Artist of the day

Monday, December 22, 2025

Artist of the Day, December 22, 2025 : The art of charcuterie board for the holidays (#2450)

Charcuterie is a French term for a branch of cuisine dedicated to prepared meat products, primarily from pork, such as ham, sausage, pâtés, and confit. The original purpose was meat preservation before refrigeration, using techniques like salting, smoking, and curing for flavor and longevity.

In modern, popular usage, a "charcuterie board" refers to an artfully arranged platter featuring an assortment of meats, cheeses, crackers, fruits, nuts, and various dips and spreads, often served as an appetizer or light meal.

What to Include on a Charcuterie Board
A well-balanced charcuterie board features a variety of tastes and textures, balancing salty, sweet, and briny items. There are no strict rules, but common components include:

Meats: A selection of cured meats like prosciutto, salami (genoa, soppressata, calabrese), chorizo, or pâté. Folding the meat can add visual appeal and make it easier to grab.

Cheeses: Offer a mix of textures and flavors, such as a soft brie, a semi-hard gouda or manchego, and a firm aged cheddar. Pre-slice hard cheeses for convenience while leaving soft cheeses whole with a knife.

Accompaniments:
Fruits: Fresh items like grapes, berries, sliced apples, pears, and figs add color and a sweet contrast. Dried fruits like apricots or cherries also work well.

Briny/Pickled Items: Olives (pitted for ease), cornichons (mini pickles), or pickled onions provide a tangy element.

Crunch: Various crackers, baguette slices (toasted or fresh), and an assortment of nuts (almonds, pistachios, candied pecans) offer texture.

Spreads/Dips: Small bowls of fig jam, honey, whole grain mustard, or hummus pair well with the other items.

Garnish: Use fresh herbs like rosemary or thyme to add a decorative touch and aroma.

The Perfect Charcuterie Board - Tastes Better From Scratch
Start with large items: Place the cheeses and any small bowls (for olives, dips, etc.) on the board first to anchor the design.

Add meats and fruits: Arrange the meats and fruits around the initial items, considering color and texture pairings.

Fill the gaps: Use crackers, nuts, and smaller items to fill in all the remaining space, making the board look full and abundant.

Use the right tools: Provide cheese knives and small forks or tongs for guests to serve themselves. It is considered proper etiquette to use these tools to place food on an individual plate, rather than eating directly from the main board.

Serve at room temperature: For optimal flavor, let the cheese come to room temperature for about 45 minutes before serving.

© 2025. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by VisualDiplomacy/Michel Bergeron or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only

Saturday, December 20, 2025

Artist of the Day, December 20, 2025 : George Petty, an American painter, illustrator, [pin-up] (#2449)

George Brown Petty IV (1894 – 1975) was an American pin-up artist. His pin-up art appeared primarily in Esquire and Fawcett Publications's True but was also in calendars marketed by Esquire, True and Ridgid Tool Company. Petty's Esquire gatefolds originated and popularized the magazine device of centerfold spreads. Reproductions of his work, known as "Petty Girls," were widely rendered by military artists as nose art decorating warplanes during the Second World War, including the Memphis Belle.

Petty was not a particularly good student in high school, spending a great deal of time on extracurricular activities instead of schoolwork. His artistic bent first became obvious in high school, where he was the staff artist for the school newspaper.

During his high school years, he enrolled in evening classes at Chicago Academy of Fine Arts under the tutoring of Ruth VanSickle Ford, where he taught his own art course, charging classmates $5.00 per session. He also worked in his father's photo shop where he learned how to use an airbrush. In Paris, Petty studied art at the Académie Julian with Jean-Paul Laurens and others until 1916, when World War I caused Myron T. Herrick, ambassador at that time, to order all Americans to return home.

George Petty never discussed in detail those artists who influenced him, other than J. C. Leyendecker (an artist for The Saturday Evening Post during George's high school days) for his interpretation of men, Coles Phillips for his technique, and Maxfield Parrish for his use of light. However, it can be inferred from his later work that other influences included artists who were extremely popular in Paris at the time, such as Alfons Mucha, George Barbier and, in particular, the watercolor technique of Britain's William Russell Flint.

Petty is especially known for "the Petty Girl", a series of pin-up paintings of women done for Esquire from its first issue in 1933 until 1956. Petty frequently depicted these women with the relative lengths of their legs being longer—and the relative sizes of their heads being smaller—than those of his actual models.

In 1959 a vector rendition of a Petty Girl derived from a 1956 Esquire calendar was displayed as part of the diagnostics for a SAGE air defense computer. This is claimed to be "earliest known figurative computer art".

Two images of Petty Girls were used in the crowd on The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover.

© 2025. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by George Brown Petty IV or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only