‘What garlic is to salad, insanity is to art.’
Augustus Saint-Gaudens, American sculptor [1848-1907]
It was seeing this quote in an iPhone app that inspired Garlic is for Heroes, which I created with a photograph from Wikimedia and a texture overlay from, yes, 2 Lil’ Owls. It was an interesting reversal of my usual method where a visual idea comes first. I was so taken with the quote, I had to do something with garlic!
Augustus Saint-Gaudens by De Witt C. Ward via Wikimedia Commons.
Saint-Gaudens, of whom I had not previously heard, was a sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who is said to have embodied the ideals of the ‘American Renaissance’. Wikipedia
I have taken my title from another quote, this time one by our old friend Anonymous who once said, “Shallots are for babies; onions are for men; garlic is for heroes.” Foodreference.com
Take care and keep laughing!
![Artful Pumpkins © Sarah Vernon [Redbubble]](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/hl008blog.jpg?w=159&h=159&crop=1 "Artful Pumpkins © Sarah Vernon [Redbubble]")
![Butterfly Cascade © Sarah Vernon [Crated]](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/e250blog1.jpg?w=159&h=159&crop=1 "Butterfly Cascade © Sarah Vernon [Crated]")
![Photo Unsplash Texture - 2LO Haunting 14 & 2LO Haunting 23 - “2 Lil’ Owls”:http://2lilowls.com. Original & vintage art © First Night Design [www.firstnightdesign.wordpress.com]](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/e285blog.jpg?w=159&h=159&crop=1 "Night Landings © Sarah Vernon")
![Original & vintage art © First Night Design [www.firstnightdesign.wordpress.com] Vintage Henry Irving and Ellen Terry as Beatrice and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing from The Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/97514042/ The background is a blend of the interior of The Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace in 1851 from an old encyclopaedia — the venue was originally built in Hyde Park and the exhibition was organised by Prince Albert and Henry Cole — and textures from “2 Lil’ Owls”:http://2lilowls.com. http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/g/great-exhibition/](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/e284blog.jpg?w=159&h=159&crop=1 "Beatrice and Benedick")
![Photograph from the ex-Mrs FND Photograph from Unsplash Texture 2LO Ancient times 2 Clock created for Behind Time Original & vintage art © First Night Design [www.firstnightdesign.wordpress.com]](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/e353blog.jpg?w=159&h=159&crop=1 "Beating the Blues")
![Original & vintage art © First Night Design [www.firstnightdesign.wordpress.com]](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/e221blog.jpg?w=159&h=159&crop=1 "Bring up the Curtain")
![Venetian Rose Water © Sarah Vernon [Crated]](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/e257blog1.jpg?w=159&h=159&crop=1 "Venetian Rose Water © Sarah Vernon [Crated]")
![The Boat House Tote Bag © Sarah Vernon [Fine Art England]](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/totebagfae.jpg?w=159&h=159&crop=1 "totebagfae")
![Gabrielle d'Estrees and one of her sisters [unknown]](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/ma015frame.jpg?w=159&h=159&crop=1 "ma015frame")
![Bird on the Beam © Sarah Vernon [Crated]](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/e254blog.jpg?w=159&h=159&crop=1 "Bird on the Beam © Sarah Vernon [Crated]")
![Original & vintage art © First Night Design [www.firstnightdesign.wordpress.com] Green-painted fence https://unsplash.com/photos/FxeeNx_yMpw Lake Annecy by Mindy Sommers Celestial Eruption by eberhard grossgasteiger on Unsplash https://unsplash.com/photos/NvesrDbsrL4](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/v057fb.jpg?w=159&h=159&crop=1 "Valentine Blush")
![Romance in Stone [framed] © Sarah Vernon](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/romanceinstoneframed.jpg?w=159&h=159&crop=1 "romanceinstoneframed")
![Original & vintage art © First Night Design [www.firstnightdesign.wordpress.com]](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/photorehabcovermakeoveraugust.jpg?w=159&h=159&crop=1 "#photorehabcovermakeoverAugust")
