Pinks

I don't know if there will ever be enough time for me to paint as much as I'd like (because painting is, essentially, a black hole of time in that I plan to spend an hour or two doing it, then reemerge, paint-covered, five hours later wondering where all the time went), but I have been sneaking in a couple hours here and there to work on a few things.  It seems I'm drawn to pinks lately, and although I don't really plan it, that just seems to be the predominant color.  I'm okay with it.

'Over It' - Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

'21 and 22' - Acrylic Palette Knife Painting on Watercolor Paper

These prints will be listed in my art shop in the coming days, and in the meantime, I have another painting in the works, and several other ideas I hope to get down soon (before I lose them).

*Interior design images from Pinterest.

National Portrait Gallery

One of the perks of having friends in a large city is avoiding touristy places and being introduced to new and interesting things you may not discover on your own; still, every now and then it's fun to just be a tourist and visit the popular attractions!  On a recent trip to DC for our good friends' wedding, we all decided to visit the National Portrait Gallery to see the Mingering Mike exhibit (very amusing), and we ended up staying for several hours.  I took about a billion pictures, but it's impossible not to when you're surrounded by such beautiful art.

If you find yourself in Washington, D.C. with several hours to kill, I strongly recommend a visit!  DC is only about 3 hours from me, which is perfect for a weekend trip, but a little bit of a drive just to visit a gallery for an evening, so when I just now discovered that an Elaine de Kooning exhibit was opening this Friday, I just about cried thinking I would miss it.  Although, in my defense, the near-cry could just be a by-product of these pregnancy hormones.

See it in a room.

I can't remember if I posted about it on my blog or not, but (I have no doubt those who follow me on instagram or facebook got sick of hearing about it) I had an art opening/reception (whichever makes it sound most legit) at my friend's shop back in October; because my paintings would be hanging for the entire month, I had to get in serious painter mode and finish a few more so my wall didn't look so bare.  Here are a few of the newest paintings, in rooms...

All more-photo-worthy-than-my-rooms rooms via Pinterest.  Paintings from the top: Self Portrait // New York // Doris // Goodbye // Golden Years // Red Lion

See it in a room.

I always feel like I've been painting a ton of new things, but then when I sit down and look at what I've actually done, it's not quite so much!  I have so many ideas brewing for new paintings, and I know they'll be put on canvas in time.  Actually, they kind of need to be started soon because I'm going to be the featured artist at my friend Jeff's First Friday event (the first Friday of each month he has an art show at his shop), so if you're in the Lynchburg, VA area on October 4th, come visit me!  Until then, here are a few new paintings I've finished...

From the top: All the Cool Kids, Grandpa Cardigan, Das Ist Nicht OK, Unwanted original

Lately I've been feeling like I should probably sell of some originals, but it must be the hoarder in me that reminds myself of how sad I get when I do sell an original; it's kind of like packing your kid up and sending them to live with someone else, knowing you'll never see them again.  Okay, maybe that's a little dramatic, but it's totally like sending off your favorite pair of shoes that go with EVERYTHING, and knowing you'll ever own a pair like them again.  Anyway, I did list two originals in my shop.  There may be more, and there may not...

Art you need.

What's hanging on your walls right now?  UNLESS YOU SAY ICEFLOE PHOTOGRAPHY, FORGET IT!  I was hoping to convey a threatening tone; do you think it worked?  Anyway, I'm a huge fan of Dianne Tanner's photography and the soft, dreamy quality of her subjects captured on film.  Some of my favorites include...

I'm lucky enough to have this one and this one grace my walls, and I'm thinking I'm really going to need to go ahead and add the Skullz print to my collection.

Find the prints above here: 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5

See it in a room.

I don't know about you, but sometimes I can get a much better idea of what art sold online looks like by either seeing it in a frame or seeing it in a room.  And again, I don't know about you, but I could look at interior design inspiration for days on end without ever realizing how much time has passed.  So why then wouldn't I combine art and inspiration?  I did some pinterest browsing and found some rooms that inspire me to show what some of my new paintings would look like...

Artwork can be found here (from the top): The Smallest Oceans print, Nature Lover print, I Picked You Something print, Donkey In A Blanket print.
Images of rooms found on pinterest: 1 // 2 // 3 // 4
And here is some exciting news:  I'M GOING TO BE SELLING POSTER SIZE PRINTS (like the donkey picture above)!  I don't have them listed yet, but if you want a certain print made into a poster, let me know!

And last but not least, I'm selling some originals.  Honestly, I don't want to have so much of my own art in my house because that would just be weird, and although you may not think so (I know I didn't), it takes up a lot of room.  So, I'm parting with a few (above) and will have a few more originals for sale in the coming weeks!

Oh wait, there is one more thing.  I'M GOING TO RENEGADE BROOKLYN IN JUNE!  I'm super excited.

Black and Roses

Lately I've been painting, and I've had a lot of ideas.  Well, I usually have a lot of ideas, but lately they've been a little more focused which is always nice, because sometimes I feel like they're so varied, it's what my marine dad would refer to as a cluster-eff-you-sea-kay.  I seem to have roses and flowers on the brain, and here's a little bit of what I've been working on...

They're all currently available as prints in my art shop, and I'm having a little sale as well because I've got way too many prints on my hands.  Just enter the code BLOGREADER20 during checkout for 20% off everything in my shop!

