Amy Abshier-Reyes

Some New Paintings

2011-12-30T15:50:00.004-06:00

Here's a few of the new oil paintings I'll have for my shop update next week. I have a couple more that aren't dry yet, but will be ready by the 6th!

"Pensive"
oil on illustration board 4"x6"

"Watching Forever"
oil on illustration board 2" x 2"

"Your Silent Face"
oil on canvas 2.5"x3.5"

"Lost in the Fog"
oil on illustration board 5"x7"

It's a little exciting to be preparing for a shop update; these pieces were all started months ago and between my day job and holiday stuff I didn't have much time to work on paintings. But I have enough completed that I can have a proper update and that feels awesome! A good start to 2012, I think.

Happy New Year!

Vew Prints for the Shop!

2011-12-30T08:12:00.006-06:00

Here's a look at the 12 new aceo prints that will be listed in my shop on Friday, January 6th. It's been a while since I had new prints made, so it's nice to be able to offer these!

"She had an Axe to Grind"

"Waiting For the City Train"

"The Augur"

"Softer Than Snow"

"Maggie"

"In Monaco"

"The Rehearsal"

"Fine Feathers"

"Far Far Away"

"Eustacia"

"A Remnant of Summer"

"I'm Looking Through You"

And I'm planning a proper shop update for the 6th with new original watercolor pieces and some new oil paintings as well! I'm hoping to get some pics posted here this weekend, so check back to see what I've been working on. Thanks!

SALE!!

2011-12-25T21:44:00.003-06:00

We had a lovely Christmas and now it's time for a sale in my Etsy shop! Just type the coupon code "happy" in the code box at checkout and save 25% on anything and everything in my shop, even items already on sale. The sale ends January 1st. Thank you so much for a great year!

All Eyes On You!

2011-11-19T11:33:00.001-06:00

Here's three little paintings that will be at the Blue Gallery's Wonder Wall exhibit:

"Adventurescence"

oil on illustration board

2"x2"

2011

"Aqueous Humor"

oil on illustration board

2"x2"

2011

"Vitreous Lustre"

oil on illustration board

2"x2"

2011

These were framed by Jim Svetlecic at State of the Art framing here in town. I'm so excited! I've never had anything professionally framed before and I think I'm pretty much spoiled now. I wish I could afford to do it for larger paintings...

Oil Paintings

2011-11-10T07:54:00.003-06:00

Here's a peek at the oil paintings that I promised. I don't often have original oil paintings in my Etsy shop, and I figured that maybe I'd see how these did. I wish I had a stash of finished work just laying around to sell, I suppose that's how some artists work. But instead, I sell (or try to sell) paintings just as soon as they're dry enough to handle and frame. I guess first of all because I have no room in my small studio to store finished pieces, and second of all, why would I sit on these instead of putting them out there into the world? I guess if I were working on a series where the paintings had to show together to make sense that would be different (and I do have some ideas for a series, but that's far off in the future).

So here's some fresh paintings to peruse, photographed just a few minutes ago:

"Stare"

oil on illustration board
2" x 2"

"Last Night at the Circus"
oil on illustration board
2" x 3"

"And Those Eyes!"
oil on illustration board
2.25" x 3"

"The Mob Funeral" (detail)
oil on masonite
11" x 14"

"The Mob Funeral"
oil on masonite
11" x 14"

These will be listed tomorrow at 2pm--I hope to see you there!

Sneak Peeks for Etsy!

2011-11-09T18:23:00.003-06:00

Here's a few peeks at some of the aceos that will be available this Friday. I also have some original oil paintings that will be listed, too. I will get pics of those posted tomorrow.

"The Augur"
Ink and watercolor on paper
2.5" x 3.5" (6.4cm x 8.9cm)

"Warm Autumn Days"
Ink and watercolor on paper
2.5" x 3.5" (6.4cm x 8.9cm)

"Waking From a Long Sleep"
Ink and watercolor on paper
2.5" x 3.5" (6.4cm x 8.9cm)

"Softer than Snow"
Ink and watercolor on paper
2.5" x 3.5" (6.4cm x 8.9cm)

Etsy Shop Update!

2011-11-04T17:32:00.001-05:00

I'll be posting some new originals this Friday, November 11th, at 2pm central time. Stay tuned for some sneak peeks!

An Afternoon In the Sun

2011-10-10T07:29:00.004-05:00

Yesterday afternoon I decided to sit out on our front lawn and paint some of my garden before everything was gone for the winter. It was a gorgeous day, warm and sunny, a little breezy. The humidity has been really low, too, which is such a nice change. It just felt amazing to be outside. Ricky was working on setting up his new shop and Ian was taking his nap, so I gathered up my supplies (I scored a plein air box awhile back--still had old, but still usable, paint and brushes and stuff in it) and sat out in the grass under our still shady locust tree.

I painted this little corner first: a purplish heuchera and some remaining pink impatiens. The heuchera was a challenge; so many shades of dull dark green and silver and purple, and some of the leaves were a bright violet red underneath. Then the bright green of the impatiens' leaves and little pops of pink, and the dull gold of the fallen locust leaves underneath. I haven't painted from life in a long time, and I haven't painted outside in YEARS.

This is oil on canvas board, 5x7 inches.

Then I sat watching the shadows and light playing over the sidewalk, where all the tiny fallen leaves had gathered in the cracks. It looks like a river of gold.

This is oil on masonite, 5 x 5 inches.

Then, just for grins, I started this loose, sketchy portrait. It was just too awesome being outside but I knew I was running out of time, so I didn't want to start another landscape that would be interrupted. I think she's basically finished, anyway.

This is an oil on illustration board, 4 x 6 inches.

And then I took a photo of the three paintings together on the old palette that had come with the painting box. Small pieces, but it was altogether a satisfying afternoon. And Ian slept for nearly three hours! That was unexpected.

It's the Little Things in Life

2011-09-19T20:55:00.004-05:00

Here's a swift little peek at some small (and smaller) oil paintings I've been working on. The largest pieces pictured here are 4"x6", so that gives you an idea of scale. A couple three of these will be put in my Etsy shop this Friday, September 23rd at 2pm central time, as usual. The rest will most likely be going to the Blue Gallery.

The three paintings that are numbered will definitely be listed on Friday. I'm not sure if I'll have time to complete any more before then.

Etsy Shop Update!

2011-08-30T07:49:00.003-05:00

Here's a peek at a few of the pieces that will be in this week's shop update (Friday, September 2nd at 2pm central time):

"Mi Corazon"
Ink and watercolor on paper
2.5 x 3.5 inches

"The Ditched Witch"

Ink and watercolor on paper

2.5 x 3.5 inches

"Coralia"
Ink and watercolor on paper
2.5 x 3.5 inches

"Eustacia"

Ink and watercolor on paper
2.5 x 3.5 inches

Of course, there will be more pieces besides these and some new prints as well. Yay for September! I am so ready for fall.

And Some More Paintings!

2011-08-19T20:45:00.004-05:00

A few years ago I scored some large stretched primed linen canvases and they've just been in my studio, leaning against a wall all this time. The smallest is 40" x 48", which is literally twice the size of my larger paintings. I haven't painted anything that big since college, mostly just because of space--my studios in our various domiciles have all been small. It's really hard to paint this large without being able to back up and look at it properly. It makes me a little crazy, but I've been having fun with this one so far.

It's so big it won't even fit on my easel. I have to prop it against the wall, sitting on a couple of boxes. To back up enough to see the whole thing, I have to pick it up and move it to the other end of the room.

Two days later, her features start to flesh out and decisions are being made. I still can't decide on her clothing: what style, what era, what color. I'm stuck.

Another pitfall of painting on a large scale: I got too focused on her right eye and as a result, didn't realize the left was off. Just slightly, but enough to bug me. So that's what I'll fix next time.

And here's a much smaller piece that was in my Etsy shop (and just sold, yay!):
"Anne"
oil on canvas board
5"x7"

New Oil Paintings

2011-08-13T07:04:00.002-05:00

I've been painting like a madwoman for the last couple of weeks and have finally finished some smaller oil paintings for Etsy! It's such a great feeling to finish a painting that's been just sitting in the studio for months.

"Ornamentation" (detail)
5"x7" oil on illustration board 2011

"Ornamentation"
5"x7" oil on illustration board 2011

"The Long Walk Home"
5"x7" oil on illustration board 2011

"The Long Walk Home" (detail)
5"x7" oil on illustration board 2011

These two paintings are currently listed in my Etsy shop. I've been looking at so many inspiring things lately: cool paintings, old photographs, oddments and ornaments in museums. Even my dreams have been particularly vivid. It's funny how things stay lodged in my brain and can be seen so clearly, and when I go to sketch them, they just dissipate. I can't seem to focus on any one part enough to draw them. Not for the last time I wish someone would invent a camera to capture a thought--my brain pictures would be awesome. Epic, even!

New Paintings for Etsy!

2011-07-26T21:39:00.005-05:00

Sneak peek time, y'all. Here's just a few of the original watercolor aceo paintings as well as a small original oil painting. These and some others will be listed in my Etsy shop this Friday, July 29th, at 2pm central time. Thanks for looking and I'll see you Friday!

"Turned Round to Face the Bright Sunshine"
watercolor on paper 2.5" x 3.5"

"Buddleia"
oil on masonite 4" x 6"

"Zelda"
watercolor on paper 2.5" x 3.5"

"She was Creating a Monster"
watercolor on paper 2.5" x 3.5"

"Marguerite"
watercolor on paper 3.5" x 2.5"

"As Night Fell"
watercolor on paper 2.5" x 3.5"

My Month of Traveling Part Three: Texas Gulf Coast

2011-07-24T07:57:00.005-05:00

And now for the last trip of June: it's the semi-annual, no-holds-barred trip to visit the old homestead and my family. There was the annual July 4th party, a trip to the beach, the arrival of my mom and dad's new toy (a camper trailer and truck!), lots of visiting and trips to town. No fireworks, though--there was a burn ban in effect because of the drought.

The prettiest cow in our longhorn herd.

Downtown Bay City; the south side of the Square.

Crossing over the Intracoastal Waterway on our trek to the beach.

The kids at the beach! The water was warm, but rough and the beach was CROWDED. I don't think I've ever seen that many trucks on the beach. There were lots of people getting stuck in the soft sand.

Sunset at the old hay barn.

Nomming on some homemade peppermint ice cream, yum!

As always, there's a lot more pictures on Flickr.

And on Wednesday I'll be posting some sneak peeks of new paintings for my Etsy update on Friday, July 29th!

