Cooking and painting share similar sensory expressions. Both take planning, preparation and practice, says Brenda Erickson, author of “Kitchen Memories,” a self-published, illustrated cookbook of recipes from her relatives, friends, neighbors and client commissions.

A retired dental hygienist, Erickson paints watercolors of favorite recipes or sometimes just someone’s favorite food.

She and her husband, Robert, lived in town from 1987 to 2003 to be close to his family. While here, she worked for dentists Marty Brown, Paul Kolwaite and Dana Weinreich. The couple returned to Round Pond, Maine, when she retired and now spend five months here as seasonal residents.

She began “dabbling,” as she describes the activity of illustrating recipes in pen and ink when she returned to Maine. She enrolled in watercolor art classes where the objects always were Maine lighthouses, coastal seascapes and boats.

“I discovered that I really enjoyed still life and began experimenting with painting fruits and vegetables which turned into the illustration of recipes,” she said.

She recalls cooking with her mother as a young child, starting with the usual cookies and cakes. She remembers the smiles in the kitchen as relatives made final preparations for holiday meals and the accolades when a delicious meal was served.

Fond memories and family stories become an integral part of her art. When she illustrates a recipe for a client, she attempts to recreate the bowl in which the dough was mixed, uses the exact ingredients, such as brand of flour used in the recipe, or the bread board where the loaf cools before sliced and eaten.

One of her first commissioned recipes, and included in the book, was pierogi. Erickson was unfamiliar with the Polish dumplings so she had to research their appearance. She estimates she has painted 250 recipes in the last 15 years.

The original finished 11- by 14-inch matted, framed recipe is $395, plus tax and shipping. She will provide additional 8- by 10-inch framed copies for $35 each as gifts to relatives and friends.

Clients are asked for permission for Erickson to reprint the recipe and relate family memories.

One of the strangest recipes she has painted was one from her own family, Brewis, a Newfoundland recipe prepared by her great-grandmother Rachel, who at 12 years old cooked on a fishing boat.

“It’s made with salt cod, potatoes, hard tack and salt pork. Cherished by my family, I don’t think I’ve ever sold a print,” she told a Maine newspaper columnist.

Gridleys of Fountain Hills sells “Kitchen Memories.” Erickson also can be contacted at 207-529-5367 or Brenda@recipepaintings.com.