St Simons, Brubaker Garden 9"x12" oil

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Here I am on St Simon Island Georgia taking a wonderful workshop from Laurel Daniel.   Today we were at an amazing garden or should I say gardens.  They had a formal garden, a Japanese Garden, and Informal Garden and English Garden.   It was hard to narrow down a place to paint.   It really came down to where you could stand in the shade.    I did see a couple of snakes!   Yikes!   In about 20 minutes after I finished this painting the skies opened up and poured rain.   Hard to believe, we had such a perfect day.

My blog: http://claudiahammer.blogspot.com
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Draped figure 8"x16" oil

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It is not very often that a model will agree to do a 3 hour standing pose, of course it includes breaks after posing for 20 minutes at a time.  We draped her in a sheet and of course every time she wrapped herself the folds were different.

I am leaving today for a workshop with Laurel Daniel in St Simons Island, GA.   I will ship out sold paintings when I return next week.

My blog: http://claudiahammer.blogspot.com
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My email: iclaudiahammer@insightbb.com
My DPW gallery: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/chammer-209

The bass player 9"x12" oil

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Our model is a bass player in several bands here in Louisville.  

My blog: http://claudiahammer.blogspot.com
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My email: iclaudiahammer@insightbb.com
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Black with sugar 18"x18" oil

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This is another gallery piece that I painted today.  I try to keep these alla prima, painting them in one sitting so it retains it's freshness and plus I have really grown to love painting wet into wet.

My blog: http://claudiahammer.blogspot.com
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White House room 6"x6" oil

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The challenge this week on the Daily Paintworks site was to paint something related to the White House and they had provided a picture of a room and that is what I chose to do.   I wanted to keep it loose and eliminate details that were not necessary in order to show the essence of the room.  As always the painting looks better in person than in the photo.   I love the sunlight streaming across the floor.

My blog: http://claudiahammer.blogspot.com
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Woodford Reserve on the rocks 12"x12" oil

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Chris Morris is the seventh Master Distiller in Brown-Forman Corporation's 140 year histor and is responsible for maintaining the award winning tast of Wordford Reserve.  Read about his profile here.  Head Chef Quita Michel was nominated four years in a row for a James Beard Foundation Award in 2011 for Best Chef Southeast.

My blog: http://claudiahammer.blogspot.com
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My email: iclaudiahammer@insightbb.com
My DPW gallery: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/chammer-209

Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 12"x12" oil

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  Jack Daniel was a real person and was a legend from birth to death and in between he created Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey.  No one really knows exactly when Jack was born.  A town fire destroyed the courthouse records and conflicting dates on Mr. Jack's and his mother's headstones have left his date of birth in question.  It is customary to celebrate Mr. Jack's birthday in September - so he gets a whole month.   But for a man as unique as Jack, one day just wouldn't seem proper anyway.  

As the story goes, Mr Jack arrived at work early one morning and tried to open the safe in his office.   Thing is, he couldn't recall the combination.   In his frustration he gave that safe a good solid kick.  The blow broke his toe and infection set in, leading to the blood poisoning that would take his life in 1911.  Because he never married or had children, he deeded the Distillery to his hard-working nephew, Lem Motlow.   Some people say Jack not only left his tennessee whiskey behind, he left us all a valuable lesson as well:  Don't go to work early.

He is buried in the Lynchburg, KY, town cemetery and you can find his grave by looking for the two chairs next to his headstone.   It's said that the chairs were placed there to comfort the many local ladies who mourned his passing.

Many stories have been passed down about the significance of Old No. 7.  Some say that Jack had 7 girlfriends, or that the way he wrote his "J" looked like a 7.   Some say he chose the number 7 simply because it's lucky.  One story goes that the recipe for Jack Daniels was Mr. Jack's 7th recipe or 7th trial batch.  One story says that is was the railroad shipping number on a barrel, we'll never know for sure.

My blog: http://claudiahammer.blogspot.com
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My DPW gallery: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/chammer-209

Liz profile 9"x12" oil

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She will graduate soon and will not be available for the future.  She is the best!