My Month of Traveling Part Two: Little Cayman

2011-07-17T10:51:00.005-05:00

My brother Doug and his fiancee Stacy got married on June 11th on Little Cayman. Ricky couldn't afford to take off work, so he stayed home and his mom (who was in town from CA) watched the kids. So I had a Caribbean vacation of my very own! I missed them, though. Maybe if I win the lottery we can all go back.

But anyway, the trip was amazing. I didn't know what to expect: tons of tourists and crowded beaches, I guess. But Little Cayman is so tiny and remote (plus this is the off season), there were very few people there except residents and there's not very many of those. The wedding was the talk of the town that weekend, so you know there's nothing else going on! The island has basically one restaurant, one grocery/hardware store, one liquor store, one policeman--you get the idea. The island is only a mile wide and ten miles long, most of it undeveloped.

So Doug and Stacy, my parents, and most of the other wedding guests stayed at the Southern Cross Club (the wedding and reception were there also), but my grandmother, aunt Kay, cousins Alan and Paul and their friend Nicole and I stayed at a trio of little cottages about a mile away down the beach. Food was incredibly expensive, so it was good that Kay and I had brought a lot of cereals, dried fruit, peanut butter and such with us. We bought bread and milk and butter and cheese at the local store and freaked out at how much everything cost, because of course it all has to be brought in by plane or boat.

But it was beautiful. The sun was very intense; I was slathering on 50 spf sunblock at least three times a day and still got fried, so I broke down and bought a funny floppy sunhat at the liquor store. It helped a lot. The colors in the water were gorgeous: vivid blues and greens and turquoise. I went swimming every day and snorkeling, all just right there at our own beach, literally just a few steps from the porch. The water was wonderful: warm and clear and quiet; our part of the island is surrounded by coral reefs, so there's no big breakers or large waves, just smooth water. I saw probably twenty or thirty different kinds of fish, and an octopus!

I took so many photos, at least 1800, so if you want to see more there's an album on Flickr.

On the little puddle jumper flight from Grand Cayman to Little Cayman, flying through the remnants of a storm while the late afternoon sun filters through the clouds and hits the water.

Sunset on my first evening on Little Cayman. This was taken from "our" beach where our little bungalow sits.

And here's the cute bungalow we stayed in. There are two guest cottages next to it with one bed and bath each, while this main house has a kitchen, bedroom, living room, and bath. And it has a big screened-in porch that wraps around two sides of it, facing the beach and water. The "yard" is just sand.

The water was just incredible. Photos don't do it justice. It seems like the colors there are so intense and bright and vivid...

Bougainvillea growing next to our cottage.

The long pier near the place my parents, my brother and his fiancee, and other wedding guest were staying. The brownish patches in the water are turtle grass.

Doug and Stacy!

It was a simple and very sweet ceremony. I'm so grateful I got to go.

One of my last sunrises on Little Cayman. I was up at ridiculous hours every morning, usually around 5 or 5:30 am. But I got to enjoy these gorgeous sunrises!

So it was a fantastic trip and the wedding was wonderfully low-key and relaxed, and everyone was having a great time. It was just nice to be lazy and swim if you wanted to, or sit in the shade and read or draw, or go for a bike ride, or whatever. I loved it. Hopefully I can go again some day and take the kids and husband too!

My Month of Traveling Part One: San Diego

2011-07-10T15:57:00.009-05:00

I hadn't seen my dear friend Alisa since her wedding almost 5 years ago, and as a surprise for her birthday, her awesome husband Stacy flew me out to San Diego for Memorial Day weekend. It's the first time I've traveled without kids in almost five years (since her wedding, actually) and even the plane trip was wonderful: just me and my iPod and my sketchbook. The rest of the weekend would prove to be just as mellow, relaxing, and fabulous. It was so good to just to see Alisa!
Stacy picked me up from the airport and as I followed him into their home, I heard Alisa ask why he was home from work so early. Then she saw me! That was fun.

Flying into San Diego

We had dinner that night at El Zarape--delicious! This was taken outside of the restaurant.

The next morning we walked down to get coffee and breakfast. I forget just how beautiful Southern California is. Sigh.

After breakfast we drove out to Torrey Pines state reserve. It was a beautiful hike. All the wildflowers were in bloom and trying to identify them was a challenge.

The view was pretty spectacular, even on a cloudy day.

Driving back through La Jolla.

On Sunday we went to Balboa park, and toured the museums and walked around. There was a festival going on at the International Cottages, with food and vendors and dancing. I love stumbling unexpectedly across fun things like that. Here's some of my favorite paintings from the San Diego Museum of Art:

George Inness "Farm Landscape, Cattle in Pasture"

Charles-Edouard Boutibonne "After the Promenade"

John Hoppner "Portrait of a Lady (Georgina Buckley)"

I loved the botanical garden!

The architecture in Balboa Park is incredible. I didn't realize it was all built for the first World's Fair, the 1915-16 Panama-California Exposition.

After a marvelous day at the Park we drove to downtown San Diego for an early dinner at Monsoon, an upscale Indian restaurant. The food was wonderful and the setting was very luxe and soothing. Then we walked just a bit, being all touristy and stuff.

Stopped at a relatively expensive haberdashery and I was taken in by this display.

And then the next day I was back on a plane and heading home. It really was a fabulous weekend: great friends, good food and conversation, episodes of The IT Crowd, new music and record shopping, long walks, and gorgeous weather. It was just the break I needed and I'm so grateful that I got to go!

And then, barely two weeks later, I was on another plane and flying to the Caribbean!

Some Finished Paintings

2011-07-07T21:44:00.003-05:00

Finished those two paintings that I'd been working on all spring (and a big chunk of the winter, too). They're both currently at The Blue Gallery here in Kansas City. And here they are!

"Clench"
oil on canvas
20" x 24"

"Lurid Flowers, Like Poison in Pretty Bottles"
oil on canvas
22" x 30"

Etsy Update!

2011-05-14T09:30:00.004-05:00

FINALLY! I'm working on some new original ACEO's for my Etsy shop. I've been so neglectful of The Brilliant Magpie; there's just so much going on with work and other things. But I'm knuckling down to finish some more watercolors in time for my update: this coming Friday, May 20th, at 2pm central time. Here's a sneak peek of a few things that are already done!

There, now, just a little taste of what's to come. I hope to see you this Friday!

The Dollhouse--Part Four

2011-05-14T08:50:00.003-05:00

I really, really wanted to have some working lights in the house, but kept in mind that this was going to be a toy for a young child. I found a website that makes tiny LED bulbs that hook up to a 9 volt battery with a push-button on/off switch. Pretty safe for a careful kid. So I set about making a fire for the library fireplace, using "logs" I cut from twigs I found in the yard and I ordered a fire kit from Evan Designs, which included some iridescent tissue and a flashing yellow, an orange, and flashing red LED lights that appear to flicker, just like a real fire. Ricky welded the grate together using a piece of wire clothes hanger. The whole thing is about 2 1/2 inches across and just over an inch tall.

And here it is in action!

I began hanging the wallpaper in the dining room.

I used acrylic gesso to "plaster" the walls in the bathroom and kitchen.

And I started thinking about colors for the outside. I knew I'd be straying from the original Federal rowhouse style in which the dollhouse was built, but I wanted a lighter, brighter color. Here's the exterior before paint, I'll post the after soon:

The Dollhouse--Part Three

2011-04-26T07:02:00.005-05:00

The library was shaping up to be my favorite room in the house. I was inspired by a swatch of Scalamandre wallpaper, and decided to give the room a chinoiserie sort of feeling. I did some online searching for more ideas and found some very cool rooms:

I love this wallpaper against that warm white of the trim and fireplace.

I love the photos of Adam Wallacavage's house! Not strictly chinoiserie per se, but I love the overall feeling of it.

This is sort of the direction I wanted to go: classic red and glossy black.

Scalamandre "Ming Circus" wallpaper. This is the paper that sparked my chinoserie library madness.

I took the shelving and fireplace out of the library and painted everything a dark, glossy brownish black. Ricky cut down an old metal frame to use as a fireplace insert (not pictured here) and I started thinking of fireplaces and grates...

I wanted to give the kitchen a 1930's look, with white wainscot and a cheerful floral paper above. It's time to prime.

Painting the back of the bookshelves in the library.

Holes got patched and gaps were smoothed over. This is the bathroom. One of Esther's favorite colors is purple, so I made some purple "tiled" wallpaper to put up in here.

Starting to paint the windows a bright glossy white (except for the library).

And I discovered an awesome dollhouse and miniature shop in town called Mini Temptations. It's just chock full of cool stuff and the owner is incredibly friendly and helpful. I found all the trim pieces I needed for baseboards, doors, chair rails, etc. The prices were very reasonable, too. I already had a razor saw, so I was ready for some trimming after the paint and wallpaper were done!

The Dollhouse--Part Two

2011-04-23T09:29:00.003-05:00

So the deconstruction began with removing the windows (my friend said his mother had made them from cellophane boxes and tiny bits of balsa wood, but sadly, they were pretty much destroyed). I found some working double-hung windows on Ebay for super-cheap (only $1.99 each! The other ones I found were at least $7 each, and since we're always broke, well, you can figure out the rest...). The new windows were an inch too wide, but that's an easy fix.

The exterior "before".

Next I had to address the sagging floors. I delicately removed the right-hand first and third story interior walls. I stripped the wallpaper from them and sanded them, then replaced them further to the right, so the interior walls more or less line up. It really helped alleviate the problem. You can see where I have the floors and ceilings braced to position the walls. You can also see the old windows have mostly been removed.

The hallway, looking into the bedroom and bathroom beyond.

The living room, looking through the second floor hallway at the front door.

The library must have been carpeted at some point--there was a thin layer of cork glued down and that was a MONSTER to remove. If I had known how much trouble it would eventually give me, I would have just left it there. But I had big plans for the library...

The bathroom, stripped and sanded. I began to paint the ceilings and get ready for the next steps...

Now I really had to start thinking of paint colors and wallpaper colors. Getting sucked into this project was just way too easy--I can understand how people can go completely overboard with something like this. You could literally spend a fortune renovating and decorating a dollhouse. Unfortunately, I don't have a fortune, so I spent quite a bit of time doing research on the good old interwebs, finding tips and tricks for making this house look good on the cheap. There's a lot of great information out there. For instance, it never occurred to me to just print up my own wallpaper. And it just so happens I have a stash of awesome patterns and designs in my digital reference morgue. Just a few little adjustments for scale and such in Photoshop, and I was ready to go...

