue tupperware were painted in a one-layer wash. Then I went over them in a woodless watercolour pencil. I left plenty of the watercolour shining through. 

2. Tomato Stuff?: This is an odd, unidentifiable red substance. My guess is something tomato-related. That is pure conjecture based on the colour. I did not have the courage to smell. I don't know why this got put back in the fridge since there was literally nothing inside this tupperware beyond a couple of smears of goo. 

I was drawn to this piece artistically, because of the reflective quality of the gunge. I appreciated the way the slimy surface caught the light and the glowing, translucence of the red. I tried to paint it and ended up going over it in a couple layers of pencil and paint. Unfortunately, I don't think I was able to capture the splendour of the actual leftover. 

3. A Cheese?: When I smelled this seemingly harmless cheese leftover my nose was arrested by the pungent smell. It smelled like a cheese, but I couldn't be sure that the strong smell was the one it was supposed to have. Some cheeses do not smell good, but that is the way they are supposed to be. Do you know what I mean? My parents, especially my dad, have a love of strong smelling cheeses. I requested the aid of my mother's superior smelling abilities. She has a wonderful sense of smell and she determined that this was the incorrect smell. The cheese, according to her, had been a part of a giant block of Mozzarella. "We got this huge block from Makro and we actually managed to eat most of it. We couldn't eat it fast enough, though. Oh well. Better toss it." 

Yup. That's our family. A big achievement for us is almost eating a giant block of cheese. Together. 

I liked how this rotting leftover had structural appeal. While the previous two leftovers are primarily amorphous substances, the blocks had shape and perspective. I also was intrigued that it managed to become a different kind of aged cheese over a long period of time. I used a Sharpie to outline the contours of the blocks of cheese, which were initially painted in a light yellow wash. 

Have you found any lovely leftovers in your fridges lately? Feel free to post a comment and describe them! 

Love,

Lucy Rose 

PS My mother is a wonderful housekeeper. Let not these leftovers give you the wrong impression.

PPS
Here is another food related post.
Here can see a very special painting which was made using food as paint.
Here is a photo of a giant cookie that I decorated.