My blog: http://claudiahammer.blogspot.com
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My email: iclaudiahammer@insightbb.com
My DPW gallery: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/chammer-209

Liz 9"x12" oil

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Painted this last Friday, just now had time to post.  I am taking some time to work on larger pieces and work on some commissions.  Will post when I get a chance.   Thank you all for following my blog.

My blog: http://claudiahammer.blogspot.com
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Carolyn and her violin 9"x12" oil

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Painted this Friday and just now getting around to posting it.

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Pappy Van Winkle 6"x8" oil

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Someone told me once that there is over 100 bourbons that are made today.   I simply cannot paint them all and there were quite a few on my short list that I did not even get to but I saved the best for last.

   Pappy Van Winkle 20 year has received a rating of 99 by the Wine Enthusiast Magazine.

The Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery has a four generation history.  The Van Winkle family's involvement in the bourbon industry began in the late 1800s with Julian P. "Pappy" Van Winkle, Sr.  He was a traveling salesman for the W.L.Weller and Sons wholesale house in Louisville, Ky traveling around the state by horse and buggy.  Pappy and a friend, Alex Farnsley, eventually bought the wholesale house and also purchased the A. Ph. Stitzel Distillery, which made bourbon for Weller.  The merged the two companies and became the Stizel-Weller Distillery.  Their prominent brands were W.L.Weller, Old Fitzgerald, Rebel Yell and Cabin Still.

In May of 1935 at the age of 61, Pappy opened the newly completed Stitzel-Weller Distillery in South Louisville.  He had a heavy influence on the operations there until his death at the age of 91.  His son, Julian, Jr. took over operations until he was forced by stockholders to sell the distillery in 1972.  The rights to all of their brands were either sold with the distillery or to other distilleries.

After selling the distillery, Julian Jr. resurrected a pre-prohibition label, the only one to which the Van Winkles kept the rights, called Old Rip Van Winkle.  He used whiskeys stocks from the old distillery to supply his brand.  Julian Junior's son, Julian III took over in 1981 when Julian Jr. passed away.  Julian III has continued with the Van Winkle tradition of producing the highest quality wheated bourbon available.  His son, Preston joined the company in 2001.

Recently, the Van Winkles entered into a joint venture with the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Ky.   All of the Van Winkle's whiskey production now takes place at Buffalo Trace under the same strict guidelines the family has always followed in order to produce a superior quality product.

This company makes 7 great products click here to view.   

Click here to see retailers in your area.

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Old Forester Mint Julep 6"x6" oil

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In the 1800's, bourbon whisky was sold in bulk to rectifiers, wholesalers, brokers and retailers.  Barrels were branded with a distillery or "brand"name.  Package stores/druggist bottled their own labels from bulk supplies.   Unscrupulous rectifiers, jobbers and retailers would often tamper with the quality and integrity of the whisky in the barrel.

In 1870, George Garvin Brown, a young pharmaceuticals salesman in Louisille, Kentucky, saw the need for a consistently high-quality whisky that met medicinal standards.   With $5,500 in saved and borrowed money, Brown and his half brother started J.T.S. Brown and Bros.   They sold Old Forester Bourbon Whisky exclusively in sealed glass bottles to assure its quality.   George Garvin Brown ensured the quality of his product with his handwritten guarantee on every bottle.   Unfortunately, the inspiration and origin of the Old Forrester brand name died with George Garvin Brown.   However, it is believed that George Garvin Brown's brand was named after one of Louisville's leading physicians, Dr. William Forrester (and presumably one of his best customers).  you will notice that the originally Old Forester was spelled with two r's.  When Dr Forrester retired, his endorsement would not longer have been valid. The name changed to reflect his change in status.

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Blanton's Single Barrel 6"x6" oil

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Blanton's is one of my favorite bourbons.  Colonel Albert B. Blanton first bottled his private reserve bourbon nearly a century ago.  He believed in the "center-cut' or middle sections of Warehouse H were the best for aging his bourbon.   Personally tasting and choosing each barrel, these barrels were reserved and bottled for ambassadors, dignitaries, family and friends becoming the world's first single barrel bourbon.