The Dollhouse--Part One

2011-04-19T07:58:00.009-05:00

My little girl loves dollhouses and miniatures---loves loves loves them. And I can get behind that, no problem. One of my favorite books as a kid was Colleen Moore's Dollhouse. I would pore over that book for hours, imagining I was a wee little person wandering through the rooms. When we got a copy of that book into the auction house several months ago (autographed, no less!) I showed it to Esther and she was riveted. She talked about that book for weeks! I bought it for her on the sly and hid it away for her next birthday. A friend and regular bidder at our auctions noticed my purchasing of the book and asked why. I mentioned Esther and he said he had something I should take a look at. It turns out that his mother built dollhouses and miniature rooms, and he had a huge dollhouse that she had built in 1963. No one in the family was interested in keeping it and he wondered if maybe Esther might like it.

I think I shrieked "Yes!" before the words were completely out of his mouth. He said,"Um, don't you want to see it first? You might want to see it first. It's a bit of a project."

Well, suffice to say, it WAS a bit of a project and consumed me (and my husband) for more than a month. But it's awesome! For a 12 pack of beer I got a huge fabulous dollhouse!

Day One

Ricky and I moved the house into the basement and set up a sort of work space. I started cleaning the house that afternoon. It had been in storage a long time and smelled a bit like mice and must.

The bathroom

A spooky glimpse at the dining room

The attic

The next day I began ripping out torn and stained wallpaper and priming the walls. We have a lot of house paint left over from our own house's renovations and projects, so that came in quite handy.

I had only a month to get the house together in time for Esther's 7th birthday.

Stay tuned for part deux!

The Ditzy Redhead Interview

2011-03-29T07:07:00.004-05:00

No, I'm not the ditzy redhead in question. But the lovely Marcelle, a fellow redheaded Etsian (and decidedly non-ditzy herself), just posted an interview with yours truly on her blog, Ditzy Redhead. I spill my guts and dish out all the dirty little secrets I know, and you should go check it out!

Ditzy Redhead

Her blog is a wonderful gathering of art, craft, fashion, and all kinds of interesting tidbits. So here's a big thank you to Marcelle: you rock!

More Painting Progress

2011-03-02T10:15:00.004-06:00

I've been making such an effort to get more work done: one half-hour here and there, an hour or even two *gasp!* when I get the chance. I'm making some progress, but I can only wonder what I'd get accomplished if I had a whole day to paint?

No title yet
oil on canvas
22x30
Still lots to be done with the flowers, her hands, and other miscellaneous details.
But she's getting close!

I've been working on this a lot lately, but she's still a long way from being completely done.

I just keep plugging along...

Starting to clean up the rough outlines and such.

And here's the super-rough underpainting.

Weekend-Long Etsy Sale!

2011-02-25T10:32:00.004-06:00

Starting right now through Sunday, save 25% off your entire purchase at my Etsy shop, The Brilliant Magpie! Just enter the code "rentisdue" in the appropriate place at checkout and save yourself some cash!

"Miss Eglantine Speedwell"
Ink and Watercolor on Paper
5"x7"

Another New Painting Started

2011-02-18T19:38:00.003-06:00

Last month my friend and coworker Linda gave me an awful painting. Which is really great! It's not her own work, of course--she'd found it somewhere and gave it to me to paint over. I never turn away free materials! It was a poorly done still life of flowers in a vase, not truly bad enough to be cool and not good enough to be cool. Just sort of meh.

So anyway, the canvas was in good shape and the painting was pretty smooth, not all lumpy and bumpy with paint--and being smooth is perfect for painting over! I love painting over bad paintings. I usually let elements of the original painting peek through or dictate the composition of the new painting. I feel that gives the original painting new life and some validity, a chance to escape the dumpster and hang on someone's wall. It's also a kind of secret; a layer that remains mostly unseen and unknown.

I like secrets in paintings.

That's why I'll never give the whole story away with any of my pieces, and that drives some people crazy. But I think a painting requires some audience participation and if I stuff the entire background, history, and narrative down the viewer's throat, then what does the viewer have left to bring to the table? (Other than puking up all the crammed-down art-speak nonsense)

Goodness! I seem to be veering off into a tangent. Here's the new painting in progress! There's no title yet, but it's oil on canvas. I think it's about 24 x 30 inches, sort of around there. I'm too lazy to run upstairs and measure.

detail

the whole enchilada

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T09:07:00.003-06:00

I just this minute decided to have a one-day Valentine's Day sale at my Etsy shop. Enjoy 25% off your entire purchase, any items, all day today. Just enter the code "valentine" at checkout. And it's just for today. I'm nothing if not impulsive :)
Love you guys!

Etsy Shop Update

2011-02-07T06:43:00.004-06:00

Howdy, howdy! I'm writing this from the depths of the snowiest winter I can remember. And we're supposed to get more snow tomorrow. I do like snow; I love to watch it falling and swirling around. And then it should promptly melt and everything should be ice-free and slush-free. It shouldn't stick around for weeks and get gray and brown and crusty and gross. But that's just my opinion.

I've got some new pieces to list on Etsy this Friday, February 11th at 2pm central time. Here's a sneak peek!

"Undersea Frivolity"
2.5x3.5 inches
ink and watercolor on paper

"The Flirtation"

2.5x3.5 inches
ink and watercolor on paper

"Pausing for Effect"

2.5x3.5 inches
ink and watercolor on paper

"Myrna the Impish"

2.5x3.5 inches
ink and watercolor on paper

"Lemon Ginger"
4x6 inches
Graphite and watercolor on paper

"Her Boat Left at Sunrise"

2.5x3.5 inches
ink and watercolor on paper

"Flowers For All!"
3.5 x 2.5 inches
Ink and watercolor on paper

New Prints At Etsy!

2011-01-21T09:54:00.004-06:00

I've just added 12 new aceo prints to my Etsy shop this morning! There are some more recent ones you all may recognize, and then there's this group from WAY back. I'm not sure if many of you know this, but I got my start selling these little paintings on Ebay back in March of 2006. I sold original aceos on Ebay for at least two years before selling them exclusively on Etsy, so there's a cache of images that a lot of people have never seen. I've gone through them and I'm planning on making prints of my favorites, so here's the first four!

"Knife Throwing was Her Vocation"
2.5" x 3.5"
April 2006

"Millicent"
2.5" x 3.5"
August 2007

"Fabulous, Darling"
2.5" x 3.5"
August 2006

"Bathing Beauty No. 1"
2.5" x 3.5"
February 2007

Shop Update!

2011-01-03T12:21:00.007-06:00

Happy New Year everyone! I hope this year is off to a stellar start for you all. I'm starting the year off with an update at my Etsy shop. It's this Friday, January 7th, at 2pm central time. There will be new original aceo's of course, and maybe one or two other things. We'll just have to see!

And now for a little sneak peek:

"I Could Never Do the Same to You"

2.5 x 3.5 inches
Watercolor and Ink on 140 lb Paper

"Woke Up in the Wrong Season"

2.5 x 3.5 inches
Watercolor and Ink on 140 lb Paper
"Lessons in Astronomy"

2.5 x 3.5 inches
Watercolor and Ink on 140 lb Paper

"Quitter la Scene"
2.5 x 3.5 inches
Watercolor and Ink on 140 lb Paper

"About the Sun"

2.5 x 3.5 inches
Watercolor and Ink on 140 lb Paper

On another note, I watched "The Secret of Kells" with my daughter over the weekend and LOVED it! It's so beautifully animated; a complete pleasure to watch. There are a few frightening scenes in it, so I wouldn't recommend it for kids younger than six or so. Esther really enjoyed it though. In fact, we had to watch it again last night so Ricky could see it, too.

Happy New Year!

2010-12-26T12:07:00.005-06:00

We had a fun Christmas. It was spread out over the month of December: traveling to visit family and family traveling to visit us, so we had quite the holiday! More photos on my Flickr, of course.

The kids don't know where to start.

The party hasn't truly started til someone puts a bow on the baby's noggin.

Esther trying to be patient.

The kiddos at my grandma's house.

Grandma Tut putting some reindeer antlers on Ian. That didn't last very long.

Of course, I haven't even gotten to the photos from yesterday. It was just the four of us; a nice mellow day at home. Good times.

And in other news:

To help ease that post-holiday malaise, I'm having a sale at my Etsy shop this week! From today through January 1st, everything in my shop is 25% off. Just enter the code "newyear" at checkout time and save yourself some money!

For anyone curious about that art fair event I mentioned in my last post, well... It's off. The folks in charge decided not to have it, so there it is. That's okay, I've been painting as much as I can to have some new pieces for Etsy and the Blue Gallery. I'm working on some things that I'm pretty happy with so far. So keep an eye out for new pics!

And Some More New Paintings!

2010-11-26T14:44:00.003-06:00

I'm still full from yesterday's Thanksgiving feast, by the way. Hope all of y'all had a nice one. So here's three new paintings that I delivered to the Blue Gallery last week. The Blue has a fabulous display every December of works priced under $500. So here's three new pieces for that wall:

"Mouse and Key"
4 x 6 inches
oil on illustration board

"Out in the Field"
4x6 inches
oil on illustration board

"Datura Metel"
5x7 inches
oil on illustration board

Detail

And I have a few more small things I'm working on. I'm planning on having an Etsy update this Friday, December 3, at 2pm central standard time. I've got a bunch of new watercolor aceos and some drawings, and I'm working on more. Hopefully I can get more prints made up before Christmas, but money's tight. We'll just have to see!

Also, for anyone in the Kansas City area who might be interested: I'm participating in a two-day art fair tentatively scheduled for the first weekend in February. I'll have aceo prints, watercolor originals, drawings, and who knows what else. I'll probably bring my paints and do some work while I'm there, too. I'll let y'all know more as I find out more!

New Paintings!!

2010-10-09T18:44:00.004-05:00

Here's two new paintings that I took down to the Blue Gallery yesterday. I finished both of these last week and it felt SO GOOD to complete a painting, even if it was just a couple of smaller ones. So here they are!

"Spook Lights"
Oil on canvas, 9x12 inches. Framed.

"Dreaming of a Wild Life"
Oil on masonite, 8x10 inches. Framed.

Spook lights are these glowing orbs that appear in certain places at night; they sort of dance eerily around without any apparent cause. They just kind of happen. Spooky!

And "Dreaming of a Wild Life" is of a pale, wistful girl in a lush, overgrown garden. She's longing for a little more color in her own life.

Painting ACEOs the Amy Way

2010-10-02T16:37:00.003-05:00

Some of you have already seen this on my Flickr, but for those who haven't, here's a brief presentation of my process for my little aceo watercolors. Instead of working up in the studio, I paint these downstairs on the dining room table so I can keep an eye on the kiddos and dinner and those other fun mom things. The setup is so minimal that I can set up and pack it all away in seconds--you gotta love that!

So here's the components: mechanical pencil, kneaded eraser, Rapidograph pen, round pointy paintbrush, palette, jar of water, paper towels, and watercolor paper cut down to aceo size. Painting small has its pluses.

First, I sketch out the figure in pencil. It's pretty loose right now.

