Absinthe and Watercolor

I drink. Unapologetically.

I’ll still live to be 100. Why? Because I want to live.

My Grandma is turning 102 next year. I recently made her a watercolor postcard. Speaking of watercolor postcards, I should make her another one. Maybe just an octopus in an aquamarine blue background.

Grandma lives life. That’s why she’s lived so long. I’m convinced that’s the secret to longevity. I’ve seen her eat a hundred times and whereas it’s definitely not too much, she eats just normal food like everyone else. If anything, her portion sizes aren’t too big.

And there you have it. No dietary change. Just decent portions. More importantly, the love of life.

So like Grandma, I like new things. She’s traveled and seen the world. She likes new things.

How I drank absinthe

Some folks light the sugar cube on fire. I didn’t do that. All I did was:

• Pour absinthe into a glass
• Put that absinthe spoon on top of the glass
• Put a sugar cube on the absinthe spoon
• Pour water over the sugar cube and let it partially dissolve
• Dump the remaining sugar cube into the glass and stir with that absinthe spoon

Easy peasy, right? I had four different types of absinthe. All of them are legal in America. So that means they got all the alcohol but lesser amounts of wormword than what you can get in Europe.

So no, I didn’t see the green fairy. However, I did have a strong buzz all through painting.

That was the first of the four brands of absinthe. I only tried the first two as I still had to paint.

“What’s it like to paint under absinthe?”

Well like I said, I didn’t see the green fairy. When we go to Europe next, I’ll try to setup a watercolor with European absinthe day. We have different laws than they do.

That said, I had a strong buzz throughout the whole experience. I could barely walk.

However, I was absolutely kicking ass with the watercolor.

You’ll see a lot of those wine and paint shops pop up all over the place nowadays. You can pop inside and the clientele is 40+ female with money. They’re pretty loaded on wine and have a little bit of money to spare on enjoying life.

Usually, they’re chill enough that they can whip out a painting in a day.

That’s what it was like to paint under absinthe. I was chilled. Didn’t overthink. Was totally relaxed.

I liked it, and will definitely do it again.

However, this morning, I spent about four hours doing touch ups. I was probably a little bit too relaxed.

With watercolors, clean up isn’t exactly an exact science. I had to clean up to the best of my ability. That’s why it took four hours doing clean up and touch ups.

Was definitely too relaxed.

I used an old sketch of Roxy. I’ve already painted this one before. Long story short, she had a little bit of drama recently. I won’t get into details. Don’t worry though, it didn’t involve me. She and I are good.

But I didn’t see Allie until today and had to paint yesterday. Thus, an old sketch of Roxy instead.

And here it is. Roxy, painted on copious amounts of absinthe. I’ll mount it on wood later.

Update (September 2020) – I found this old post by chance.

I’ve been lighting the sugar cube this entire year. So here’s what I’ve been doing:

1. Put sugar cube on spoon and spoon on glass
2. Pour absinthe on sugar cube
3. Light the sugar cube and let the fire burn until it goes out
4. Pour cold water (equal to the amount of absinthe) over the sugar cube
5. Wait 10 minutes for the sugar cube to mostly dissolve
6. Dump what’s left in the glass and stir