If you have ever thumbed through one of my always-with-me sketchbooks, you have seen several drawings with food stains on them. Every drawing I do in any eatery—on napkins, butcher paper table coverings, or my sketchbook—always get the "Food Stain of Authenticity"—most often tea or wine.
Intrigued by this process, a bartender in my favorite Napa Vally restaurant, Bistro Jeanty, Yountville, CA, asked if she could splash a wine stain and THEN I would create a drawing. Below, is the result. (Un-retouched sketch scanned from sketchbook using Genius Scan app in iPhone.)
The owner, head chef, and my friend Philippe Jeanty (right) asked me to do a few "food stained" drawings on their butcher paper table coverings which he framed and hung in his restaurants. One was a 3' x 3' map of the "World According to Jeanty" on which all the bodies of water and land masses were named for items on the Bistro Jeanty menu: Beef Cheeks Bay, Zinfandel Valley, Tomato en Croute Creek, Fromage Ridge, Cassoulet Inlet. Porc Island ...
So when people ask, and they f-f-f-frequently do, "Where do your ideas come from?" The answers is, "Everywhere ...anywhere."
Actively creative people, CONSCIOUSLY creative folks notice everything ...and are intrigued, curious, and inspired. They anticipate and celebrate life's surprises.
75% of all learning is visual. What did you notice today?
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* When you go to Napa Valley—and you MUST—be certain to visit the town of Yountville (ten miles north of downtown Napa on Route 29). Do have lunch or dinner at Bistro Jeanty. Ask for Chef Philippe, and tell him, and the staff, "McNair sent us!" (Have the tomato soup ...unforgettable.)