Blanton's bourbon has made TV appearances in: Outlaw, Entourage, True Blood, Bored to Death, Desperate Housewives, Justified, Big Bang Theory, Southland, NCIS, CSI.  Fox News acclaims Blanton's as one of the World's top 10 coolest liquor bottles.  The tiny horse and jockey on the bottle stoppers are now a recognized trademark of Blanton's.   They have produced a collectors edition set of eight different stoppers, featuring a horse and jockey in different strides and poses.   Each stopper is marked with a single letter that spells Blanton's when the set has been completed.

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Redhead Violinist 11"x14" oil

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I took liberties today with this one.  She had long hair and I made it short and I wanted to keep it sketchy and I may have put in the violin a little more than I should have.   Oh well, I have another chance next week.  

My blog: http://claudiahammer.blogspot.com
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My email: iclaudiahammer@insightbb.com
My DPW gallery: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/chammer-209

Woodford Reserve Bourbon 6"x8" oil

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The very popular Woodford Reserve is twice-barreled which creates a rich, colorful flavor.  Uniquely matured in separate, charred oak barrels, the second barrel deeply toasted before a light charring, extracts additional amounts of soft, sweet oak character.  Click here for more information on Woodford Reserve.

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My email: iclaudiahammer@insightbb.com
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Maker's Mint Julep 6"x6" oil

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Maker's Mark makes a great mint Julep that is already to pour.  Here is the recipe on the side of the bottle:

1. Fill each julep cup 1/2 full with shaved ice. Insert mint sprig.  

2. Insert straw that has been cut to no more than 1 inch from above the top of the cup so your nose is forced to sniff the mint when sipping the julep.  

3. When the frost forms on the glass, pour refrigerated Maker's Mark Mint Julep over the ice and sprinkle powdered sugar on top if desired.

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White sweater 9"x12" oil

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My goal for today was to unify my palette and keep it sketchy.  I'm happy with it.

My blog: http://claudiahammer.blogspot.com
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My email: iclaudiahammer@insightbb.com
My DPW gallery: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/chammer-209

Reading about Tamara 9"x12" oil

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She is reading about Tamara de Lempicka and when I first saw this book in 1993 it inspired me want to paint.  I had been drawing only for about 30 years and did not have any interest in painting and then all of a sudden I wanted to paint!  And I wanted to paint like Lempicka.  Here is my first painting and you can see Lempicka's style.  I've come a long way.

My blog: http://claudiahammer.blogspot.com
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My email: iclaudiahammer@insightbb.com
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Willett Bourbon 6"x6" oil

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Here is a review from Whisky Connosr.

The Willett family owned the Willett Distilling Company until they sold it to Even Kulsveen in 1984. The company was renamed Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Ltd. in order to make the company name more recognisable as being associated with Kentucky whiskey for the purpose of international marketing. 

Nose: brown sugar, like an aged rum, black cherry, plum, rye spices, subtantial oak, with just hints of vanilla and caramel.

Taste: the spices explode all over the palate--this is spicy like the spiciest rye whiskey. The alcohol taste reinforces the spicy effect. The wood is very strong here as well. This is a bourbon of enormous flavour, able to keep company with George T. Stagg, William Larue Weller, and Old Potrero. Vanilla, caramel, oak, black pepper, cherry and plum dance and crackle all about the mouth. A spicy beginning gives way to developing sweetness, which becomes all-encompassing

Finish: these enormous flavours just last and last, doing a slow fade together. The sweetness remains strong in the mouth throughout the finish

Balance: Lovely, lovely, lovely! I have had other Willett Bourbons, and have loved them all. This bourbon is quite delicious and quite balanced, for all of its enormous powerful flavour. 

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My email: iclaudiahammer@insightbb.com 

My DPW gallery: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/chammer-209

Knob Creek 6"x6" oil

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This is a cool bottle and label.  The packaging pays attention to the details. With a bottle reminiscent of a bootlegger’s flask, it embodies the unpretentious, handmade look and feel of turn-of-the-century bourbon. The observant eye will notice newsprint scrawled on the label—harkening back to the decades-old custom of wrapping bottles at the distillery in newspaper.  Knob Creek is 100 proof and aged 9 years.  When coming up with the name they went to history to name Know Creek, the answer was nearby.   Approximately 20 miles south of the distillery runs a little creek, the same creek that ran by Abraham Lincoln's boyhood home.    Kentucky is full of history.