Then I go over it in ink, tightening things up as I go. I give the ink a moment to dry, then erase the pencil lines. Stupid pen bled on the left eye and tore the paper a bit, but it's okay--I can make that work.

Then I start with background colors and shadows--I usually keep those similar. It helps tie a painting together when the base colors have the same tones. So in this case it's dull grayish browns (washes of burnt sienna and ultramarine blue).

After that I wash in some fleshy colors (mixing cad red light, some naples yellow, a smidge of cerulean blue, etc) on the face and hands and blot out the spaces where I want highlights.

Then I add warmer and pinker tones to the cheeks, fingers, ears, nose, and eyelids, and put the initial washes of color on the hair and clothing.

And I like wallpaper, so I added a simple rose and stripe combination.

And I love plaid, so I gave her a plaid shirt under her sweater. And I darkened her eyes and gave her freckles, and generally deepened the shadow tones.

And last, because I can't leave anything alone, I darkened most of the background, leaving a window-shaped square of light in the corner.

And she's done! All in all, this one took about an hour. That's not including all the interruptions, of course! I personally love to see other artists' processes, so I hope you enjoyed this teeny peek into my terribly glamorous world:)

New Prints and The Winner!

2010-09-30T07:43:00.002-05:00

Yay for Harriet! She was the winner this time around and is getting the $20 gift certificate to my shop!

And the winning prints are: 1,3,4,5,8,9,10,11,12,13,16,and 17. Hopefully I can place a print order in a timely fashion and these aceos will be making their way to my Etsy shop!

I want to give a huge thank you to everyone for posting their favorites--you guys rock!

About Stinking Time For Some New Prints

2010-09-20T08:46:00.008-05:00

Yep, it's been too long since I had new aceo prints made up for my Etsy shop. And, as always, I'd love your help picking out some new ones! If you would be so kind, please pick out 12, YES 12 (I'm going crazy!) images that you like best.

I'll have a random drawing on September 30th and the lucky winner will receive a $20 gift certificate for my Etsy shop, good towards anything you can find there. So please make sure I have a way to contact you, or check back on the 30th! Voting is open until then. Thanks so much!!

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

California: A Much-Needed Respite

2010-09-03T07:43:00.011-05:00

We had our yearly jaunt to California last month to visit Ricky's family, and we had a fabulous time. My mother-in-law lives in a teeny old gold rush town in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Part of her house was built in the 1850's and is solid stone, two feet thick, with iron shutters that can cover the front door and windows. The second story and back of the house were added on in the 1930's. She's spent the last ten years renovating it and has done an amazing job--it's a lovely, comfortable home. Her town is a fascinating place and I love to go on rambling walks through the hilly streets, looking at the old houses and buildings. The cemeteries are a favorite haunt (heh, heh) as well, old and full of histories long forgotten, I'm sure.

So we spent a few days relaxing at her home, then we were off for four days to Lake Tahoe! I've only just driven past it and that was in the middle of winter, which allowed for some tense driving in my old Subaru. But in the summer it's pretty incredible. Just sitting on the beach watching the water is incredible. We stayed in South Lake Tahoe in a comfy little cabin, where it was just a few miles to Camp Richardson. That's the beach we frequented, staking out a place in the coarse sand, wading out in the cold, clear water (we could hardly bear to venture out farther than our knees--even in the heat of the afternoon).

The water becomes greener the further out you go, then dramatically turns a brilliant deep blue. I imagine that's a pretty steep drop-off.
These next photos were taken at the Pope Estate, just down the beach. It was a summer residence for the wealthy Pope family, with a lovely main house and lots of small cottages scattered around for the staff. There's a sweet little water feature with a shallow pond, a waterfall, and garden.

Detail of the waterfall

One of the many small cottages

A kayak floating lazily along

This was taken at Fallen Leaf Lake, a gorgeous smaller lake just a mile or so south of Lake Tahoe. The south end of the lake has houses and cabins and a small marina and such, but the north end is more private and quiet, accessible by a nice short hike from the road.

Did I mention I love the "tilt-shift" effect on my new camera? I do, I love it. I use it too much, I'm afraid. Here's a super-cute little cottage near our cabin with awesome vintage lawn-chairs. And with the tilt-shift, it looks like a dollhouse!

One day Ricky and I went for a drive while Katy and Ron watched the kids. We drove up past Heavenly Resort, up the mountain where all the fancy, rich people's houses are. The view was pretty luxe. Stupid lucky rich people.

This was taken at the Catholic cemetery in Mokelumne Hill. It's full of interesting headstones and incredible old ironwork, all of it different. For more photos of the cemeteries (and more photos from the trip), check out my Flickr.

Katy's front porch in the morning.

This was taken as we flew in to Sacramento. I love the green and gold colors.

So you can tell we had a pretty full week, but still had lots of time to just unwind, which we sorely needed. And then we came home to get ready for school and resume our normal, hectic work-a-day lives. And something else: my hours at work got cut pretty drastically last week, which sucks, but also kind of not. I've been painting and sewing and all kinds of domestic things I've had to set aside since starting full-time work, and that's pretty nice. Of course, the substantially smaller paycheck will hurt, but maybe more painting means more sales to offset that. Of course, when business picks up at my job, I'll start working more hours again, so there's that.

So hopefully soon I can post some photos of paintings in progress and some sewing projects. I'm focusing on new skirts! I'm tired of using being broke as an excuse to not have cute skirts. CUTE SKIRTS ARE A MUST. And I have a ton of killer fabric and notions and stuff, and now I have some extra time...

And it's September, YAY! Fall is pretty much here and I am so happy about that!

Texas in July

2010-08-01T09:51:00.006-05:00

The kiddos and I made our annual trek to Texas last week. My folks were all on vacation over the Fourth (when we normally go, 'cause there's always a big party and all the family is there and stuff), so the big party got postponed a few weeks. It was a nice break from regular work and home routines, even though we were pretty busy the whole time getting things ready. It was fun: lots of people, lots of family, lots of food.

We did get to go to the beach Sunday morning, which was awesome. I could have stayed all day, except certain members of our party were super hungry, so we drove down to the River Bend so everyone could eat. Fried pickles and grilled cheese, YUM!

And then Monday it was back home to the old grind. But it's okay; we're taking our annual trip to California to visit family in two weeks!

I got a new camera, too! Finally. My old one was doing WACKY stuff. This new one has a fun fake tilt-shift effect that I put to good use over the weekend:

That's my great-grandparent's garage. I mean, it used to be. Now someone else lives there.

Our barn.

Big dramatic Gulf Coast sky.

Kittens! Mom's cat Rosie has some cute bebehs.

Lunch at the River Bend with the fam.

I have a cute bebeh too!

This is half the party crowd in my parent's backyard. The other half? Somehow I missed them.

We celebrated my grandpa's 80th birthday a bit early, just because we were all there to help eat cake.

Newest member of the Abshier herd. Only two days old! Momma cow was giving me the stink-eye for sure.

And of course I've failed utterly in my daily drawing thing. I can do the drawings; I can spare time enough for that. It's the scanning and uploading and stuff that I just don't have time for. I suck. Go me!

A Daily Drawing Selection

2010-07-12T07:44:00.004-05:00

Here's a few more of my daily sketches. If you want to see them all so far, go check out my Flickr.

Day 17
Pencil in my sketchbook.

Day 20
Sharpie marker in my sketchbook.

Day 21
Pen and ink (UniBall 0.7 pen)

Day 18
Rapidograph 0.35 ink pen in my sketchbook.

Day 8
UniBall 0.7 pen in my sketchbook.

Day 9
Pencil in my sketchbook

Day 11
Pencil in my sketchbook

Day 12
Watercolor sketch on paper. I had a dream about a room that contained a large meadow, with billowing golden clouds and a dark purplish sky above. There's a tiny village at the foot of the hills.

Day 15
UniBall 0.7 ink pen in my sketchbook.

Day 22
Pentel Rolling Writer pen in my sketchbook.

Making myself draw every day has been a good thing, I think. And I'm a little shocked at how difficult it is to set aside 10 or 15 minutes to do it and then the time to scan and upload the images afterward.

Drawrings

2010-06-27T12:15:00.002-05:00

Here's some more sketches from my year of drawing... um, thing? Series? Whatever.

Day 5

I had this dream about a teeny tiny butler's pantry with vividly green cabinetry, dramatic Art Nouveau-ish flourishes, and gilt details all over. This is just a vague sketch of it, just to capture the flavor. I don't have the patience to draw all the teeny details. I don't like drawing details, but I love looking at photos and paintings with lots of details. Go figure.

Day 6

Curtains!

Day 7

Pen and ink in the sketchbook. Actually, these are all in my sketchbook.

Day 8

This summer has been so hot and muggy so far---no fun at all. Day before yesterday was a nice respite, though: high of 85 and so dry that it felt like early fall. After work Ricky and I and the kids walked down to the park and played before dinner and it was just so pleasant to be out and moving around without feeling as if someone has wrapped you in a smothering hot wet woolen blanket. Bleagh.

We'll be taking our yearly trips to Texas and California later this summer and it's going to be so good to have a change of scenery. Ian's first plane trips, oh boy! Esther was 9 months old on her first plane ride and screamed her head off pretty much the entire time. I've learned a trick or two about flying with babies since then.

More Sketches

2010-06-23T07:30:00.003-05:00

It's funny that it seems like such a big deal to me to just draw for a few minutes every day, but my days are so full now with everything else, that it's all I can do to manage these. But it makes me feel good, like I'm making an effort to do something beneficial for myself.

Day 2

No, not a drawing, but it IS a sketch. I was watching footage of the Flagstaff wildfire on the news and they showed a brief clip of cars on the highway, with a brilliantly green field and fiery clouds of smoke beyond. The colors were so violent and saturated I grabbed one of my aceo blanks and did a quick 60 second watercolor sketch.

Day 3

This is ballpoint pen in my sketchbook--she's really pretty large, about 14 inches tall. She loses something shrunk down this small...

Day 4

And this is just pencil in the sketchbook; an apprehensive girl with slightly bowed legs, wondering whether or not to leave the yard.

365 Drawings

2010-06-19T21:39:00.003-05:00

I've decided that even though I don't have much painting time, I CAN do some drawing here and there. So I'm going to try to do a drawing a day for a year. It might just be a thumbnail or a messy sketch, but I'll try my best. I may not be able to post them daily, but I'm hoping for at least once a week updates. So here's today's sketch!

Day 1

It's a pencil drawing in one of my big old sketchbooks. She's holding a terrarium filled with magical things, because I would LOVE to have a terrarium filled with magic stuff!

I swear it took almost as long to scan and upload the dumb thing as it did to draw it.

