meat sections : hot meat illustrations delivered daily

Where's the beef?

2011-10-25T13:44:00.000-07:00

And the pork? And chicken? And the art?

Know Your Beer - 13 x 19 print available here.

Things have been quiet here on MEAT SECTIONS, but not for me. MEAT SECTIONS began as a daily art project in 2010, and was intended for nothing more than to keep my sanity and to be creative while I was unemployed and "on sabbatical."

Use Every Part - Chicken 13 x 19 available here.

I never expected to turn the art from this blog into a full-time business, but I am proud and excited every day that it did. So first of all, thank you, sincerely, to everyone who has come to the blog, left a comment, or even purchased their own print. You've allowed me to make a career out of selling meat art, which really really really few people can say.

But since this has grown from a daily art blog into a full-on business, from here forward, I'll be posting only on my main blog, drywell art - the blog. (I know. Clever title). There will still be meat art galore, as well as recipes, advice for creative biz, and behind-the-scenes stuff. Oh, and a lot about food.

So change your RSS feeds, adjust your following, and come over to drywell art - the blog.

McNugget "Meat"

2011-08-24T12:03:00.000-07:00

original watercolor and ink illustration, 9 x 11

A couple of days ago, I started researching retail cuts of chicken, to make a "Use Every Part of the Chicken" piece, to go with the lamb, pig, and cow in the series. In doing this, I thought it might be funny to include a "nugget" part of the chicken, so I quickly became sidetracked in trying to figure out the age-old question of "What part of the chicken DOES the nugget come from?" Of course, this question inevitably leads to the grandaddy of the nugget, the McDonald's Chicken McNugget.

There was a report from inside the McDonald's McNugget factory. Information about the four (and yes, only four) shapes of the nugget. (That's the "bone", "ball", "boot" and "bell" if you're playing along at home.) Pictures of the McExtruder. The now debunked posts that Mcnuggets came from mechanically separated chicken parts. Dramatic standing McNuggets. Quite funny illustrations of a "McNugget" animal.

And most useful for me, information about the many MANY ingredients in a McNugget. Yes, yes, there is real white meat chicken in there. But that's not all. Not even close.

The troubling ingredient list has been explored in Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma. Things like thirteen corn-based ingredients in a bite-sized chunk of chicken. Or tertiarybutylhydroquinone (TBHQ), a petroleum-based product, similar to butane(!), and used to preserve freshness. Or that the dimethylpolysiloxane, added to the frying oil to prevent foaming, is a silicone-based ingredient commonly found in make-up and Silly Putty.

But don't they look delicious?

mimosa

2011-08-10T18:30:00.000-07:00

original watercolor and ink illustration

Mimosas are pretty delicious. especially if you hold the oj.

Print available here. (because i know you have to have some mimosa in your life.)

Drywell at Indie Mart - TOMORROW!!

2011-07-23T13:03:00.000-07:00

If you didn't get a chance to say hi or snag some meat art of your own at Renegade SF a couple weeks ago, tomorrow is your chance. I'll be selling my artwork, as featured on The Atlantic (I tried to mention that super casually. Did it work?) and hanging out with my partner in crime, Steve. Much of my new work is not available online yet, but it will be available tomorrow at Indie Mart. Come on by and say hello. I'm friendly.

INDIE MART

Sunday July 24, 12pm to 6pm

Thee Parkside (16th and Wisconsin)

There will be food and drinks and music and blood.

Wait, there might not be blood. But you can make your own succulent pot.

Los Angeles is for Meat Eaters

2011-07-14T12:53:00.000-07:00

***UPDATE: Poster now available here!***

I'm crazy excited to announce the newest city in the "Meat My City" poster series: Los Angeles!

The boobs there may be fake, but the meat, it's all natural, baby. Whether at a Hollywood steakhouse where the elite meat, at a sustainable butcher shop where your pork was the one on an organic diet, or inside your taco, Los Angeles is for meat eaters.

This 13x19 poster is of a hand-drawn map of the MANY neighborhoods of Los Angeles, in the form of a pig butchery diagram. In addition to the neighborhoods, there are some pig parts diagrammed, like hocks, ham, ear, etc. Oh, and cities within LA county, yet not in LA proper get their own special meaty treatment. ("Cleaver City" anyone?)

This poster makes it grand debut at the Renegade Craft show in Los Angeles, this weekend, at the Los Angeles State Historic Park. Come see me in booth 29, right outside the large central tent.

As with all my "Meat My City" posters, I'll be donating 10% of the sales price of each poster sold to a local food bank. For Los Angeles, the money will go to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, where each dollar donated allows them to distribute $5 worth of food. That means when you buy a LA poster for $25, the LA Regional Food Bank will be able to distribute $12.50 worth of food. Amazing, right?

I can't wait for the LA show, and I hope to see you there.

T-Bone Grid

2011-06-28T14:11:00.000-07:00

original graphite drawing of T-bone
9x 12 $75

I love love loved making this one! I took my only art class ever last January at Root Division from the very talented Robert Minervi. One week in this drawing class, we did Chuck Close-esque portraits of ourselves by gridding images and coloring in each grid on our blank paper with the average value of the corresponding image grid. Uh, yeah, that made it sound more complicated than it is. Anyways, it also requires a full arsenal of pencil hardness(es?), from 8B to 6H to get all the values in there. The result almost appears to be a digitally pixelated image, but it is totally handmade. *minds have been blown, people*

I find these grid drawings to be super fun and relaxing to make. Look for prints in the shop soon. I also have plans for a bacon grid too.