I haven't been working on mint, but don't you just love it?!  It's time to replant this mint that's been in my kitchen window, and unfortunately it's going to have to go in a pot that's to big to fit.  Aside from smelling it or adding it to tea, what do you use it in?  And can you juice mint?

The Most Dangerous Game

Forget what you may have heard, the most dangerous game is not just the title of a book, but more importantly, it's how I like to refer to browsing my Etsy favorites; specifically when my blood thirsty e-shopping appetite is not met or exceeded by the size of my wallet.  So here's to hoping you'll talk me off a proverbial cliff because I really want these...

Find these beauties here (from the top): Olas Attic, EvieOlu, CeramicSoul, Elis Cooke, Ordinary Mommy, patkas, Amy Robson Jewellery, Cathy Cullis, One Forty Three

What are some things you've been wanting lately, and do you have the willpower to simply window shop?

I hope you guys have a good weekend!  Tonight I'll be in the company of six other women for dinner and dancing and I'm sure a good time in honor of my friend Kristin's birthday!  I'm sure I'll be sleeping in pretty late on Saturday morning (assuming Flojo will allow it)...

Lately...

Lately I've been thinking about my blog, but not actually doing anything with it.  I haven't been inspired to post anything lately, and honestly, I've been living life more lately rather than stressing over what I should post, when I should post, and how many people will read it.  I have to be honest, it's been refreshing.  Hannah and I had an almost 4 hour lunch yesterday during which we talked about how with instagram, twitter, facebook, etc., you almost don't need to blog anymore because people can keep up with you in real time.  It's so true.

I've been working on getting some new prints made, and with new prints comes more to organize (and I'm kind of running out of room with my current system).  I can't quite explain why making new prints gets me so giddy, BUT IT DOES!  Also, just a little FYI if you're in the market for new art, I'm having a 20% off sale on ALL 8.5"x11" and 11"x17" prints in my shop this week if you use the code FEBRUARY20 during checkout!

Also, speaking of Hannah, she made this to do notebook, as if she knew exactly how bad I am at time management and procrastination.  From now on I vow to keep this either by my laptop (where I tend to make most of my notes that end up getting lost) or in my bag so I have no excuse not to get work done!  Oh, and check out her shop, she makes really pretty cards, notebooks, and paper goods.

I know I've shared a picture before of Flojo leaning headfirst into a jar of peanut butter, but I don't think I've ever tried to explain just how much she LOVES granola.  Chris made two batches of granola yesterday (amazing man, right?) and it didn't go unnoticed.  When Flojo eats something she thoroughly enjoys, she tends to quietly talk and squeak while she eats.  It's always cute, and if you can imagine it, it's even cuter when it's echoed as she's talking and eating with her head inside a glass cookie jar filled with granola!

And man were my arms tired...

Last week I finally, FINALLY got to work on some tote bags for my shop that I'd been planning to get made for the last two months!  I have several new projects that I'm excited to work on, but I guess planning things or buying supplies right around Christmas isn't the smartest idea because of how busy a time it is.  So here are the two I got made so far, but I have several more in the works...

I think the skull with roses (Mr. Horticulture) tote is my favorite.  The crows look better in real life than they do in the picture, but thanks to the never-ending rain we've been getting I haven't had a chance to take new pictures of it.  Another thing about rain, I wish every drop of it was snow instead!  So back to the bags and to explain the title, my arms get really sore when I make these.  They aren't screenprinted, but instead I use a chemical transfer process so the images are pulled by hand.  It means a lot of elbow grease and, hopefully, some nice toned arms.  I'll let you know how that goes...

This has absolutely nothing to do with tote bags, but remember a few weeks ago when I shared a picture of a total babe and said that because of her hair I made an appointment to get bangs?  Well, as it turns out, I wasn't brave enough to go that bang-y this early in the game, so I don't have babe hair.  BUT, I did get longer bangs, so I may work my courage up!  I guess that's not really important, but I just figured I'd share.  What's been going on in your life?

how was your weekend?

our weekend was busy but awesome.  a huge, and i mean HUGE, group of people surprised my pop with a retirement party on saturday night.  we ate, we laughed, we talked about him buying a motor home so we can road trip to san francisco, and i dank my new favorite drink - angry orchard traditional dry hard cider.  yum.  but i didn't really take pictures until sunday, and even then i hardly took any.

we started off our morning (really early) with a visit to chris' aunt & uncle's dragonfly ridge and had brunch, art talk, then did some hiking to work it off.  we also had a chipmunk spy watch us eat.  after that we went to the firefish gallery to pick up the watercolor portrait i did of carrie & simon to show in the project perry art show and auction.  it's the first time anything i've painted has been in a gallery, so i was both excited and nervous!  after we picked it up we went to a pretty park to drink coffee (chris) and lemonade (me) and eat snacks, and because it was so pretty, i told chris that i wanted him to take outfit pictures of me.  you won't see those because they never happened.  a local outreach was giving out bowls of chili to the needy and homeless in the park, so obiously i'd feel a little weird standing there like an idiot having my picture taken eleventy billion times.  maybe next time!  then we had dinner and laughs with some of our favorite friends and called it a night.  oh man was it nice to go to bed after such a long day.

i also did the whole messy bun deal and decided that it just didn't work for me.  not even a little bit.

so what did you do over the weekend?