Did you know.... Nothing can be added at bottling to enhance the flavor of bourbon, such as flavoring, sweeteners or artificial coloring, unlike whiskeys which can add those things.

My blog: http://claudiahammer.blogspot.com
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My email: iclaudiahammer@insightbb.com
My DPW gallery: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/chammer-209

Reading 9"x12" oil

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I like the fact that she wore her reading glasses, they add so much to the  attitude.

My blog: http://claudiahammer.blogspot.com
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My email: iclaudiahammer@insightbb.com
My DPW gallery: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/chammer-209

Maker's Mark Mint Julep 6"x6" oil

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A Mint Julep is the official Derby drink although you will find few who drink it the rest of the year but you will find it everywhere on Derby Day here in Louisville KY home of the Kentucky Derby. 

Easy Recipe:

Pack a glass with crushed ice and put in a sprig of mint and a short straw, when frost forms pour in Maker's Mark Mint Julep bourbon. Voila! 

Recipe From scratch:

1 sterling silver julep cup (or official Derby tall glass)

1 oz. simple syrup ( made from 1 part water, 1 part granulated sugar, heat to dissolve sugar)

5-7 mint leaves

3 ounces Kentucky bourbon

3 ounces water

Into a large mixing glass pour simple syrup, add mint, and muddle well.  Add bourbon and water.  Fill with crushed ice or small ice cubes and shake.  Garnish with a large sprig of fresh mint and add a long straw.

 History of Mint Juleps - Mint juleps were probably first served in the early to mid 1700s in Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. "Mint julep" first appeared in print in 1803, described as a "dram of spirituous liquor that has mint in it, taken by Virginians in the morning." The French word "julep" is derived from the Persian "gulab," a sweet concoction that may have been a vehicle for medicine.

The first mint juleps were made with rum, rye whiskey and other available spirits. Kentucky bourbon whiskey wasn't widely distributed until later in the 19th century.   The tradition of sipping mint juleps migrated westward to Kentucky, and soon became associated with horse racing. In 1816, the KentuckyGazette mentioned mint julep cups being awarded as prizes at horse races in the Commonwealth. We do not know when bourbon was first used in juleps, but by the early 1800s, many Kentucky farmers owned stills, which they used to make corn whiskey or what is now called bourbon. Later, bourbon became the preferred spirit in mint juleps everywhere.


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My email: iclaudiahammer@insightbb.com
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Bill Fletcher Workshop Day 6, 6"x8" oil

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We worked today on a photo of our own and I chose a photo that I took when I was in Provence France.   There was this wonderful field of poppies and I just happened to take a great photo.  I learned how to portray flowers without painting each flower.  Don't you get a sense of many flowers?   I painted the essence of the flowers.  This was the last day of this workshop but Bill Fletcher is having another workshop similar to this one and it is going to take place here in Louisville KY at the Mellwood center.  If you are interested in taking this workshop, which I recommend, please click here to send him an email about your interest.

My blog: http://claudiahammer.blogspot.com
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My email: iclaudiahammer@insightbb.com
My DPW gallery: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/chammer-209

Maker's and 46 12"x12" oil

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Maker's 46 starts with Maker's Mark straight from the barrel, then the barrel head is removed and ten wooden staves are affixed to the inside of the existing barrel.   The staves are slowly seasoned and cooked in order to caramelize the sugars in the wood.   Ultimately this helps give Maker's 46 with its distinct caramel and toasted oak flavor.  The Maker's Mark goes back into the ready barrel for at lease several more months, which is not a specific time, when it is ready their panel knows it.  Read all about it and see a video at Maker's Mark 46.

My blog: http://claudiahammer.blogspot.com
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My email: iclaudiahammer@twc.com
My DPW gallery: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/chammer-209

Makers Mark 6"x6" oil

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Each bourbon maker has their own special recipe and process.  Makers Mark attributes its unique taste to pure, iron free limestone spring water which comes from a 10 acre limestone spring fed lake at the Maker's Mark Distillery.  They also use red winter wheat rather than traditional rye, along with naturally malted barley and yellow corn.  They have beautiful distinctive copper still pots that are an important part of their double distillation process which removes impurities.   They use cypress tanks for fermentation and some of the planks are more than 200 years old.  There is more so click here to read more about it.   I have driven to this distillery and it is a beautiful drive through the Kentucky country side.   