NY Striptease Steak

2011-06-24T11:09:00.000-07:00

original watercolor and ink painting, of NY Strip Steak
5x5 inches, $75

my loins are burning

2011-06-22T10:15:00.000-07:00

original watercolor and ink painting of pork loin
5x5, $75 SOLD

***UPDATE : Prints now available ***

Admittedly, not a great situation for a dinner party, but funny none the less.

he had a weird foot fetish

2011-06-21T10:11:00.000-07:00

original watercolor and ink painting of pig's foot
5x5 inches

***UPDATE #1: Prints now available ***

***UPDATE #2: Steve wouldn't let me sell this one. It's now in a place of honor above his desk. In our bedroom. ***

***UPDATE #3: No, he does not have a foot fetish.***

This one was a late addition idea. I felt like this series was a little too dude heavy, so I wanted to have something mocking guys. And as a huge bonus, pig's trotters are insanely fun to paint. I *think* we may keep this one. :)

are you a top sirloin, or a bottom?

2011-06-20T09:47:00.000-07:00

original watercolor and ink painting
5x5, SOLD

***UPDATE: Prints now available ***

This was another one where I had a long debate over which cut of meat was funnier to use(top round? top sirloin?). Sirloin clearly won.

upskirt steak

2011-06-19T19:31:00.000-07:00

original watercolor and ink painting, 5 x 5
Available, $75.

racy, I know.

Skirt steak is pretty awesome. Beefy, chewy, cheap. And it's the diaphragm. Yea.

i like big butts

2011-06-09T15:58:00.000-07:00

original watercolor and ink painting
5 x5 inches, SOLD

***UPDATE - prints now available***

Another hat tip to Sir-Mix-Alot, who used a surprisingly high number of meat references in his work....

Here's a little PSA -- pork butt (aka Boston Butt) is NOT from the pig's rear. It is the top of the shoulder. There isn't really a clear consensus on WHY it is called a butt, but some historians believe it has to do with the colonial American practice of storing this cheap cut of pork in large casks or barrels (also known as "butts").

I think I just made Sir-Mix-ALot sad.

baby got fatback

2011-06-07T17:21:00.000-07:00

original watercolor and ink painting of pork fat back.
5 x 5 inches - SOLD

**** UPDATE: Prints now available ****

Fat back, aka back fat, is, well, fat from a pig's back. It is delicious. It can be rendered into lard, salted for salt pork, and cured for the Italian charcuterie, lardo.

Also, if you're awesome, you'll eat it fried as chicharrones. If you're my friend, you'll only eat 4505 Meats chicharrones, because they are the best and I am STOCKED up.

Hat tip to the one and only Sir-Mix-A-Lot (who incidentally played a Halloween show on campus during my college years) for the classic caption.

Part of the MEAT MARKET art show, at Pot + Pantry, San Francisco. May 6 - 27, 2011

prime ribbed for her pleasure

2011-06-07T16:52:00.000-07:00

original watercolor and ink painting
5 x5 inches. SOLD

***UPDATE - Prints now available.***

I have to give credit to my brother-in-law for coming up with the "ribbed for her pleasure line." (Laaaadies.... he's single.)

Anywho, we went through a lot of rib-iterations before settling on prime rib, mostly because it was the coolest to draw. Baby back ribs, spare ribs? Not so much, at least in their raw form.

i'm more of a leg man.

2011-06-06T18:19:00.000-07:00

original watercolor and ink painting.
5x5 inches on watercolor paper.
Original available. $75

i'm more of a breast man.

2011-06-03T16:48:00.000-07:00

original watercolor and ink painting.
5x5 original SOLD

Lamb breast. It's good folks.

***UPDATE. Prints now available ***

get some oxtail

2011-06-01T16:07:00.000-07:00

original watercolor and ink painting.
5 x 5 inches, mounted on board and ready to hang
Available. $75.

***UPDATE*** Prints available here.

Oxtail, totally not only from ox (which are castrated male cattle). Can also be from female cows or bulls ("intact" male cattle). Nice, right?

stop staring at my rump

2011-05-31T11:49:00.000-07:00

original watercolor and ink painting, 5 x5 inches, ORIGINAL SOLD

** UPDATE ** Prints now available online.

I loved researching this one. I don't discuss it often, but a ton of research goes into most of my paintings, especially for this more recent series of cuts of meat. Accuracy is as important to me as humor, mostly because I love researching, but also because I want respect of any chefs who might like my work.

For this series, I was basically looking for the quintessential or archetypal version of that particular cut of meat. For the beef rump, it was clear that a tied up roast was *the* image of rump that I needed to use.

Paper cut chicken

2011-05-29T11:01:00.000-07:00

papercut chicken. 8.5 x11 print. Available here.

By special request of the enthusiastic team at Ragazza restaurant in San Francisco, I present the fourth in my papercut print series, the humble chicken. Nothing flashy, but the chicken knows you want it. Oh, it knows.

Print of the papercut is available in my shop. But I really do cut out the original papercut by hand from a single sheet of paper. I haven't quite been able to perfect the mounting of the original papercuts, which is why I haven't added original papercuts to my shop yet. But I'm working on it.

hanger steak?

2011-05-27T15:18:00.000-07:00

original watercolor and ink painting, 5 x5 inches, $75. Original SOLD

**UPDATE** Prints now available.

I clearly have the sense of humor of a 14 year old boy.

Available for viewing (and purchase!) at Pot + Pantry, San Francisco, CA until May 27, 2011.

© Alyson Thomas 2011

just the tri tip

2011-05-26T12:37:00.000-07:00

original watercolor and ink painting, 5 x5 inches, Original SOLD

**UPDATE** Prints now available online.

Oh yeah. Thanks to "Archer" for inspiring this piece. (Here's the clip. It's, uh, a bit racy. Sorry parents.)

Available for viewing at Pot and Pantry, San Francisco, CA until May 27, 2011.

© Alyson Thomas 2011

nice rack

2011-05-25T17:29:00.000-07:00

Original watercolor and ink on watercolor paper,
mounted on natural fiber panel.
ORIGINAL SOLD

Who doesn't like a nice rack?