Some Recent ACEO Nonsense

2010-05-28T20:46:00.005-05:00

Once again it's been way too long since I've written. But I always feel like I should wait until I have something really cool or special or memorable to post about. And I shouldn't do that, should I? But then I run the risk of being painfully honest if I don't have anything diverting to recall! To wit:

I miss painting. I miss it a lot. It's been months now since I've been able to paint for hours at a stretch. Things are so busy with work and kids and household stuff. Ricky's still working full time at his day-job, and then evenings and weekends at his motorcycle shop. We are BUSY people!

And I just had to face facts that working part-time and painting part-time wasn't cutting it, but the move to that steady paycheck sure comes at a cost. And I'm so stinking TIRED all the time! I know there's lots and lots of other folks doing the same thing, and I hate to complain, but I'm a little cranky and (oooh! Guess what?! Wait for it...) tired. You caught me at just the right moment for crabbiness! Never blog when crabby (or hungry or drunk or whatever).

So that wasn't my intention at all, just to launch into a tirade like that. Sorry. You're here to see some paintings, maybe? I sure wish I had more to show you. I'm lucky if I make enough watercolor time to do an Etsy update once a month. But here's a few from the last couple of months:

"The Tide Rushes In"

"Posies for Polly"

"Noleta"

"The Big Idea"

"The Bad Doll"

"The Glasses"

"Cup of Human Kindness"

"The Shop Girl"

"She was a Terrible Flirt"

"Hearts and Butterflies"

These are all pen and ink and watercolor on 140 lb paper, 2.5 x 3.5 inches. And, sorry, but they're all sold. Maybe some will make their encore as prints though!

Which do you like best?

And just maybe I can sweet-talk my husband into watching the kids for a bit tomorrow morning before he leaves for the shop. I can cram a lot of painting into an hour or two!

Spring's the Thing

2010-04-10T08:06:00.004-05:00

Spring has hit the midwest full-force. After the gnarly long, cold winter we've had, I didn't think we'd ever reach this point. Things are greening quickly and blooming and the sun is warm. It's like spring is in fast-forward mode. I need to finish the veggie garden (I only have potatoes planted right now) and start thinking about new projects for the yard. Our huge gorgeous yellow rose died this winter and digging it up was no fun at all. It must have been there for thirty years or more--it was like a small tree. A small tree covered in enormously cruel thorns.

I never got around to planting bulbs this fall. I was a little busy with other things. But thankfully enough of the bulbs from two years ago are still coming up.

I think in the future I'll focus more on species tulips, like this variety called Lady Jane. They'll stick around for years longer than the hybrid tulips, as much as I love those. Planting bulbs every fall gets spendy (and time-consuming).

I love our redbud tree. The homeowners before us did some ridiculous things around the house, but I love this tree they planted next to the porch.

And I can't believe we already need to cut the grass. Two weeks ago there was snow on the ground!

In other news, I start working full-time at the auction house this week. The extra money will be so helpful (things have been really tough around here the last few months and this hand-to-mouth stuff has gone on too long anyway), but I can see that painting is going to have to take a back seat for a few years. At least til Ian's in school. I'm not quitting entirely, I could never do that. NEVER. But things will slow down significantly in the old art factory.

Liberty Belle!

2010-03-30T11:54:00.005-05:00

Some good friends of mine have started a fabulous new venue for antiques, furniture, decoratives, and art called Liberty Belle. This weekend, April 2nd through the 4th, will be their first! All of y'all in the Kansas City area should come check out the shop and show some love!
Here's a link to their site for hours and photos:

Liberty Belle

My Studio's in Present Magazine!

2010-03-18T08:41:00.002-05:00

The lovely Maria Vasquez Boyd was kind enough to think of me for her What We Do Is Secret series. She came over and took these photos of my studio and they're on the Present Magazine's site right now!

Present Magazine Kansas City Arts - What We Do Is Secret

It's always fun to see other people's reaction to my working space and find out the things they're drawn to; what piques their interest. My studio is so full of stuff I'm never quite sure what visitors will see first.
I hope you enjoy the photos and look for her next article in April!

Dietary Woes

2010-02-28T15:16:00.006-06:00

Well, not mine. Okay, they ARE my dietary woes, but only in a roundabout way. Ian seems to have sensitivities to milk and soy products, as well as having highly sensitive skin. So I'm on week three or four of dairy-free life and week two of no soy. Being that I'm already a vegetarian, this has made my life very interesting. It's a little disturbing how much milk and soy products crop up in packaged, ready-to-eat foods. I'm being a good little label-reader like never before.
I've found some great cooking websites, and so many friends have sent me links to others--it's been really helpful. I find myself cooking a lot of Indian food these days. I made aloo gobi last night with chola tikkis as a side dish--good stuff! There's a great website called Manjula's Kitchen that's got a ton of good recipes, plus videos to demonstrate cooking methods.

But trying to find recipes that I can alter for my dairy eating husband and daughter has been a challenge. They only humor me for so long.

And I miss cheese. All the cheese substitutes I've seen (and I SCOURED the fake cheese section at Whole Foods) have either dairy or soy in them. I did happily discover that Earth Balance has made a soy-free vegan margarine that's even hydrogenated oil free! I can even bake with it, and that's cool. It does lend baked goods an odd, corn-like smell that bugs me, but I would much rather have that than no cookies at all! And I've found soy-free dark chocolate, which is awesome. And coconut-milk ice cream is tasty. I wish all this stuff was cheaper, though...

It's just been an adjustment. But Ian's skin look so much better already! I've started using the free and clear detergent and double-rinse all his clothes, blankets, etc. I should buy stock in Aquaphor and CeraVe lotions--we slather him with those a couple times a day. It all seems to help his eczema. Poor little guy was just clawing at his skin, it all itched so bad. Thank god for the internet--it makes researching this stuff so much easier. I've found some really helpful information from other moms with similar issues.

Hopefully he'll outgrow these food sensitivities eventually. That seems to be the case for a lot of these kids. I will have cheese again, I know. I'm making pizza tonight for the fam (I'll just leave the cheese off my portion) and I make jokes about rocking in the corner and crying while they eat theirs. I know cutting out the dairy is probably healthier for me (not to mention better for the cows), but I miss cheese and yogurt and butter like you would not believe. I feel as if I sound vaguely like a meat-eater reacting to my own vegetarian lifestyle: "Yeah, that's great, but don't you miss a good STEAK?" If I had a dollar for everytime I've heard that in the last ten years...

FINALLY... New Prints On the Way!

2010-02-16T09:38:00.004-06:00

I just discovered Carl Larsson's watercolors. LOVE.

And okay, after my own procrastination and then computer problems, I finally managed to place my order for that newest batch of aceo prints! They should be here this week and I'll be listing them at my Etsy shop (along with some new original aceo's) this Friday, February 19th at 2pm central time. Just wanted to give y'all a head's up. Hope to see you there!

New Paintings

2010-01-31T11:20:00.004-06:00

I just finished an oil painting yesterday--it's the first one completed in 2010 (though it was started months and months ago) and that feels pretty good. I'm getting an hour or two a week to work in my studio and, while it doesn't sound like much, it can be fairly productive. Mostly because even when I'm not upstairs painting, I'm always thinking about it. It's just so much faster and easier to work on my little watercolor paintings because they're done downstairs at the kitchen table: no muss, no fuss. But it's not as much fun.

So once a week I wrangle Ricky into watching the kids and I disappear up into the garret. It's quiet and warm up there and there are paintings that need my attention. Ricky and I had a discussion the other night about our weird multiple occupational facets--he's a specialized mechanic for the railroad by day and builds motorcycles and plays in a band at night and on weekends, I manage an auction house by day and paint at night and on weekends. Plus we're parents, obviously. We fit into some odd niches.

So things are okay. Now that I'm back to "work" work, we're finally starting to get caught up on bills and stuff and that's a good feeling. Now if the damn hospital would quit sending us bills...

The kids are doing well. I think Ian's got eczema and I'm going to be taking him to the doctor this week. Poor little guy is rubbing his eyes and scratching his face and he's just rashy all over. I started bathing him with Cetaphil and using CeraVe lotion and that's helped a lot. His laundry is still done with Dreft and no softeners or dryer sheets, but I think I might get some special detergent for the rest of us in the house.

Esther has really started to get the hang of reading and it's awesome to watch her tackle new words.

Ricky is gearing up for the World of Wheels show that's in two weeks. He and the other guys in his new motorcycle shop are working on a couple of new bikes for that.
I'm so tired of winter and cold and snow--I just want some sunshine and warm weather and green growing things! This winter has been a bear.

But yes! Paintings!

"In the Wayward Garden"
oil on ghetto canvas board
9x12 inches
2010

"Gray Secrets"
oil on illustration board
5x7 inches
2009

This one was finished before Ian was born--I just hadn't gotten around to photographing it. These will both be going to the Blue Gallery later this week after "Wayward" dries and is ready to hang.

And I still haven't gotten my aceo prints made up yet. The printing company I use is having a sale in the next month or so and I'm stalling until then, because I'm broke.

Happy trails!

The Votes Are In!

2010-01-10T11:50:00.004-06:00

Yay for Pamela! You win a free ACEO print of your choice, either the available ones in the shop or one of these new ladies.

And the winners are:

1. "Turquoise and Gold"
2. "There Was Magic Then"
3. "Star Power"
5. "The Mod Witch"
8. "Ms. Grimm"
10. "I Wasn't Born to Follow"
11. "Building Some Dreams"
13. "Vamping It Up"

I'll be getting these printed in the next few weeks. Thanks so much to all of you for your input, it was such a big help to me!!

New Prints for the New Year

2009-12-29T11:33:00.007-06:00

So I'm thinking I need to get around to having some more prints made. I painted some things this summer and fall that I really dig, and i think they'd make swell prints for the ol' Etsy shop. Do you wanna help pick 'em out? Do you? I know you want to!

All you have to do is pick out 8 of your favorites. Everyone who participates gets placed in a drawing for a free aceo print--anything you like from my shop or the newbies. I'll draw the winner after I get a reasonable number of entries, so maybe after a week or so? Make sure I know how to contact you or check back to see if you're the winner!!

Here we go:

10.

11.

12.

13.

Thanks so much for your help! Hope everyone has a fabulous, healthy, and happy New Year!!!

Good Lord, Is It Christmas Already?!

2009-12-16T12:44:00.004-06:00

The tail end of 2009 is flying by, and nary a blog post to show for it. My apologies. I've been consumed with baby and holiday and family things; a common occurrence for this time of year, I'd imagine.