![Butterflies from China, Japan, and Corea: “Biodiversity Library”:http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/45490916 Texture: “Kerstin Frank”:https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerstinfrank-design/9181048645/in/photostream/ Flowers: “Rijksmuseum”:https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/my/collections/150967--sarah-vernon/mijn-eerste-verzameling/objecten#/SK-A-3899,0 Original & vintage art © First Night Design [www.firstnightdesign.wordpress.com]](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/e309blog.jpg?w=159&h=159&crop=1 "‘Happiness is a Butterfly’")
![Yacht: https://www.flickr.com/photos/zakhark/572331622/in/faves-83665426@N05/ Texture: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kerstinfrank-design/19581317079/in/faves-83665426@N05/ Original & vintage art © First Night Design [www.firstnightdesign.wordpress.com]](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/e303blog.jpg?w=159&h=159&crop=1 "Sailing to the Moon")
![Original & vintage art © First Night Design [www.firstnightdesign.wordpress.com]](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/ma077blog.jpg?w=159&h=159&crop=1 "The Meeting of Antony and Cleopatra - Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (")
![Original & vintage art © First Night Design [www.firstnightdesign.wordpress.com] Advert from The Graphics Fairy](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/e286blog.jpg?w=159&h=159&crop=1 "Vintage Pettit’s Eye Salve")
![Original & vintage art © First Night Design [www.firstnightdesign.wordpress.com] Photograph by “Nicolai Bernsten”:DJ;KGH; at “Unsplash”:http://unsplash.com Textures “2LO Confetti 17 and 2LO Distressed 12 from”:http://2lilowls.com](https://firstnightdesign.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/e289blog.jpg?w=159&h=159&crop=1 "The Boat House")
15 comments
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22/01/2018 at 17:33
Cynthia Reyes
Love this post, Sarah. Congrats on your gorgeous design.
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22/01/2018 at 18:06
First Night Design
Thank you, Cynthia!
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14/01/2018 at 00:15
First Night Design
Reblogged this on First Night Design and commented:
I’m considering my own version of ‘Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell’, as printed in The Spectator whenever the late journalist had been rather too drunk or hungover to write his Low Life column. Mine will have to be shorthand for truly being unwell rather than drunk (I say this while slurping a Bailey’s at ten past midnight)! In the meantime, nothing new has been diagnosed and no new art created to display. This is one from the past that I’m very fond off.
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12/08/2014 at 12:45
Sherry Key, Artist
It should be “a garlic pod a day helps keep the doctor away.”
(-: Lovely work of art!
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12/08/2014 at 16:56
First Night Design
Bless yer, Sherry
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12/08/2014 at 11:08
Peter Wells aka Countingducks
OK, I love the quote too, and it got my mind ” a buzzin”, Is a Garlic Salad the thing to feed to a surprise party of Russian gangsters who arrive unannounced at your house for a supper party, or would the flavours make them reach for their weapons? As always, a great and imaginative image
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12/08/2014 at 16:54
First Night Design
Thank you, Peter, and I suggest you should do some detailed research as the story sounds intriguing and amusing! As always.
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12/08/2014 at 10:52
olganm
Love the image and the quote!
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12/08/2014 at 16:53
First Night Design
Thank you!
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12/08/2014 at 09:18
janetweightreed10
yes indeed…love the image:)
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12/08/2014 at 16:52
First Night Design
Much thanks, Janet.
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12/08/2014 at 08:57
janemorley2014
Garlic – one of life’s essentials!
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12/08/2014 at 16:48
First Night Design
Sure is!
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12/08/2014 at 00:17
Lottie Nevin
I don’t think that I could live without garlic. I eat at least one entire bulb a day. Ok, who wants to snog me now??! 😉
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12/08/2014 at 16:47
First Night Design
I’m ready for my snog, Puffin!
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