5x5 inches. Available for viewing at Pot and Pantry, San Francisco, CA until May 27, 2011.

UPDATE: 8.5 x11 print is now available in the shop!

© Alyson Thomas 2011

Chicken Charcoal Butchery

2011-05-11T17:27:00.000-07:00

original charcoal chicken diagram

Hello hello!

The MEAT MARKET show was a crazy success, and I'm working on getting a recap together soon! (Check out the Pot + Pantry blog for a great wrap-up for now) I'll also be posting all my work from the show on this site, with links to buy once the show wraps up. There are still pieces available, so hop on over to Pot+Pantry if you're in SF and need some original meat art in your life.

In other news, I've received tons of requests for more chicken art. I had no idea there were so many fervent poultry lovers out there! So rounding out my charcoal butchery diagram series is the humble chicken. You may even want to check out this site to see an interactive version of this bad boy. I don't know, whatever.

Oh, and he's in the shop now too!

Use Every Part - Pig

2011-05-06T16:24:00.000-07:00

18 x24 original mixed media on maple board. SOLD

Tonight's the night!

I'm headed out the door (with over 60 bags of homemade bacon caramel corn) to Pot and Pantry for the opening night of my first solo show, MEAT MARKET!

I am so thankful for all the amazing press the show's received so far, from Eater SF, Thrillist, Daily Candy, SF Foodie, Mission Local, ABC 7, and more. It is humbling and insane.

I hope to see lots of folks there tonight, and look forward to meeting you! And I'm also super excited to eat some chili and bacon treats from Nosh This, and spicy pork banh mi (my FAVORITE SANDWICH!) from TomKat. And drink some beer. That's going to be awesome too.

huzzah!

Let's T-bone

2011-05-02T22:14:00.000-07:00

Original watercolor and ink illustration, 5x5
original SOLD

**7/26/11 UPDATE** The 8.5x11 "Let's T-bone" print is now available in the shop for $18.

So the MEAT MARKET art show is shaping up quite nicely. I'm so excited that we have some awesome food vendors coming now: Nosh This, purveyor of Bacon Crack and other sweet and savory meaty treats, and new asian food truck, TomKat, which happens to be co-run with my favorite bar tender at my favorite bar, The Alembic. Oh yeah, and I got the hook-up with the generous pork lovers at 4505 Meat, so yes, there will be chicharrones. How could there not be?

The above painting is a little taste of some of the new art I've been working on. they are.... a little cheeky to say the least. (Sorry mom and dad!)

Ok. Back to painting my NY Striptease Steak.

MEAT MARKET - Art show for Carnivores

2011-04-26T12:22:00.000-07:00

Radio silence from Drywell HQ, right? That's just because my head's been down, furious working on all new, all original, all meaty artwork for my very first solo art show, MEAT MARKET. (official press release thingie below). I am beyond excited. And also very hungry. Looking at and drawing meat all day is creating drool stains on my desk.

I've rarely ever sold original artwork, so it has been exciting and challenging to create so many for the show. And I think they are pretty awesome. I'll be revealing some works in the days leading up to the show! MEAT MARKET will be held at the ever-lovely Pot+Pantry kitchen shop in the Mission.

The show will be up for a couple of weeks, but you really want to come to the opening night reception on Friday, May 6th from 6 to 9pm. There will be tasty, meaty snacks (perhaps some homemade goodies by me??) and drinks, and because I have a street food fetish, some awesomesauce street food vendors will be set up outside, selling their deliciousness.

So come one, come all, to Pot + Pantry on Friday May 6th, and have your mind blown by meat art.

#####

04.26.11

‘Meat Market’ - a solo art show from Alyson Thomas of Drywell Art - is debuting in all its meaty glory at an opening reception at Pot + Pantry on Friday, May 6, 2011 from 6:00-9:00 pm. The show will feature all original, all new, and all quirky meat art. This show is definitely NSFV (not safe for vegetarians). The reception will feature some free treats and drinks, as well as food from local street food vendors - including awesome savory and sweet meat treats from NoshThis - for sale outside, you know, on the streets.

Alyson Thomas creates both realistic and fantastical butchery diagrams. She left her job as an Asylum Officer for the US Government in a very un-well-thought-out plan to have a more creative life. In 2010, she started a daily drawing project - Meat Sections - where she drew hundreds of butchery-style diagrams. Among her most popular works are the “Meat My City” series of posters including “San Francisco is for Carnivores.” Her website is www.drywellart.com.

Pot + Pantry is a kitchen boutique in the Mission neighborhood in San Francisco, owned by Donna Suh Wageman, that specializes in new and gently used kitchenware. They also carry a small assortment of food products from local artisans. Pot and Pantry located at 3412 22nd Street San Francisco, CA 94110.

For more information, contact Alyson at ilovedrywell@gmail.com or Donna at info@potandpantry.com

corn dog

2011-04-09T13:11:00.000-07:00

Original watercolor and ink illustration

I hate corn dogs. HATE them. LOVE sausages (hot dogs are just so/so for me). LOVE cornbread. The nauseating combo on a stick? No thanks.

I'll attribute that to an episode in a Bennigan's following a trip to Six Flags Over Texas, where I ate a corn dog and rode on Flashback roller coaster. As soon as we walked in to the restaurant, I promptly vomited my corn dog in the waiting area. never again.

But I illustrated one anyway, in honor of my good friend Kai, proprietor of Nosh This and unrelenting pusher of "Bacon Crack"*. He's in Chicago RIGHT NOW selling his bacon studded goodies at Bacon Fest Chicago, wearing some t-shirts I designed.

Anywho, Kai loves corn dogs and requested a meat section of them a while back. National Corn Dog Day, to be exact. I demurred, ever so politely, but thought I'd give in now. Though if I REALLY wanted to have an accurate diagram, the corn dog diagram would look more like this:

yuck.