I haven't been doing any painting, sadly, but I have been wanting to draw and sketch out some things. I've had breaks from painting before, and they can be strangely freeing. I seem to overflow with ideas when I'm not busy making art. I'd love to sit down with my sketchbook and just draw for a while--I get a few minutes here and there to do that. But it's also nice to kind of mull the ideas over in my head first before I try to capture them on paper.

I've been reading a lot, too. I just finished The Magicians by Lev Grossman and enjoyed it. It's written from an interesting perspective, and ties together those fantasy themes I love. It's all about escape, really. I've resumed our weekly trip to the library, except now I actually can get some things for myself as well as the kiddos. I didn't have much time to read before Ian was born, but when you're nursing a baby for thirty minutes at a time you can get some reading in.

I go back to work in two weeks. I'm kind of sad about that, even though Ian will be coming with me. We'll be playing this all by ear--I have no idea how much actual work I'll be able to do. Glancing around my house is evidence enough that not much work gets done when there's a baby. I imagine he'll be in the sling quite a bit. I can't believe he's six weeks old already. He's such a good baby. Here he is on December 9th, smiling and being a cutie.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, everyone!

Ian is here!

2009-11-11T09:56:00.005-06:00

Ian Lawrence Reyes was born November 1, 2009 at 9:28 am. He weighed 7 lbs, 11 oz, and was 19 3/4 inches long.
Labor and delivery went much faster than it did with Esther, and our doula and midwife were awesome (and Ricky, too!). Our hospital was awesome as well and respected all of our birth plan wishes with no problems. Even the mom/baby rooms were comfy and the nurses were all super nice. In short, it was a really good experience. (I'm glad all that's over with, though--and I am VERY happy to no longer be pregnant. I have ankles again!).

So our little man was born on a gorgeous, sunny, and WARM November morning--what a great welcome to the world! He's been a peach of a baby: he's been a regular eating machine from the get-go, is only fussy when he's wet or just about to fall asleep, and spends these wonderful, long moments just staring at you like you're the coolest, most amazing thing he's ever seen. It does wonders for the ego, let me tell you!

Esther has been really fantastic--she's excited about picking out his clothes for the day and getting to hold him and giving him little kisses and stuff. She's been a great help.

Pillows and Other Stuff

2009-10-22T08:48:00.004-05:00

I finished the pillows for the rocker last week and Ricky did some clever Ricky-esque modifications to the rocker's back to make it more upright. It's great for reclining as it was, but I needed a straighter back for nursing and such. Plus it can be returned to its original state with no trouble at all! He's got this knack for finding brilliantly simple solutions to things; solutions that would never have occurred to me. Mine tend to be much more elaborate and unnecessarily complicated.

Ricky built some new work tables for his shop and Esther helped paint them. Ricky was honestly surprised, I think, that her help was actually helpful and really sped up the painting process. She's an awesome kid. And she's a total daddy's girl.

We had our 8th anniversary on the 20th (I can't believe we've been married that long--it's wild). We kept it low-key, as is usual for us--a good dinner out makes us as happy as clams!

And today is my last day at work! (Well, til January, anyway) Baby stuff is going fine--I'm on autopilot at 38 weeks. Hopefully this little guy will hold out til his due date and I can cram some painting in before he's born. I think it's funny that my nesting instinct includes feverishly and frantically making art, like I'm never going to paint again (like THAT'S gonna happen!).

Oooh! Almost forgot--I'm having my last Etsy shop update (for a while) this Friday (um, tomorrow) the 23rd at 2pm central time. I'll have some original watercolor aceo's and one original oil aceo. Here's a pic of the oil painting (on illustration board):

Not the best photo ever, but at least you get the idea...

Yup, Still Pregnant

2009-10-10T07:57:00.005-05:00

I'm at that point in this pregnancy where people I haven't seen in the last few months say things like: "Wow! You're STILL pregnant?"

I know, I know--when you've been looking like a beached whale for the last four months, it's hard not to snap a little. And those folks mean well, I understand that. I'm just over it. Not exactly ready to have this kiddo, but definitely tired of being pregnant. Three weeks to go!

The weather's turned cold over the last week, and this morning we actually turned the heat on. I held out as long as I could, but when the thermostat shows the inside temperature to be in the 50s, I think that's hard-core enough.

My mom got me a killer rocking chair from Ikea--it's the Lillberg. It's a great chair for curling up in--very deep. It's hard to see that in this picture.

I'm making up some pillows this week for it with these Amy Butler fabrics. I'll have to post pics when it's all done. The chair's sitting opposite our large pink painting, so I wanted fabric that would pick up the pink as well as the green walls and curtains.

Minky Blankets

2009-09-12T14:31:00.002-05:00

During one of my frequent insane nesting fits I made a couple of baby blankets using this tutorial.

This is the bigger one, for playing on the floor and/or crib use for when the baby gets older. I used this fabulous octopus fabric designed by Heather Ross and some soft brown Minky plushy fabric. (This stuff is so incredibly soft--it's really wonderful).

And this one is much smaller, for the car or stroller or whatever. I used bright green Minky with little raised dots all over it and Juicy Jungle fabric on the other side.

Hmmm. They need to be ironed, too. But who has time to iron? That stuff's no fun, anyway!

It's Me Again

2009-09-12T08:28:00.004-05:00

Yeah, I've been busy. Work at the auction house has been crazy-busy and will continue to be so until December. Extra hours at work are not a bad thing. Hopefully I can continue working up until the last week or so before the baby's due. I managed to do that with Esther, and so far things in this pregnancy are totally fine, so...

Keep y'all's fingers crossed! I'm going to need that extra scratch while I'm on maternity leave.

And I've been painting as much as I can on my days off, while Esther's in school. I've got a commissioned portrait that MUST be finished and shipped off by October 1st. It's totally kicking my butt. I don't know why I have such a hard time with commissioned pieces. They're the most difficult things to finish, and I'm almost never happy with the finished painting. Any of you folks out there have this problem?

Last weekend Ricky's car club, Los Punk Rods, had their car show at the Boulevard Drive-In. It was the 9th annual Greaserama show and was their biggest yet. It's always a lot of fun, and the cars are just amazing. I took a ton of photos--you can see most of 'em on my Flickr.

Here's a few pics just for grins:

Ricky's newest project, the Crack Pipe (it's a long but funny story), and his Triumph. He set up a booth there for The Anchor Motocycle Shop, selling t-shirts, chopper parts that he fabricated, and other stuff. He's got some shirts left if anyone's interested...

Vintage helmets Ricky had for sale.

A bee-you-tee-ful Galaxie for sale. Someday I will own one.

Studebaker Hawks have just the coolest body style--there were actually TWO at the show. You never see these things.

And this Chevy has been my show favorite for a few years now--the green metalflake is just incredible. Love this car.

So that's what we did last weekend. This weekend we'll be playing catch up. Our yard looks like a jungle and there's lots of other housework to do. Bleagh.

Oh! And we found a doula that we really, really like. So that's one more thing to cross off the to-do list!

Le Sigh...

2009-08-16T13:35:00.002-05:00

We went to our good friends' house last night for dinner. Scott and Jessie are both fabulous painters and I always love poking my head into their respective studios to see what they're working on. They use wonderfully traditional (and super-luxe) materials and it fills me with longing...
They get this amazing Belgian linen by the roll--this stuff is so amazingly smooth and perfect! And heavy-duty custom-made stretchers, and all kinds of fancy paint and mediums.

I'm suffering from art supply-envy, totally! I just can't justify spending that much money on a piece before it's even started...

I'm discovering that as I get older, I get cheaper. It's not too bad, I guess. I mean, there's worse things to be, right?

New Paintings!

2009-08-15T16:05:00.005-05:00

I just finished a couple of pieces for the Blue Gallery portrait show, which opens the first Friday in September. I had to hustle to get these done in time, and now I just have to let 'em dry and frame them. I hope I have frames that fit--I seriously do not want to have to go buy frames.

"A Tiny Prison"
Oil on canvas board, 14 x 18 inches.

"Myocastor Coypus"

Oil on canvas, 18 x 24 (just finished today!)

(It's the Latin name of the nutria, a large semi-aquatic rodent from South America that was introduced to Louisiana in the 1930's for possible fur farming. They became established in the wetlands along the Gulf coast and have caused a lot of damage, as they feed exclusively on wetland plants, damaging root systems and causing serious erosion in the process.)

We took Esther to see Ponyo earlier today. It was cute and visually pretty amazing (which is typical Miyazaki). It was no My Neighbor Totoro or Kiki's Delivery Service, but it was fun and Esther loved it. I'm just happy to see another of his films, especially since he's said before that he's done with film making. That makes me sad.

I'm at week 28, fat and sassy, and doing well. I'm ready for fall, definitely--I'm tired of the heat, even though it's been a really mild summer. I should be thankful it's not a typical midwest summer!

The baby's an active little bugger, moving a LOT. There's something kind of creepy about seeing things moving under your skin, like sea creatures breaking the ocean's surface, and then sinking before you can identify them. And I swear sometimes it feels like an octopus is in there--he's everywhere at once!

Quick Trip to the Nelson

2009-07-31T21:12:00.004-05:00

My boss and his family are on vacation as of today and will be gone a week, so I'll be having a little staycation of my own while the auction house is closed. Today after my Etsy updates and upkeep were done, Esther and I ran over to the Nelson-Atkins museum of art. She enjoys going and, funnily enough, I do too. I haven't been in a while, and there were some new acquisitions and pieces pulled from storage to ponder.

It's always pleasant to wander through the rooms--as a student, I was over at the Nelson just about every chance I got. (It IS across the street from KCAI, so it wasn't difficult). So wandering among my favorite pieces was like visiting with old friends, comforting and familiar.

Here's some paintings that were new to me that I like very much. And of course I've forgotten who the painters are.

This is one of my faves from way back when--I love the light.

Yay for rekkids! In this case, nekkid rekkids, hee hee hee.

This is one of those recent acquisitions and I LOVE it. If I were going to break into a museum and steal a painting... But you didn't hear that from me.

Esther was NOT in the mood for picture taking. But it was a gorgeous day and I had to push the issue.

It's funny to think the ginormous shuttlecocks have been on the lawn for 15 years now--I remember when they were installed and people just thought they were a joke. I kind of like them. They're so vibrant and happy and fun-looking.

Some Paintings in Progress

2009-07-26T11:23:00.003-05:00

So here's a few new things that I've been working on (well, NEWER, anyway--I haven't been painting much this summer). Some of these will be for that portrait show at the Blue I mentioned earlier. It opens the first Friday in September.

This is 18 x 24, I think. Oil on canvas. I'm still working on the foreshortening on her arms--but other than that, I like how she's turning out. She's still really rough, but is starting to shape up.

This little lady is just about done--just a simple portrait. She's 5 x 7, oil on illustration board.