My favorite part is when they dip each individual bottle in the red wax.  Here is how it came about.  Bill Samuels wife Marjorie was a fan of fine pewter pieces, which were known for the mark their maker put on them (hence their name) but to truly embrace the name, she felt that they needed their own special mark. This led her to create the SIV symbol, which stands for “Samuels - 4th generation.”  She also collected antique cognac bottles that were commonly dipped in wax. She thought that signature look would be a great idea for their bottle. And her creativity didn’t stop there: Marjorie completed the Maker’s look by creating their distinctive typeface herself.

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My DPW gallery: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/chammer-209

Red teapot 9"x12" oil

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This is the same model and set up as last week but since everyone was working on a new piece we decided to change the pose slightly.   I'm sure you can see what is different.   I had wanted to put the red teapot in last week but the composition I chose did not allow for that so that was what I wanted to put in this time.

My blog: http://claudiahammer.blogspot.com
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My email: iclaudiahammer@insightbb.com
My DPW gallery: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/chammer-209

Town Branch Bourbon 6"x6" oil

Please click here to view pricing information.

This is my favorite bottle, I love the square shape!   I love square paintings too so maybe I'm just square.  The Town Branch website (click here), has the interesting history bourbon, going all the way back to the Scots.   Below are some interesting facts:

Whiskey (the abbreviation of uisce beatha) is Gaelic for "water of life."

Whiskeys are rated in four ways:

1. The nose - the aroma.

2.  The taste - its arrival on the palette. (the tongue not the painting palette)

3.  The finish - how much residue is on the palette, it will tell you a lot about the aging process.

4.  The balance of the flavors, the caramels, the woodiness, and how they all come together.

Town Branch Whiskey is a bourbon from the first distillery to be inducted into the Kentucky Distillers Association since 1880.   

Town Branch is named after the Town Branch River in Lexington, KY.  Within one year of the founding of Lexington the James Pepper Distillery was established in 1780, quickly followed by other distilleries such as Henry Clay, Henry Gilbert & Co., Ashland Distillery Co., and William Tarr was set up in 1879.   Little did they know that it would be over 100 years for the Lexington Distilling Co. to be founded. 

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Eagle Rare Bourbon 6"x6" oil

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Eagle Rare Bourbon is aged no less than 10 years and each barrel is discriminately selected.   It offers consistent flavors but with an individual personality from each unique barrel.  They do make a 17 year old as well and both have won numerous awards.  Check out this link for more information.

I was thinking on all previous bourbon paintings that the white background was the best for showing off the wonderful amber glow coming through the bottle but I tried this blue and it was good too!

My blog: http://claudiahammer.blogspot.com
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My email: iclaudiahammer@twc.com
My DPO gallery: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/chammer-209

Reading the newspaper 9"x12" oil

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I had a hard time getting a model for Friday, when I finally got this one I had a pose in mind from William McGregor Paxton called "the morning paper". My version is more poster like, it is just the way I saw it once it was set up.

My blog: http://claudiahammer.blogspot.com
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My email: iclaudiahammer@insightbb.com
My DPO gallery: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/chammer-209

Four Roses in tandem 6"x6" oil

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Four Roses Small Batch and Single Barrel, you can click on the highlighted links to read more.  The legend  began when Paul Jones, Jr., the founder of Four Roses Bourbon, became smitten by the beauty of a Southern belle. It is said that he sent a proposal to her, and she replied that if her answer were "Yes," she would wear a corsage of roses on her gown to the upcoming grand ball. Paul Jones waited for her answer excitedly on that night of the grand ball…when she arrived in her beautiful gown, she wore a corsage of four red roses. He later named his Bourbon "Four Roses" as a symbol of his devout passion for the lovely belle, a passion he thereafter transferred to making his beloved Four Roses Bourbon.

My blog: http://claudiahammer.blogspot.com
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My email: iclaudiahammer@insightbb.com
My DPO gallery: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/chammer-209