*that's bacon almond toffee covered in chocolate. yeah. it's good.

we turned meat art into food

2011-04-04T15:38:00.001-07:00

Lots of it. A couple months ago, I announced that I would be donating 10% of the proceeds from the "Meat My City" posters sales to a food bank in the respective city.

Well, the first quarter returns are in! To see which city won with the most donations, and how much food can be distributed, head over to my main blog here.

tablecloth meat sections

2011-03-25T16:05:00.000-07:00

original crayon on paper tablecloth

So there's this pizza place in SF that I love - Pauline's Pizza. They have been in the city forever, and most of their produce comes from their own farm, and they even produce their own "pizza wine" on their family vineyards. It's a fun, low-key place with really creative pizza toppings (padron pepper puree, anyone?).

Anywho, they have white paper tablecloths, and a jar of crayons on every table, presumably to keep children occupied, but hey, it works for me too. I went there a couple weeks ago with a few friends and drew the little piggie during a lengthy wait for our special order pizza.*

No biggie, right? Except when I went to the bathroom, I noticed this:

original crayon on paper tablecloth

The tablecloth from my LAST visit a few weeks prior! Totally crazy, right? There are no other doodles up on the wall, so I of course took this as a compliment. I told our waiter that I drew that and he said that the whole staff loved it and pointed out where the crew had included the Spanish words for the beef cuts. They are super stars, those folks at Pauline's pizza.

*They actually made it incorrectly twice, but were super nice about it, giving us half of a correctly made pizza and then an EXTRA LARGE pie, all comped. Love them.

Portland Knows How to Pork

2011-03-07T17:03:00.000-08:00

Back to the left coast is the fourth in the "Meat My City" poster series: Portland!

Portland may be known as a vegetarian friendly city, but meat-eaters there know that Portland really knows how to pork. Especially if it's a heritage breed, woodland-raised, hyper-local, organic acorn-fed, use-it-all-nose-to-tail pigs (named Fred).*

This is a poster of a hand-drawn map of Portland neighborhoods, in the form of a pig butchery diagram. In addition to the (MANY!) neighborhoods, there are some pig parts diagrammed, like ham, jowl, secret bacon, etc.

As I mentioned earlier this year, I'll be donating 10% of the sale price of each poster to a food charity in each city. For each Portland poster sold, I'll donate $2.50 to the Oregon Food Bank.

The poster is available in my shop, right here.

*I may or may not be watching a lot of Portlandia lately.

BIG MEATY NEWS

2011-03-04T17:31:00.000-08:00

STEAK window display @ Williams Sonoma, featuring "The Cook and The Butcher"

At the close of last year, I alluded to a major collaboration with a big time company in my newsletter. I had to keep quiet for the time being, but now I can finally announce that I illustrated a cookbook.....
.
.
.
.
.......for Williams-freaking-Sonoma!!

The Cook and The Butcher is a meat cookbook (obviously) written by Brigit Brinns with FAQs answered by Tom Moylan, of the Meat Hook in Brooklyn. It is helpfully broken into chapters by animal - cow, pig, veal, and lamb - and then further into recipes for each primal cut for each animal. At the beginning of each chapter, you'll see a badass charcoal butchery diagram illustration by me.

The publisher, Weldon Owen, contacted me back in September last year after stumbling across my work on Etsy. I was floored, to say the least. I love Williams Sonoma and it was quite an honor to have my art in one of their cookbooks.

Weldon Owen commissioned new charcoal drawings from me, based on the popular charcoal diagrams available in my shop. I think the printing came out so saturated and crisp, and the folks at Weldon Owen were awesome to work with (and even purchased the original commissioned artworks to decorate their office!)

The Cook and The Butcher is only available at Williams Sonoma for the time being, but if you want my name in the book, you'll have to wait for the wider release in September (preorder on Amazon).*

Hooray for being able to add "cookbook illustrator" to my burgeoning art resume!!

* There was a snafu in the initial printing, where my credit line was accidentally omitted. It will most definitely be in the larger wider release of the book, however!!!

Happy National Pork Day!

2011-03-01T18:49:00.000-08:00

original pencil drawing

I apparently didn't get the memo until late in the day, but March 1st is National Pork Day. Which is of course super great.

I whipped up this little sketch in honor of the sacred day.

National Margarita Day!

2011-02-22T22:21:00.000-08:00

original watercolor and ink illustration

So apparently today is National Margarita Day. Which makes total sense, because what libation is more desirable on a 40 degree February day? (serious, what the hell, National Margarita Board, or whoever came up with Feb. 22 to commemorate this drink?)

Anyways, still a good enough reason to make a margarita meat section. Though I do prefer mine on the rocks, with salt, in a short old fashioned glass. none of that frozen nonsense.

drywell turns meat art into food. like MAGIC!

2011-02-09T15:44:00.000-08:00

A quick not-so-little announcement about drywell art: This year, I'll be donating 10% of all "Meat My City" poster sales to a local food bank for each city.

Pop on over to my main blog, ilovedrywell, to learn why and for more details!

Drywell and Meat Sections are FAMOUS!

2011-01-24T13:47:00.000-08:00

OMG My art is in the newspaper!

Mildly anyways.

Yesterday, I had the surreal honor of being featured in the Sunday San Francisco Chronicle newspaper! (Under the appropriately named "Hot Stuff" column in the Home & Garden section)

A freelance writer contacted me out of the blue a couple weeks ago and interviewed me for about 40 minutes. (Apparently she found me via Thrillist. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE those guys??)

I'm forever indebted to her for including this quote of mine in the article: "I'm just kind of riding this meat train for a while." My law professors would be so proud...

Check out the whole article here on sfgate.com.

