What's Brewing At The Rosemarsh?

Well, this cup of tea:

Which was created, anticlimactically enough, by brewing a cup of tea and photographing it with just the right amount of steepage(?).  A simple idea that, upon execution, turned out to be more time consuming and detail intensive than expected.

Setting the stage was straightforward enough.

A white slab of scrap countertop, that I use for soldering and clay work, served as the smooth white surface I needed over my actual gray "granite" countertop.  An unused canvas and some watercolor paper work for a plain white background.  A simple clear glass mug is used for obvious reasons.

Kettle's nearly ready!

If you're one of those so super serious tea drinkers, you'd first scold me for even allowing tea bags in my home, but you'd also know that water temperature is a key element in brewing a proper cup of tea. Well, Mr./Ms. Snootypants, I happen to agree with you, but this particular pot's temperature is important for a different reason.  Besides, why are you reading this post when you're probably late to have tea with The Queen or something? Hmm?

Anyways, the water had to be hot enough to actively steep the tea and create some liquid-color-drama (that's now the name of my Depeche Mode cover band) but not-too-hot enough that I wouldn't have enough time to get at least a few reference shots.  Just as with everything I do/have done, my pals Trial and Error got involved, which led to me double-fisting at least several cups of tea that afternoon.  That's not a complaint.

Okay, so far so good...

Alright, keep it going.

Mm hm... proceed.

Maybe... not quite.

Oh, just a smidge more...

There, that's the one!

I even tried a few with passion tea because I'm quite partial to purple and thought that might make for a more interesting painting, but I didn't want to risk anything too avant-garde... not this early on.  Also, all those photos really sucked.

After all was said and done with the reference for this painting, I have a greater appreciation for what food and beverage photographers deal with.  After repeatedly fiddling with the string and flag of the tea bags in attempt to get a better shadow, worrying about the condensation on the mug's rim and other difficult to control details of the like, it's not the sort of job I'd want to do everyday.

Ultimately, the painting served as a background for my temporary business cards.

Business cards? Whatever for?

With consideration of this post's title, I'm still not sure if Rosemarsh is my nom de brush, the name of my "studio", which is consists of my desk, my coffee and kitchen tables, and an over stuffed corner of the guest room, or if it's more a metaphoric or perhaps, cerebral place. Identity, location, vague entity... maybe it's all those things, but in addition, Rosemarsh is now, an Etsy stop. It's up but not quite open for business yet.  Many of the paintings I've posted about will be for sale there, along with much cheaper, still in progress, prints... which are the primary reason the shop is not yet open.  But soon! Very, very soon... I hope.  More to come with it's official launch and the overall experience thereafter.

Thanks for doin' whatcha do, readers.