And this is just one of those weird accidents--she sort of just happened, but I like her very much. I think it's just about done--I like this one raw, and I don't want to overwork it. Oil on canvasboard, 11x14?

This one's done, and I'm pretty sure she'll go to the Blue as well at some point. 5x7 oil on illustration board.

None of these have real titles yet--they're still too new in my head.

Catching Up

2009-07-23T20:44:00.004-05:00

I think it's just about time for a little catching up. It's been such a busy summer: the auction house has been crazy-busy (which is pretty great, don't get me wrong--I'm glad they're doing so well), we're trying to get ready for this baby, taking care of Esther and making sure she's having a fun summer, trying to paint occasionally, reading and gardening as often as I can...

Speaking of which, here's some recent garden-y photos:

I love bumblebees. And my cosmos are as tall as me!

The front flower beds are nearly always my favorite. They're so easy--I end up doing planting the same annuals every year, some impatiens and coleus among all the perennials, but they all make me happy. And they all love this shady spot.

And here's that bed from the other side. Ignore those weeds, please. I'm really not a "kill kill kill" kind of girl. Unless there's poison ivy popping up. And then that stuff will BURN.

Some potted things on the front porch.

I need to take some good photos of the living room now that it's painted and done. These will have to do for now.

It makes our Barbara Coleman pop, huh?

These were taken right after we were done painting, so all the prep and painting crap is still laying around. It's gone now, replaced by other crap.

We found out we're having a boy and so far things are going great: I've been feeling good and trying to take it easier these days. Esther was hoping for a little sister, so she's not too sure about a brother. I told her both her father and I survived having a stinky little brother and she would too. She was not reassured.

I've been working on some new paintings for a portrait invitational show that the Blue is having in September--I need to post some photos soon! Maybe this weekend...

New Prints and a Winner!

2009-07-09T16:44:00.004-05:00

Congrats to you, fastercat6860! You win an ACEO print of your choice from my shop--either one that's available now or one of these newbies. Thanks to everyone who commented and helped me make this huge, momentous decision (haha, I kid. Sort of. I'm bad with decision-making).

So here's the winners in order of votes: 9, 12, 4, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 (there were several ties, so I'll do 8 new prints!). Hope your favorite was in there somewhere!

I'll place the order this week and hopefully will have these in the shop on the 17th, along with some new original pieces.

Vote for New Prints!

2009-06-28T14:10:00.005-05:00

It's been a long time since I had some new aceo prints made up and, as usual, I'm having a hard time making a decision about which 4 (or 8) pieces I want to have prints made of. If you could so kindly pick 4 images you really really dig, it would be a huge help to me!

And to keep things interesting, I'll draw a voter's name at random for a free aceo print. So be sure to either check back in a few weeks or make sure I have a way to get hold of you in case you are the winner!

So here's the contenders. Please choose 4!

10.

11.

12.

Memory Lane (House Style)

2009-05-25T17:27:00.005-05:00

So here's a little refresher for those of you who weren't on our house-hunting journey in '05. Our house was only the second we looked at, but we were familiar with the neighborhood and this block in particular (our block is fabulous--so many great neighbors) and the price had just dropped and was VERY reasonable. If you want to know the price, I'll tell you, but it might make you want to move to KC. But we had some work in front of us:

*this is the house as we viewed it for the first time--this isn't our furniture or anything. Just in case y'all were wondering :)

Look how little Esther was!

I seriously forgot how bad the yard was. Scary.

Next time: some after photos.

Painting and Stuff, but Not the Artsy Kind

2009-05-23T18:21:00.006-05:00

I've decided that we've lived in this house long enough, and dammit, the living room and dining room MUST BE PAINTED. I'm tired of the musty gross paint job we inherited when we bought this place. The interior was originally painted insane colors.
Wait, let me stress that: INSANE COLORS.
I guess after the house had been on the market for a matter of months, the sellers decided to paint over the insane downstairs colors and paint the trim dark poop brown and "leftover white paint surprise" on the walls. It's a sad greyish, puttyish sort of color that the paint manufacturer never intended, I'm sure.

So it's been almost four (FOUR!) years and I'm tired of not dealing with it. So it's getting done, sooner rather than later. Mostly because we're expecting a baby in November. SURPRISE!!!

(Yeah, it was a BIG surprise, considering we were only gonna have one kidlet. The universe likes to be funny). But it's all good, I feel great, we find out the baby's sex next month, and we're all excited.

Okay, now that's out of the way.

So yeah, we need to paint and here's a little preview of the awesome split-pea-soup-baby-barf green I found. It's exactly what I wanted and I'm gonna write Behr and tell them they should change the name to the one I coined. Hell, that's what Martha Stewart would do.

Isn't it purty? Don't you wanna just lick the walls? Hahaha, kidding, kidding.
Also, the trim is going to be the same pale pale cream color that's on the dining room trim. The dining room is going to be a warmer, slightly darker cream than the trim. It's such a sunny, wonderful room--it needs a light, reflective color. Especially in the winter.

Things are growing like crazy in the garden: the tulips and irises are long gone, and the peonies and roses are in full swing. Tomatoes and eggplants are blooming, the lettuce is almost done, and I still need to plant the green beans. I'll post some pics of all that soon. It's been a busy spring.

Hope you guys are all doing well!

Win One of My Paintings!

2009-04-30T08:34:00.003-05:00

This is pretty cool:
The owner of the Blue Gallery, Kelly Kuhn, is a guest blogger at The Katillac Shack. Kelly's latest post is offering up a chance to win one of two new pieces from the gallery--one is a new oil painting from me entitled "Tant Pis", the other is a mixed media piece by R. Sawan White. All you have to do is comment on her post and you're entered into the drawing. The winner gets to choose which piece they want! (You'll pick mine, right? RIGHT?!)
Here's that link again:
Kelly's post

I'm just tickled that she chose one of mine to put in! Also, there's a shot of my painting "Come Back, Come Back: You're Out Too Far" hanging in Kelly's loft.

Speaking of paintings, I'm super behind on posting photos of new pieces. I shall remedy that, hopefully sooner rather than later.

Spring is Under My Skin and I am Neglectful as a Result

2009-04-24T10:49:00.004-05:00

So Spring has finally decided to stick around here in Kansas City. The weather has jumped from the 50's to the 80's in just a few days. Arrrgh!!! I'm already running out of time to get green and growing things into the ground!!

Anyhoo, I'm focusing on the gnarly yucky side bed this season. When we moved here three (almost four!) years ago, it was overrun with virginia creeper, scrawny spindly rose of sharon, vinca, and basically a ton of other weedy, unhappy, ugly plants. Plus a bunch of broken glass and big chunks of concrete and trash.
It gets weird light (mostly shaded by our neighbor's house to the south, but full sun the rest of the day) and the soil was a mess. After one season I gave up trying to do things the natural way and basically just sprayed everything with Roundup. Now two seasons later, the soil is amended and ready to transform. This fall I planted five Sike's dwarf hyndrangeas along the foundation, and in the last few weeks have begun planting bronze, purple, and amber huecheras and bronze and black ajuga in front of them. They're all sturdy, reliable plants that have done really well in other weird light areas in my garden, so I hope they do okay here.

I've put in some more plants since these photos were taken and the hydrangeas have really started to leaf out in a big way.

Spread, ajuga, spread!!

My tulips are beginning to fade and look sad, but these pics are from a few weeks ago when things were young and happy. I have quite a few bare spots in the beds where the bulbs either got eaten or refused to grow. I don't know that I'll be ordering any bulbs from catalogs this year--last year about half the tulip bulbs I planted came from catalogs, and almost 2/3 of those haven't come up. I guess you get what you pay for.

I love species tulips--they just keep coming back. Yay! But I do like the fancy ones, too. Tulips are awesome.

And I've got new paintings I need to post here! Maybe this weekend...

In Anticipation of a Blizzard... Sort of

2009-03-27T09:34:00.002-05:00

It's already cold outside, and the rain that fell last night has become a thin sheet of ice on cars and porch steps. It's also encased all my hyacinths and daffodils in ice, and all my tulips that are about to bloom. They're forecasting a major snowstorm for tomorrow and some bitterly cold temperatures. I say "Boo" to that! I brought all my potted pansies and violas up to the porch to cover up tonight, and took a few photos of the blooming things because I'm afraid after this weekend they'll be flattened.

I snipped some muscari to bring inside--they just started to open up a few days ago. I love their smell. It's a subtle, grapey kind of smell--almost like grape soda. Plus they're just so diminutive and sweet.

My poor little redbud's blossoms are *this close* to opening up--we'll see if they make it through the ice.

Say buh-bye to the daffodils! I think their days are numbered.

Brr! I'm gonna make a run to the grocery store after getting Esther from school and do a little stocking up, just in case we do get dumped on. Then we can stay home and have cocoa and be cozy all weekend. I love snow when I don't have to go out in it. Although I do get a little stir-crazy after a couple of days!

Finally!

2009-03-15T13:17:00.004-05:00

Finally finished this piece I started months ago. I wish the photo were better. I'll have to take it outside on a cloudy day and shoot it again.

"She Could Hear the Shrieking of Distant Sea Birds"

oil on masonite, 16 x 20 inches

This will be going to the Blue Gallery as soon as it's dry and framed.

In other news, today I'm nursing a poor little sick critter with some sort of awful stomach virus. I guess there's a nasty bug going around. When I called Esther's doctor's office this morning to ask a nurse about her high fever, the nurse said she'd already had a ton of calls that morning about the same thing.
Her fever's down a bit, finally, and she's on the couch trying to sleep. Poor kid. We were all three of us up all night, and we all certainly look it!

Spring is... Springing?

2009-03-06T11:43:00.003-06:00

Well, after last week's snowdump, it's amazing to have a couple of days in the 70's.

Wait, let me emphasize that a bit: ********SEVENTIES*********.
As in: temperatures were above seventy degrees Fahrenheit, skies were sunny, the air was warm.

It's been pretty incredible to just sit in the sun and be barefoot and bare legged and watch the neighborhood kids running around.
And I've got things springing up in the garden. It's just the really early stuff; crocuses and dwarf iris. But the daffodils are really close to blooming and all the tulips are starting to come up. I'm so glad this winter is nearly over. But they are forecasting snow for next week...

Snow Day!

2009-02-28T14:35:00.002-06:00

This morning we woke to find several inches of snow on the ground, with more falling steadily in huge, fat flakes. We've had relatively little snow this winter, and certainly not this much at once, so it was a good excuse to go out and play in it a bit (then there was a mad dash inside for hot chocolate and dry socks).

I took this photo of the backyard earlier this morning--we've had a few more inches of snow since then, so you can just mentally add some more white stuff.

I need to make sure the birds have enough food on this cold, snowy day!