P.S. LOVE this comment from the web edition of the article. "I just love the line, "San Francisco is for Carnivores" it'll give all the people outside of California a moment to scratch their heads to think that we are all vegan hippies." He totally gets it.

Bizarre Foods #2 - Horchata

2011-01-20T19:21:00.000-08:00

original watercolor and ink illustration.

I remember watching the Spain episode of Bizarre Foods and being shocked at how absolutely disgusted Andrew Zimmern was after taking a sip of this sweet nutty drink. I mean, this is a guy who gleefully chows down on bull testicles, pig's ears, and unborn chickens. And I drank horchata. I LOVED horchata. Well, Mexican horchata anyways. Perhaps the Spaniards had it all wrong?

A quick a-googling revealed that while Mexican horchata is made with rice, sugar and cinnamon, soaked in water then whirred together, Spanish horchata is made with tiger nuts, or chufa, which apparently isn't a nut at all, but rather a tuber. So maybe Andrew was on to something?

Fast forward to 2009, when I traveled to Barcelona on my honeymoon. After our breakfast of cava and an iberico ham sandwich (ohgoodgodhowimissspain) we sought out some horchata. And you know what? It was freaking delicious! Yes, different than the rather milky Mexican horchata, but pleasingly nutty and refreshing.

Which leads me to ponder if Andrew's disgust was due to expectations based on a simple misunderstanding of the ingredients. Perhaps he was expecting a drink made from tiger's nuts?

Bizarre Foods #1 - Porcupine Stuffed with Potatoes & Bacon

2011-01-13T17:22:00.000-08:00

original watercolor and ink illustration

Part one in an ode to the fabulously adventurous and frequently gross food travel show, Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. He tackled this stuffed spiky rodent on the 2008 holiday special. I believe it is a native american dish of some sort, but I could be wrong....

Way back in 2010, I received an email informing me that Andrew Zimmern, yes THE Andrew Zimmern was following me on Twitter. Immediately, an idea was born to do a "Bizarre Foods" week here on Meat Sections. The whole pesky "success" thing got in the way as throngs of fans clamored for more Meat Sections art* and the idea got put on the backburner. But 2011 is still fresh and shiny, so here is installment No. 1 of "Bizarre Foods", Meat Sections style.

*Ok, that may have been an exaggeration. But yeah, shows and the ole Etsy shop did prevent me from keeping up with the meaty art production.

Day 365

2010-12-31T16:53:00.000-08:00

New Year's Resolution Butchery! Chop up those resolutions.

(Please excuse the lack of color. I'm busy being awesome in wine country, and forgot my watercolors.)

On this last day of 2010, whilst sipping some awesome prosecco and prepping for some serious roast pork shoulder, I just wanted to take a moment to sincerely thank every person who ever checked out this little weird project of mine, left a comment, or purchased some meaty art goodness this year.

When I started the project on January 1, 2010, I was just looking for something to keep me busy and creative after quitting my attorney job. I never for once thought that nearly a year later, 1) anyone would even know about this strange project, 2) my art would be in hundreds and hundreds of homes, 3) I'd get paid in fancy beer, 4) get assignments from MAJOR companies* and be featured by websites I've followed and respected for years, or 5) be planning an enormous pig butchery mural(!!!!!!) for a pizza joint** And as a serious food-lover, the fact that so many chefs either bought or received meat sections art as gifts this year is incredibly gratifying and rad. RAD.

I don't want to get all weird like a end-of-the-year VH1 special though, because this meat train is going to keep on chugging in 2011. Expect to see Meat Sections in some interesting places, WAY more of the "Meat My City" posters***, larger prints, and new meaty products.

Thanks and Happy New Years!!

*stay tuned folks. I can't talk about it yet, but its amazing.

Day 350

2010-12-16T16:31:00.000-08:00

yeah. It's a meat tree.

There was a burst of Christmas spirit let loose at Meat Sections headquarters (aka Drywell headquarters) (aka my very over-run apartment).

In my meat addled brain, it seemed like a completely reasonable idea to sit down and make 20 or so hand-painted* meat ornaments for a mini Xmas tree. I rationalized that I'll display this beauty at my booth at Renegade Craft this weekend** thus it was actually productive. I'm still going with that rationalization, because damn mini meat is cute.

*this is such a weird term. I'm not paralyzed or an elephant. How else would I paint?

** Saturday and Sunday, 11 to 7, Concourse East Hall, 7th and Brannan. Booth 18 or 19 or something.

Day 349

2010-12-15T16:32:00.000-08:00

original watercolor and ink illustration

It's official. I've been listening to the new Girl Talk album way too much. But it makes me so damn productive. I'll just have to live with the constant soundtrack in my head.

Based on the incomparable song "Ice Cream Paint Job" by Dorrough.

Bruery prints now available online. I KNOW, right?

2010-12-15T15:07:00.000-08:00

Just a quick public service announcement to those Bruery beer lovers outside of Southern California: the Bruery beer diagrams prints by your's truly are now available online!

Four pack of 5x7 prints is $30, available here. Included are diagrams of the ingredients in Trade Winds, Autumn Maple, Saison De Lente, and the 12 Days of Christmas. The prints came out AMAZING, and I must say, this is a super reasonable price point too.

Day 346

2010-12-12T08:54:00.000-08:00

Finally, we have some "San Francisco is for Carnivores" tshirts available! I'm really super happy with how they turned out. I outsourced the printing this time, which means more clear results and less of a sweatshop in my apartment.

Cardinal red ink on a cream American Apparel shirt.

They sold really well yesterday at Bazaar Bizarre, and I'll be selling them again today on day two of Bazaar Bizarre, at Fort Mason, from noon to 6pm. A lot of husbands, boyfriends, brothers, and fathers will be getting these for christmas!

Day 341

2010-12-07T08:29:00.000-08:00

Time to go east folks. Rounding out the trio of "Meat My City" posters, is Brooklyn.

