Uhhh...what did she just say??

Oh my...this is good for a laugh again and again and again.

Out of the funk

This weekend went by in a flash! I got a haircut, made a cheesecake, went to the pool, went to the gym - because I ate a lot of the cheesecake - and still managed to complete a few pieces.

I've been at a standstill for a few weeks and I finally broke out of the funk. I went back to my older style and tried not to be as painterly. I experimented and was pretty happy about the results.

This piece is called "Flight". It's a vintage photograph of a single seagull. I've never used such heavily textured paper before, but I liked the overall effect once I painted over it.

This was another piece that is simple yet bright and colorful. I love the picture and they way the little girl is looking away from the person that is holding her hand.

This was more of an experiment with color than anything else. If you are having a hard time making out the photo, it is a girl on a swing. All three of the above photos were found on eBay. Quite a score.

Chris and I went to the Humane Society auction on Friday night. I donated two pieces and together they raised $120 for the very worthwhile charity. I do have to admit that Margaret and Kara bought the pieces. I'm not sure if they were just doing me a favor to save me from embarrassment, but it's all for a good cause!

Big Girl Dreams

I completed this piece over the weekend. It's actually a 12x12 piece so the scan cuts off the sides in the image above. It's called Big Girl Dreams. A pretty personal work for me, but I'll leave it up to your own interpretation. I can't reveal everything!

Chris and I set up my brand new art fair tent on a very humid Sunday afternoon. It is FANCY! Clean, crisp and very white. I hope it is worth the splurge when I sell out at my next few shows. Ha!

So I will continue to crank away at piece to display in my new fancy tent and will continue to post them here. Check back!

Somebody stop me

Seriously...I need to go to Birds Anonymous or something like that. I'm obsessed with them. I just bought two antique bird books last week, so the madness is likely to continue. Beware...

I also found a cool little tool at a craft store that leaves a dotted trace when you trace the wheel on the wax paper. The effect is really neat. Not sure what the tool is called, but I think it's something that quilter's use for patterns.

I was asked to donate a piece to Humane Society fundraising event being held next weekend at the Uptown. I did this piece tonight, but it's small and simple. The colors don't look as great on the computer as they do in person. I'm nervous about it. I'm considering doing another one just because I will be in attendance at the auction. When nobody bids on it then poor Chris will end up having to pony up the minimum bid just to save face. Maybe I will go in disguise.

I'm looking forward to taking some time off from commissions and donated auction items and just working on inventory for Village Pointe. If anyone will be in Omaha between September 14 and 16, stop by lucky booth #13.

As you know, I took Friday off. I spent way too much time at River Market Antiques shopping for antique books to use in the artwork rather than actually working on my art. Dang! I have so much to do before the Omaha show. At this point I have 38 pieces. I'd like to take at least 70. Here are a few I've completed recently.

Nest

Quite a Pair

The Simplest Solution

A commission that I just completed tonight for a 60th birthday present. I thought it turned out OK.

Keep checking back as I will be posting art more regularly. Feel free to leave comments if you have any thoughts or suggestions for me!

Fellow Jayhawk

I'm obsessed with checking Design*Sponge to see what artists they are profiling each day. Yesterday, Heather Smith Jones was featured. I LOVED her work, so I clicked through to her web site. Turns out she is a fellow Jayhawk and is living in Lawrence. Check it out.

We are heading to Lawrence tomorrow to see some friends and go on a mini-Lawrence pub crawl. Too bad "those pesky college kids" are back in town. Oh well, we'll still kick back a schooner or two for sure. We are not staying the night there though. Chris is the DD. As I told Caitlin, nothing good ever comes of Chris being in Lawrence for a night of drinking. As a matter of fact, I can't remember a time when he didn't set his sights on a 3 a.m. Burrito King stop. If I won't drive him then he will try to walk - no matter where we are in the city - to "the king". It's never a good idea the next morning, but he always insists and I usually cave. Ugh.

Busy weekend

It was a busy weekend with work...real work, not putz-in-the-"studio"-while-having-fun-work. Oh well. I plan to take Friday off to make up for it.

I received another commission this week for a 60th birthday present from the nicest couple just a few blocks from our house. I think I'm going to really enjoy this one because it's for a man and almost everything I create seem to be rather girlish.

I hesitate to publish some of the commissions I've created lately just in case the recipients are blog readers. I doubt it, but you never know.

Here are a few pieces that I did a few weekends back.



These images have no birds in them, but Lisa and I were remarking that nearly everything we buy on Etsy has birds in it. This shop is even called urbanbird and I love everything in it! We agreed that neither of us really like real birds, so why the fascination with them? They are everywhere. I've purchased three things on Etsy with birds and I just bought a pillow with a bird from Urban Bazaar.

What is the next big motif going to be? It's funny how you see things pop up and then suddenly it's everywhere. I was into butterflies, then dragonflies. That is SO yesterday. I've seen lots of deer lately. Owls? Brocade? Skulls? What's the next big thing because I'm sure to fall for it.

Brownstone Bride

Did you all hear about this story? For some reason I'm so intrigued by it...

The women pictured above was found sleeping on the ledge of a brownstone in Brooklyn. She was wearing a wedding dress and her head was resting on a teddy bear backpack. Inside was a diamond ring in a Tiffany blue box. When the police came, she spoke no English or Spanish. The only sound she made was when the officer tried to take the box and she shrieked.

The picture looks like something out of a bride magazine. I wondered if it was some sort of performance art or this woman was mentally ill...

Here is some more scoop and, finally, the update.