the girls

This week is the final push for finishing portraits for 4 friends in the midwest. Rachelle commissioned me to create portraits of herself and friends for Cmas gifts.

I finished Monica this weekend and really loved how her expression turned out. She's originally from Denver and a snowboarder. She's the laid-back dreamer and a has an artistic quality about her. She struggled with her path, and has changed majors a half dozen times until finally settling into applying for pharmacy grad schools.

Monica, 8x10 mixed media on canvas

Giveaway-Art Block!

In the spirit of the season, I've decided to host a giveaway! But, in order to make this fun, and in light of a recent negative moment I experienced, I'd like to hear about a time you had to "rise above" a situation, take the high road, so to speak- where you kept your cool and just let it go.

***(ammended 12/16, since this giveaway ends tomorrow, and there haven't been many posts-this is my first giveaway after all and I am learning how to promote this kind of thing-I'm opening up the comments to "why would you like to own this block or where would you display it?"***

So, list your comments here, and on Thursday, December 17, I will choose the best response (in my humble opinion) and the winner will receive my Been Caught Stealing block from my shop. A little treasure for those of you who enjoy dreamy, whimsical things like that. Open to USA residents only! Thanks!

Little treasure boxes

This past Sunday night was my first ever holiday sale at my friend Heather Pyles' house. It was so much fun and great to hang out with friends and other sellers! You know I have partnered with Connie Fontova of Hang on Sister to do a limited edition line of my artwork on her bottlecap and glass tile jewelry. And I had come across these cute chipboard boxes and knew I had to make custom keepsake boxes with artwork to match the jewelry. I only did 6, just to see how they would be received. Well, I sold almost all of them! I also did 5 ornaments, and sadly, I didn't photograph them, but they all sold as well. So it makes me so happy to see those little precious things go off to new homes! I got a few custom orders for more boxes, and I think I'll experiment with some small wooden ones as well. fun, fun, fun!

Field Trip Holiday Pop-up Show

I subscribe to Daily Candy Atlanta (www.dailycandy.com) and received an email this morning about Field Trip. A new holiday shop in Athens, GA that is run by two sisters, Rinne Allen and Lucy Gillis who have been "traveling and collecting one-of-a-kind antiques and artisanal goodies since they were kids" It's located in the historic Hawthorne House foyer, 1073 South Milledge Ave.

The show starts today and runs through Dec. 24. I am definitely taking a road trip to check this out! I love any excuse to visit Athens, which is one of those places that surprises you with how artsy it can be-maybe even more so than Atlanta at times.

I'm especially intrigued by their bonus gift wrapping with recycled materials and natural fabrics (using the Japanese furoshiki technique) and topped with vintage stamps. I mean, seriously, all I want is the gift wrap!

The girls, a portrait commission

I received an email to my Etsy shop recently with a request to do four portraits for a girl and her three friends. She wants to give the portraits as gifts for Christmas and commissioned me to create images similar to my Lovely Mysticals series. This is a very exciting project because I've been wanting to do some portrait work and wasn't sure how to get started. My style is not necessarily painting a realistic likeness, but more about capturing a personality. And this is a process I've been working at off and on for the last year or so.

I just submitted the sketches to the buyer, and awaiting feedback. She provided "bios" and several photographs of each girl for reference. The first round is below, and anticipate revisions to "nail it" for her, but I'm very happy with the results so far and hope she likes them too!

A Night at the Museum

With two days before The Museum School silent auction, our committee is furiously wrapping up final details and acquiring last minute donations! There have been so many people working behind the scenes, and with the state charter interview behind us, I think everyone is ready to let off some steam and relax Saturday night. There are some awesome auction items and with the great team we have doing set-up and decorations, it's sure to be a party people will talk about for awhile!

The theme is "A Night at the Museum" and we're taking themes from old art and artifacts -from the funky to traditional. And with a venue like Bart Webb Studios, it's just a perfect setting for our night! The auction catalog cover is the only visual we created for this event to keep costs down. But we're using elements of the design for a small run of tickets, item descriptions and posters at the event. I used a watercolor-ish texture on canvas as a background and created a parchment effect. Flourishes in coral and turquoise are bright contrasts against the sepia tones of the artwork.

Didn't purchase your tickets yet? www.themuseumschool.org

Whitespace Gallery

Just stumbled onto this very cool gallery in Atlanta on Edgewood. I haven't actually visited yet, but came across the website when I was reading a forum about an event they have called For-Ever-Green. It's a "green" show and if I had anything 100% organic, archival, compostable and such, I would love to apply to exhibit! The site is beautifully done and the photography is awesome! The pic above is from the Dec. 2008 show. I hope to check it out this year, and so should you! Exhibit runs Dec. 3-6.

http://www.whitespace814.com/