What? You don't know how tasty pig ears are? The trotters? Kosher bacon? What, are you vegan or something? Oh, you must not live in Brooklyn. Land of old and new-school butchers, whole hog butchery classes, and sustainable local meat.

This is a 13x19 poster of a hand-drawn map of Brooklyn neighborhoods, in the form of a pig butchery diagram. In addition to the neighborhoods, there are some pig parts diagrammed, like fatback, ham, jowl, kosher bacon (super secret Brooklyn part) etc.

Also includes the historic Pigtown neighborhood, because, you know, it's pretty amazing, right? I just about died when I found Pigtown while researching Brooklyn neighborhoods. Apparently, the borders of Brooklyn used to be smaller, and Pigtown was located right outside the borough limits, since that's where all the butchery went down. I had to dig a bit to find out exactly where Pigtown was, but think I nailed it.

It's available in my shop, right here.

Day 335

2010-12-01T10:18:00.000-08:00

Oh hell yes. Pig Butchery Diagram necklace.

Designed by me and made by my good friend Cassey (check out her awesome Etsy shop, Casstasstrophe). Cut from black acrylic (protected by acrylic sealant) on a 23 inch antique brass chain. Show your love of pork everywhere and always. People will be like, "Whoa. You are freaking awesome!"

These porky guys will be available for sale tomorrow at the Indie Craft Fundraiser for 826 Valencia, at Hotel Rex, from 6 to 9. There will be cocktails, live music, appetizers, and great arts and handcrafted items. We're donating 10% of our proceeds to 826 Valencia. More info on all the vendors here.

SEASONS MEATINGS SALE!

2010-11-25T23:21:00.001-08:00

Just like meat, "MEAT SECTIONS" art sometimes goes on sale. But unlike most supermarket meat sales, this art is still fresh.

From 12:01 AM on Friday (the Black one) until midnight on Monday (the Cyber one), get 20% OFF EVERYTHING in the shop, including the San Francisco and Seattle "Meat My City" posters! whoa. Just enter the code "SEASONSMEATINGS" in the coupon code area on the Etsy checkout.

This is a great way to get some early holiday shopping done for your meat-loving friends and family. Or, you know, yourself.

Easy. and like I mentioned, fresh.

Happy Tofurkey Day!

2010-11-25T08:44:00.000-08:00

See, there's something here for vegans too. (Reposted from way back in January!)

Day 328

2010-11-24T11:54:00.000-08:00

original watercolor and ink illustration

Oh, green bean casserole, I don't believe I ever ate you growing up. My parents are vehemently anti-mushroom, though I doubt there is more than a teaspoon of actual mushrooms in the Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup. Fried onions aren't bad though.

Day 327

2010-11-24T11:50:00.000-08:00

original watercolor and ink illustration

Diagram of canned cranberry sauce - the only kind we ever had growing up. We ate A LOT of this, chilled, splooshed from the can, and elegantly sliced into can-shaped rings. Yes, the fresh stuff can be awesome, but nothing beats this on the leftovers sandwiches.

Day 326

2010-11-24T11:43:00.000-08:00

original watercolor and ink illustration

Hand Turkey Butchery!

Little known fact about the hand turkey - it's mostly giblets.

Day 323

2010-11-22T21:42:00.000-08:00

The real deal Merry Carnitas holiday card. Maybe you don't celebrate Christmas, but you can always celebrate Carnitas.

Swapped in a cream background for a more festive look!

Expect packs of these meaty cards in the next few weeks in the old shop.

Day 322

2010-11-18T12:52:00.000-08:00

original watercolor and ink illustration

Hot Buttered Rum.

If you think too long about it, it might be disgusting. Hot butter and rum? I've actually never had one but have been dying to try since I heard the one at Smuggler's Cove described as "cookie dough melted into rum" That sounds far more appealing.

Day 321

2010-11-17T12:43:00.000-08:00

original gouache illustration

The holiday pigs keep coming today with "Hammy Holidays."

I was going to put the antlers on an actual ham, but the this little guy was crying out for some horns. This should be a holiday card, perhaps sold in a set with the "Merry Carnitas"?

Day 320

2010-11-16T17:29:00.000-08:00

original watercolor and ink illustration, with digital background

Glogg, gluevein, mulled wine, vin chaud it's all basically the same spiced warm wine.

Yes, I know it's festive, and yes, I've imbibed, but honestly, it's a little gross. I mean, just typing the words "warm wine" kind of grosses me out. But the idea is romantic and nostalgic and festive. So I meat section-ed it. so there.

Day 319

2010-11-15T13:56:00.000-08:00

This little piggie got into the holiday spirit. He will be made into some seriously awesome holiday cards for all the carnitas lovers out there.

Day 315

2010-11-11T17:13:00.000-08:00

original ink drawing, digitally colored.

Eggnog. Guilty holiday pleasure, fatty dessert masquerading as cocktail.

Day 312

2010-11-09T09:48:00.000-08:00

original chalkboard drawing.

I did another version for this pig for my business cards, but this one will be available for sale during my holiday shows this December. It's sprayed with a fixative, so that the chalk doesn't move. It's awesome.

Day 311*

2010-11-07T19:37:00.000-08:00

Seattle Eats Local Poster, available in the shop

The much-anticipated follow-up (at least in my mind) to San Francisco is for Carnivores, I'm super psyched to announce the "Seattle Eats Local" poster!!

It is a hand-drawn map of Seattle neighborhoods in the form of Seattle's most local of foods, the chinook salmon. In addition to the neighborhoods, there are some salmon parts diagrammed, like dorsal fin, head, belly, jowl (ahem...) etc.

yes, freaking awesome.

I've spent a little bit of time in Seattle, traveling for work in my old government job, and was always impressed with how authentic and delicious the food there was. Most of the restaurants really took pride in showcasing foods local to the Seattle area, Washington, and the Pacific Northwest in general. Hence, the title of this poster.

