I am currently in Baltimore at the NAEA Conference and, for me, one of the challenges/highlights of traveling is finding good food that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Well, Baltimore's Little Italy provided us with a satisfying selection (we actually went back a second night to the same restaurants, which is against my out-of-town eating-out rules). But that is a whole different story which includes freezing weather and gale-force winds while on a water taxi (slight exaggeration)!
So after walking for miles (another exaggeration), we found Little Italy, and read numerous menus, Amicci's for dinner and Voccaro's for dessert were the choices; we were not disappointed..
The mussels in garlic, butter, white wine sauce, antipasto, eggplant parmegiana and pane' rotunda were all more delicious than they look! This background is for the next part of the story...
Today's adventure included taking a water taxi to Fell's Point. As we walked around the pirate-themed area, we stumbled upon an art gallery which we were drawn to by the brightly colored pieces displayed in the windows (actually, all I have to do is see the word art and I am there). We discovered Robert McClintock's Studio & Gallery. He uses rich vibrant colors, his horizon line is a little "off" or diagonal and the multiple images of "dogs that I know" initially got my attention. After spending some time in the gallery, I found myself looking through his collection for images of places I have seen in my short visit over the few days I've been here. McClintock's "Baltimore Seen" collection has a "Little Italy" section. Of course I found images of Amicci's and Vocarro's! They were post card size and I did take numerous (an understatement) pictures, but these bright pictures were reasonable and I liked them!
As I purchased the images, I asked the young man how McClintock's images were created and he kindly let me take a look at the studio where the “Photo-Digital Illustrations” are embellished and where McClintock paints and colors directly onto his photographs in Adobe Photoshop on a Macintosh using a Wacom Tablet. I found the massive color printers which are fed watercolor paper and canvases most impressive. McClintock also adds a personal touch to every image after the printing process. What a treat to see "backstage" where the artist creates!
11 comments:
After visiting Robert McClintock's studio and seeing the vibrant pictures of the baseball games and scenes it makes me want to go to my first baseball game. Having grown up in Scotland, I have never quite understood the fascination of a baseball game; that is until I began thinking of the crowds, the smells and the hot dogs and beer. The ambience and day out experience that a baseball game has on American people is captured in his portraits.
Something that I am familiar with and have had my share of is Italian food, having married into the family and traveled extensively throughout Europe, and can full appreciate the eggplant parmesan/antipasto/pane rotunda are all dishes that are as pleasing to the pallet as they are to the eye. Having read over the items enjoyed by you, I found myself thinking of Scotland and muscles in a white wine sauce. Having had been a chef for almost a decade and growing up on the shores of St. Andrew's it was very nostalgic for me to think of collecting the muscles from the rocks near the bay as a child and cooking muscles on a daily basis. To this day a bagget of bread and a portion of muscles in white wine sauce is something I can never pass up. This was a great appetizer for the Robert McClintock gallery.
After browsing through the links in this post, I can see why anyone would be a fan of Robert McClinktock's gallery! I think my favorite ones to look through would be the "dogs that I know" section. And yes, it is just like Dr. Bagget pointed out, very bright colors! I brought my 2 year old in to the computer to let her look and she just loved them! I have always liked bright, fun artwork so this was right up my ally! I must say though, after reading Jim's previous post, and after reading Dr. Bagget's post, I think I am ready to do some traveling!
Jamie McKeough
I wish that I was at the conference with you Dr. Baggett.The food looks to die for! Yummy. I hope that you can bring back to our AED 301-102 class how we can create some of Robert McClintock's images.
Shawanda Bush
Jim, baseball is one of my favorite spectator sports; go to a game when you get a chance (In your free time...LOL!) A chef? Now that's impressive. Food is one of my many passions as you can probably tell by my pictures :-)Thanks for the descriptive response to my adventure!
Jamie, I can't get enough of traveling...just need to win a lottery to afford it! I'm so glad you shared the vibrant visual images with your 2-year-old1 We are never too young or too old to enjoy the beauty of art!
Shawanda, I wish I could take ALL of you to a NAEA conference...I think I'd have you all addicted to art like me...hahaha.
How exciting that you were able to go "backstage" at the art studio. His artwork is so colorful. I love his city scenes. And I am so glad I waited to read this post until after dinner. The pictures of the food look delicious. It looks like you had a great time.
Wow! The food is an artwork of itself!
I also am jealous that I am not at the conference, but the various tidbits you have posted have at least given me some insight into the wonderful things going on there!
Rebekah Lloyd
That food looks very interesting! It looks like something I would never typically try, but if it's for a reasonable price I can't pass that up! Hope you had a good time!!
The food does look like a piece of art!! It also looks wonderfully delicious. I had not seen McClintock's painting before, but it reminds me of graffiti art, which is amazing art, unfortunately I have trouble reading it!!
Sarah Fakouri
Dr.Baggett, I can see why you enjoyed Baltimore's Little Italy.
The atmosphere seemed oh so delightful. I felt as if I were there.
Lynne L. Williams
This food looks amazing! I think that it is so neat that you were able to go backstage and see where McClintock makes his masterpieces. It is great that you were able to get pictures of your favorite restaurants, too.... a wonderful way to remember in the future how much fun you had when you were there!
AnMarie Lane
I never had the desire to visit Baltimore, until now. I would love to go explore the city and find many of its hidden treasures.
I enjoyed browsing Robert Mcclintock's online gallery. I loved the way he shows each cat's personality. (I'm a cat lady.) Some are laid back and relaxed, others are spit-fires. Fabulous gallery! :D
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