Sunday Workday

Yesterday my dad and brother came over to help me work on my studio. I had two main tasks: rebuild the shelf and install track lighting. We worked for a full 8 hours and we were so busy that I only took two photos.

Tools of the trade and priming the wood for the shelf.

Dad's finishing the shelf and my brother's priming the walls.

I finally got this little shelf painted and hung on the wall. It's going to hold my camera collection.

I meant to take a photo of the finished shelf, but forgot. I'll make sure to get a decent picture after it's caulked and painted. My personal deadline is March 9th, and here's hoping we can pull it off! I've already made plans for an open house on March 10th!

Atlanta Art Date

Maz had an extra long weekend for her school's winter break so we decided to have a mommy/daughter art date in Atlanta on Tuesday. We visited the High Museum of Art, viewed the Picasso to Warhol exhibit and saw most of the KAWS pieces. She was especially excited when I surprised her with a trip to the CNN Center to shop at the Cartoon Network store.

Mazzy and KAWS' Companion. I asked if she wanted her photo taken with this statue and she ran over and put her face in her hands. She's a funny kid.

Maz is a very fortunate kid to be able to view famous pieces like this at age 9. I was 29 by the time I got to see an original Warhol, and looks like Mazzy's 20 years ahead of me. The best part? She knew some of the paintings and artists in the exhibit thanks to her art teacher. And she wondered out loud: "Why are there so many naked people in art?" So cute!

Mazzy and Lady Rainicorn. After she saw this she said she couldn't stop smiling. We were on the search for Adventure Time toys, but all they had were tshirts.

We made it back home in time for soccer practice. Now we have a new to-do list for Atlanta. I've promised a CNN Tour and a visit to Fernbank. Perhaps we can do it over Spring Break?

Little Tree Mural

Yesterday I painted a tree in my nephew's room. I tried my best to match his nursery theme and kept everything simple and light. I'm hoping that one day soon I'll get a chance to paint another nursery tree! This was such a fun project.

Dance Studio Mural - Finally Finished!

Stick a fork in it, folks! She's done! That's right, after working on this on and off since October, I'm finally done. The mural is about 15 feet wide and 8 to 9 feet tall. It's mighty big!

I've been taking photos of the progress so I made a little time-lapse video. It's really neat to see how it all started. 

The song is "Open Heart Surgery" by the Brian Jonestown Massacre, one of my favorite bands.

And since it was in a dance studio, I was surrounded by mirrors. I had to take a photo in the mirror to show a size comparison. See? It's a big 'un!

Wordless Wednesday: Valentine's Edition

Happy Valentine's Day! Here's a New Painting!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I hope you have a fantastic day!

This painting was commissioned about two weeks ago. The client drew up a plan, gave me the names, and told me to just make it look good. And here you go! It's about 15" wide and 20" tall, painted with india ink and watercolors. The rose and leaves are so busy I felt like I needed to keep the background white.

I highlighted the leaves with names with a bit of yellow. The client wants to add names to it whenever his kids have more grandbabies.

Bright yellow rose!

Monday... Mural Monday

I'm painting on the walls of the local dance studio. There are huge mirrors everywhere and I couldn't resist taking one of the mural and me. See how huge it is? I'm hoping to finish it up this week. 

I have a couple of projects in the works, and the blog kind of went on the backburner for a few days. Whoops! I will be doing better this week, for sure!

Studio Update!

I've been painting up a storm whenever I have time. This drab blue green color has been driving me mad lately. It's such a boring color...just blah. I didn't want a white wall in this room, so I picked a very light gray. It looks like someone dropped a dollop of black into a gallon of white paint.

I thought about getting rid of the lattice work on the walls, but it might have been more work than I wanted. Everything kind of blends together when it's the same color, so the lattice isn't too bad of a problem. Besides it adds a little visual interest to the room. Once I started getting the gray on the walls, I realized the baseboards need to be a pure, bright white instead of that super-light beige. Let's add that to my to-do list!

Looks like I will be hosting an Open Studio on my 30th birthday. I figured that date would be a fantastic way to celebrate this milestone age. My birthday is on March 10th, and that leaves me with oh, about 30 days until I have to get everything ready for the public. Can I do it? We'll see!

Currently: February 6, 2012

Hello February!

Current book: Just Kids by Patty Smith (Kindle Edition)
Current album: Dandy Warhols Come Down
Current shame-inducing guilty pleasure: Watching Tabitha Takes Over
Current color(s): Teal! Lots of Teal and Gray.
Current link: Still hooked on Pintrest. Oh boy!
Current drink: Trying to drink lots of water lately.
Current wish-list: More time, there isn't enough time in a day.
Current favorite song(s): Somebody That I Used to Know - Cover by Walk Off the Earth
Current triumph(s): Painting my new workroom, now onto the gallery part!
Current Celebrity Crush: David Cross.
Current indulgence: Lots of popsicles. Yum! Yum!
Current excitement: Hosting an open studio soon! OMG!
Current mood: Tired, but determined.

Creative Space Thursday

I've decided to challenge myself this month. I'm going to draw a two-page spread in my sketchbook everyday. Everyday! It doesn't matter what it is, as long as I fill up the space. This will definitely be a challenge because I'm so awful with meeting deadlines. I should probably think of something awesome to do as a reward on March 1st.

"Inspiration is for amateurs - the rest of us just show up and get to work." 
This is my current motto. Thanks, Chuck Close!

The word "BOLD" was used to describe me recently, and I need to remind myself, that yes, I am bold and need to continue being bold. And brave. And determined.

As you can see, the pages are not complete masterpieces. In fact, they're kind of a hot mess. It should be interesting to see how this pans out.