Hope the Seattle-ites love it.

*(really days 287 through 311. There's a ton of freaking neighborhoods in Seattle, people!)

Pssssst..... the tastiest pig part shirts are available!

2010-11-03T17:29:00.000-07:00

Yep, I just put a very limited number of the tastiest pig part shirts in my shop, here. There's only about 13 up, and that will be it for the next few weeks anyways. So if you want one, grab it. And shake it. Shake that healthy....um. I'll stop.

Day 287

2010-10-14T09:18:00.000-07:00

Original gouache on wood painting

Silhouette Meat Sections. Boom.

I created this one as a birthday gift (name has been removed to protect the innocent...), featuring various personality traits as the meat sections of the recipient's silhouette.

I think it turned out pretty damn awesome. Maybe I'll start to offer these as custom gifts...

day 286

2010-10-13T10:02:00.000-07:00

Chalkboard pig butchery diagram....

not only is it Day 286 of MEAT SECTIONS, it is also the front of my new business cards!

woot.

Day 285

2010-10-12T11:53:00.000-07:00

1980's robot meat sections.

They can't all be winning ideas.....

Day 284

2010-10-11T16:39:00.000-07:00

Mmmmm... Berliner Weisse beer with Woodruff Syrup.

This style of German beer is low alcohol, slightly sour, and delicious. I first became aware of it when my mom, who was visiting Germany, called me to tell me she finally liked beer. This from a woman who rarely drinks and when she does, drinks sweet Riesling. The secret behind her new-found taste for beer was the bright green sweet woodruff syrup, which Germans add to the Berliner Weisse to cut the acidity. It turns the beer a pleasant green shade (I mean, if you don't overdo it) and sweetens it with a kind of herby marshmallow flavor. It's freaking delicious.

For an Oktoberfest dinner this past weekend, a friend managed to track down Woodruff syrup at Plump Jack. It can also be found pumped into Dogfish Head Festina Peche at Toronado bar, or into Berliner Weiss at Suppenkuche (though my mom complained they didn't add enough there...

Completely refreshing and ideal for this amazing Indian summer we're getting in SF!

Day 283

2010-10-10T10:23:00.000-07:00

A little fishie butchery chart for an upcoming project, which will be AWESOME.

day 282

2010-10-09T10:01:00.000-07:00

Another take on the old fashioned.

Original ink illustration

Day 281

2010-10-08T16:47:00.000-07:00

Original watercolor and ink illustration

Get it right, bartender. No orange slices or maraschino cherries in my old fashioned.

Just bourbon, bitters, touch of sugar and a lemon rind. and scene.

OK. Now I have an overwhelming desire to visit The Alembic...

Day 280

2010-10-07T11:50:00.000-07:00

Day 279

2010-10-06T15:34:00.001-07:00

Day 278

2010-10-05T09:01:00.000-07:00

Back from Philly, and yes, the first thing I ate there was a cheesesteak. Pat's cheesesteak, to be specific, "wit whiz." My dad scooted over to Geno's, where they DO slop more cheese whiz onto your sandwich, but whose meat is inferior to Pat's, in my opinion. But there were seriously both delicious.

September? More like Wrecktember.

2010-10-05T08:56:00.000-07:00

Yeah, so September was kind of crazy busy. Which is awesome. But that also meant a dearth of meaty sections. Or at least POSTING meat sections.

Because really, I've been busy cooking up (or, uh, butchering up?) some cool stuff for the holidays, and getting back on track with the meat sections.

So I am declaring meat sections bankruptcy, and starting fresh today. I still have a goal of 365 meat sections by the end of 2010. There will just be some backsies.

Day 236

2010-09-29T12:45:00.000-07:00

New and improved, americano meat. The other one was lame.

Day 235

2010-09-27T08:50:00.000-07:00

original zombie illustration.

Hat tip to my friend Kirk, who had this idea way back in the early months of 2010. Kirk likes zombies. He even wrote a play about them.

Day 234

2010-09-26T21:08:00.000-07:00

A little piggie icon, for the brand spanking new Drywell Art website.

so psyched to have all my disparate web bases in one place! So glad I finally upgraded to a mac, and could design this bad boy with iweb.

Day 233

2010-09-23T13:26:00.000-07:00

Diagram of a cannolo (I do believe this is the singular of cannoli....)

Original watercolor and ink illustration.

I had no idea that marsala wine was involved in making the cannoli shells!

And now I have an unbearable craving for cannoli. And I don't think there are any good ones in SF.

Day 232

2010-09-22T19:05:00.000-07:00

I got fancy today. Vanilla. Crazy, right?

Day 231

2010-09-21T16:30:00.000-07:00

Diagram of my afternoon latte, from Boulange de Cole.

Day 230

2010-09-21T16:25:00.000-07:00

Really f'ing good tshirts!!!

The ever-popular "tastiest pig part" diagram, now on a T-shirt. I screenprinted about 35 of these guys last Friday, with absolutely necessary help from my sweatshop crew, Steve and Kimra.

They had a successful debut at Indie Mart, and I should be getting them up in my shop once I figure out shipping costs. Hooray!

Day 229

2010-09-21T16:13:00.000-07:00

Special request for hot chocolate layers in a cup.

I remember a homemade hot chocolate loving made for me one morning. I think there was about a full bar of valhrona chocolate melted for 2 cups. Sweet gesture, but man, it was a little rich for 9am.

Day 228

2010-09-15T15:31:00.000-07:00

original watercolor and ink illustration

Cupcake meat: Sweetest of all the meats. Especially the Hostess ones.....

Day 227

2010-09-15T10:39:00.000-07:00

available as 8x10 print HERE

Butchery of Neapolitan pizza.

Note the double zero flour, san marzano tomato and buffalo mozz. I guess there should be some olive oil on top too....

And TOTALLY unrelated, I'm dying to try Anthony Mangieri's new pizza place in SF - Una Pizza Napoletana.

Indie Mart. BOOM.

2010-09-14T13:09:00.000-07:00

It's that time again! I'm furiously and happily working on some new goodies for this Sunday's Indie Mart. There will be new prints, a new poster, and good god I hope some Tshirts. MEATY Tshirts. It's going to be awesome.

If you're in the city, stop on by and say hi. Oh, and get some ridiculously good tater tots too.

Sunday, September 19
12-6pm, with an AFTERPARTY (!) 6 to 8pm
Thee Parkside, 17th and Wisconsin
$3 to enter.

Day 226

2010-09-13T09:20:00.000-07:00

original pen illustration.

cute pig butchery chart, with little stripes. Doodled this guy at Cafe Reverie in Cole Valley.

day 225

2010-09-13T09:19:00.000-07:00

Original pen illustration on newsprint.

This started out as a blind contour drawing of a cow butchery chart, but adding the cuts of beef labels proved a tad too challenging. So I looked at the paper for those....

Day 224

2010-09-09T21:30:00.000-07:00

More GobbaGobbaHey awesomeness.

Diagram of Coconut gob with ube frosting. Inspired by GobbaGobbaHey.

Get these badboys @ Off The Grid in SF.

Ube is a purple yam, btw. :)

Day 223

2010-09-08T15:29:00.001-07:00

A little sketch I did of celery butchery.

gotta love those leaves.

day 222

2010-09-07T16:33:00.001-07:00

Meat Section of the "Sunrise" - an all-in-one breakfast drink of champions.

And in case you haven't figured it out yet, this is part two of "Meat Sections Brainstorming While Drunk."

Day 221

2010-09-07T15:43:00.000-07:00

Diagram of a "Sugar Bomb" espresso drink. The sweetest imaginary drink in the world.

This might be part one in a series I'd like to call "Meat Sections Brainstorming While Drunk." I think that explains everything.

Day 220 - Welcome Thrillist Awesome People!

2010-09-02T11:26:00.000-07:00

I have a feeling there are a lot of new eyeballs on MEAT SECTIONS, as Thrillist ran an awesomesauce write up of my little art shop, drywell...art by alyson, today.

So welcome to all the "sent-by-Thrillist" folks! Hope your eyeballs like it.

If you're interested in a piece of MEAT for yourself, many are available for sale at my etsy shop. If you find anything else you like on my site, just email me and I can make it into a print, just for you! Easy.

Day 219

2010-08-30T17:26:00.002-07:00

Original watercolor and ink illustration, digital background.

Inside an amazing beer, Autumn Maple, by The Bruery out of Orange County, CA.

Positively packed with roasted yams and all sorts of other autumnal delights.

This badboy is gracing the homepage of The Bruery. Check it out.

Day 218

2010-08-30T10:01:00.000-07:00

Original watercolor and ink illustration.

The [double classic] when you just need more espresso.

Day 217

2010-08-30T09:57:00.000-07:00

The classic.

Inside an espresso.

Day 216

2010-08-25T11:21:00.000-07:00

Inside a white mocha.

When a normal mocha just isn't enough.

Original watercolor and ink illustration

Day 215

2010-08-24T09:45:00.000-07:00

Original watercolor and ink illustration, 5.5 x 5.5

Inside a "False Start"

Thanks to my pal Mike, whose past stint as a barista provided him with the knowledge of this decaf counterpart to the depth charge.

Given my recent shake up with caffeine, this may be a drink I'd order. I'd feel super lame, but at least my heart wouldn't burst out of my chest.

Day 214

2010-08-23T08:17:00.000-07:00

This one wins my "Favorite Espresso Drink Name" award.

Depth charge, aka shot in the dark, red eye, bulls eye, black eye, or dead eye, is there for you when just espresso or coffee alone won't cut it.

Day 213

2010-08-22T11:52:00.001-07:00

Inside a cafe cortado.

This was my drink of choice in Spain, although in Barcelona, it was a "tallat" in Catalan.

This NY Times post on Cortados and Gibraltars (the latter popularized by Blue Bottle here in SF) is a pretty interesting read. Lots of coffee nerds pissed about the Gibraltar.

(Thanks to the always awesome CoffeeBar for the inspiration and NY Times link! They'll make your cortado with turbinado or muscavado sugar too!)

Day 212

2010-08-21T20:55:00.000-07:00

Hands down, my favorite.

Inside a Vietnamese coffee. Don't skimp on the sweetened condensed milk.

Day 211

2010-08-21T20:51:00.000-07:00

Inside a cafe breve.

Order one when full fat milk just isn't fatty enough for you.

(I erroneously omitted the foamy foam on this one....I'll correct it if I ever do a full "Inside your espresso drink" series poster)

Day 210

2010-08-19T11:11:00.000-07:00

Inside a cafe corretto.

If you haven't had this espresso concoction, you've been missing out. In Italy, I believe the default is typically grappa, but I always prefer sambuca, the tasty anise liquor.

I remember one particularly harrowing drive through the mountains outside of Florence, where we had to bypass a closed tunnel to get home. It was late and there were definitely no guardrails on the mostly one-way mountain road. I immediately ordered a cafe corretto as soon as we made it down the mountain.

Day 209

2010-08-19T10:45:00.000-07:00

Inside a mocha, the most decadent of the espresso drink ... except for maybe my next diagram.

Day 208

2010-08-18T20:37:00.001-07:00

Inside an americano.

I admit, I've never had an americano. I guess if that's the flavor I'm going for, I'd rather have coffee than espresso. But I see lots of folks order them. ... maybe I should try.

Day 207

2010-08-18T20:35:00.000-07:00

original watercolor and ink illustration, with digital coloring