The Crooked Shmooked Interview

2009-02-19T16:01:00.002-06:00

The fabulous Heidi Jo was awesome enough to interview me for her blog Crooked Shmooked. Her blog is full of beautiful images, art, fashion, interiors, and cool stuff--y'all really should go check it out. Her questions for the interview were really fun to answer. Some of them I really had to give a lot of thought to, and that's a good thing. Thank you so much Heidi Jo!

A Question and Shop Update!

2009-02-11T18:36:00.002-06:00

I'm planning on putting this print in my Etsy shop, but I can't decide which version I prefer. #1 is a photo of the painting and #2 is a scan of the painting. Which do y'all like? Or maybe I should offer both and let buyers choose?

Also, here are the latest ACEO prints for Etsy. They'll be listed on Friday, February 13th, at 2pm central time.

Busy, busy, busy...

2009-02-08T10:31:00.004-06:00

The weather yesterday was absolutely gorgeous: unseasonably warm and sunny and perfect. I was just sitting on the porch, marveling at the warmth, and almost wanting to cry with sheer contentment. It was very surreal.

Earlier this week I was working on a painting that I started several years ago then abandoned, scraped off, started again, scraped off, and began again. I think this might its final incarnation. Here's a little rough detail:

And here's a piece I started a few weeks ago. It's relatively close to being completed. I like her expression--it's as if she's torn between a smile or tears. I think I'll do a little more to emphasize the light falling across her blouse. I like it.

I also have finally come to the realization that I want to paint from life and start using models. I'd probably just take photographs and work from those, since painting directly from a model could be complicated and expensive. And I'd need very specific costuming and hair, etc.
Needless to say, I'm completely broke and couldn't afford to pay anyone and have no idea how I'd go about finding people to model. I'm too shy to come right out and ask a stranger if I could paint her. I can't even imagine how awkward that would be.

New Prints!

2009-01-22T08:43:00.005-06:00

I just received the latest batch of prints and I think they've turned out fabulously. Allow me to introduce ( from top left clockwise):

1. "She Smiled 'Til She Thought Her Face Would Crack"
2. "Maneki Neko"
3. "La Mode Nouvelle"
4. "It Was as if, Very Faintly, She Could Hear the Sea"

And my first set of mermaid prints! I had a hard time narrowing it down to four. Here are:

1. "Oh His Bones are Coral Made"
2. "Irina"
3. "Sea Dreams"
4. "Lillian"

These will be offered up at my Etsy shop on Friday, January 23rd at 2 pm central time. I'll have more original watercolor ACEO's, a couple of miniature landscapes, and an original oil ACEO also.
Hope to see you then!

PS The weather today is supposed to be lovely--almost 60 degrees! Of course, I'll be at work in the warehouse, so I don't actually get to go out and enjoy the sunshine, but I'll be thinking warmer, anyway. Have a happy Thursday!

Some New Paintings in Progress

2009-01-17T20:25:00.004-06:00

And one new ACEO for my next shop update, Friday, January 23rd at 2pm central time.

"Valerie" oil on illustration board, 2.5 x 3.5 inches

And here's some pieces I've been working on recently. This first one is a really rough underpainting. It's got a loooong way to go. But I like to see other painters' methods and progression, so here's mine.

I'm not sure where this one's going. Still a very much unfinished painting.

This one I started last month and picked up again today. I really like how she's turning out--I wish the photos captured it better. I'll have to shoot it with film--my dumb digital does awful things to tone, values, and colors. I wish the digital SLR's weren't so ridiculously expensive.

And I've just discovered the author Jeffrey Ford--I found a book of his short stories, "The Empire of Ice Cream" at the library and I'm afraid I'm hooked. He's considered to be a science fiction and fantasy writer, but don't dismiss him based on that. His stories are surreal and dreamlike, but not sweet and pretty. They're chock full of amazing imagery and make me want to paint. I need to find more of his books!

And I'm waiting on tenterhooks for "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea" to come out on video.

Etsy Shop Update!

2009-01-04T18:01:00.005-06:00

Well, another year has come and gone. But I don't mind so much--I'm so full of hope and optimism for 2009!
Christmas was fun, but it's nice to be done traveling for a while. I'm so glad Ricky and I got to hang with our families over the holidays--we got to see just about everybody. There's far too many photos to post here of our California and Texas trips, but trust me, you'll get the full effect on my Flickr. I'm STILL posting photos from the week in Texas. (I love my camera!)

I'm updating my Etsy shop this Friday, the 9th (That's my friend Laura's birthday, just so you know!). I'm having 4 new aceo prints made up:

And I just finished my first painting of 2009 last night! (To be honest I started it months ago, but I *finished* it last night, so it still counts, right?)
It's called "The Faded Green Light" and it's oil on illustration board, 4x6 inches. It'll be part of the shop update. I like the almost-smirk on her face.

Of course, I'm still working on original watercolor aceo's for Friday and who knows if I have time to come up with anything else. Things will be picking up at the auction house again (I was working there this morning, as a matter of fact), so it's back to the old routine! Hope I see you Friday!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T17:20:00.003-06:00

And Happy New Year everyone! I've been so busy this month, I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long!
We had a trip to California a few weeks ago for an early Christmas with Ricky's mom and my parents and brother. It was so much fun and I took a ton of photos--I should probably post some, hmmm?
Day after tomorrow we leave for Texas to have Christmas with my family--the temperature's supposed to be in the 70's!! YAY!
I hope everyone's having a great holiday: stay safe, stay warm, and best wishes to you all!

Beads, Buttons, Baubles...

2008-12-06T13:22:00.004-06:00

Here's the necklaces I've made recently with all the bits and pieces I've accumulated over the years--glass beads and findings from old broken necklaces, cool buttons, beads that I found in button lots, scraps of felt, buckles, etc, etc.
I made them for myself, mostly because I wanted new jewelry but don't have the money to spend on it! Also, I needed a brown necklace, and another green necklace, and amber is a good neutral color.
I love the pieces made with old Czech glass beads--those beads have such a wonderful quality. And at last a good way to use some of those buttons I've amassed!

Two New ACEO Prints

2008-12-04T07:58:00.006-06:00

Here are two new prints that will go up in the shop on Friday. I sent a batch of four ACEO's away to be printed, but I was really unhappy with two of the resulting prints--the colors were off and the images looked washed out. These turned out well, though--how does that happen?

The Love Letter
2.5 x 3.5 inches

"Medusa Kept Her Snakes Under Her Hat"
2.5 x 3.5 inches

Also, should I have prints made in larger sizes (maybe up to 5 x 7 inches)? It wouldn't be of anything I've printed up to this point--I'd feel like I was cheating because all these are closed editions. Just a thought...

Another Shop Update and New 'Do

2008-11-29T12:51:00.006-06:00

Hmmm, it's been a while since I've written in my blog. I've had a busy couple of weeks: Esther had a stomach virus and then an ear infection, it's been incredibly busy at the auction house this month, I've been tied up with commissioned pieces and Christmas gift-making.. I could go on and on!
The awesome Courtney interviewed me earlier this week and you can check out my inane ramblings at her blog, here. Thanks, Courtney!

As for updates at the ol' Etsy shop, I'm listing some new watercolor ACEO's and two small oil paintings! Maybe some drawings if I get a chance.

"Bear Coat" 2.5 x 3 inches oil on illustration board 2008

"Hidden Inside Her Own Shadow" 2.5 x 3 inches oil on illustration board 2008
And yesterday morning I got my hair cut (FINALLY) at the fabulous Darling Room. Johny did a great job and was everything that my last stylist lacked: he was attentive, informative, he listened, offered great advice. I think I finally found the stylist I can trust with my ridiculously thin and straight hair. In short, YAY!

It's been snowing since early this morning, but it's just too warm to stick. So we get the loveliness of falling snow without the icy mess--nice!

Thanksgiving was quiet, just the three of us. We ate so much, though! I made cornbread stuffing, Tofurky, mashed potatoes, carrots, green beans. Yum. I also baked a pecan pie, a pumpkin pie, and some peanut butter cookies. We had some neighbors over for dessert and coffee Thursday night. That was fun and the kiddos had entirely too much sugar--WHOO HOO!

Etsy Shop Update!

2008-11-13T08:11:00.006-06:00

I finally got my prints mocked up and sent in to the printers--I'm pretty happy with the results. The paper is heavy, almost like cardstock, with a nice watercolor paper texture. The colors and details are clean and crisp. They look pretty good (and this is coming from me, the PICKY one). The images are slightly smaller than 2.5 x 3.5, with a very thin white border around the edges. I usually paint to the edges, which makes matting and framing a little harder. These will be easier to mat.

So each aceo print is a very limited edition of 30---there will never be any more prints of these images. I've numbered, titled, signed, and dated the back of each. I'm kinda excited--these are the first prints I've ever had made; EVER. I've always been hesitant about it. I want the quality to be exceptional, but still affordable. I think these fit the bill. And I like the company who's doing them--FAST turnaround and friendly customer service to boot. It's White House Custom Colour, out of Minnesota, and I would definitely recommend them.

Anyway, SHOP UPDATE! I don't know that I want to announce shop updates just in case someting happens and I can't deliver the goods, but I should be ready for tomorrow. So: Friday, around 2 pm central--you, me and some new original ACEO's as well as some very affordable prints! See you then.

The Nelson

2008-11-10T11:29:00.004-06:00

My friend and fellow painter Rachel Stuart Haas was in town for her opening at the Blue and we got to hang out briefly at the Nelson-Atkins. We were at the Art Institute together and were both in the Illustration department (which, sadly, is long gone). I completely and utterly dig her paintings and have the awesome good fortune to actually own one. You really should go check out her work.

Anyway, here's a pic of the E-girl at a Michael Cross installation in the Bloch building.

Halloween turned out pretty good, by the way. We got another pumpkin the day before and carved it. The weather was fabulous and Esther's costume was cute and she got a ton of candy. It was a fun night.

Halloween Rant... Must Vent!

2008-10-30T08:47:00.002-05:00

I dropped Esther off at school this morning and when I got home, parked in front of our house, and noticed something was different.

ALL OUR PUMPKINS HAD BEEN STOLEN.

We didn't have much on the porch, just our pumpkins and some odds and ends. But our next door neighbor had his pumpkins and ALL his decorations stolen. We've already sent out emails to the rest of the block and my neighbor called the police, but there's not much we can do now.
I haven't heard from any of our other neighbors yet this morning, but it's early yet.

Theft and robbery and break-ins have always been an issue in our neighborhood, but it's gotten worse in the last few months. In fact, it's gotten to the point where we know all our regular patrol officers by name, because we see them so often.

I shouldn't get that upset about the pumpkins--they're going to rot and get composted anyway, but these jerks were up on my porch. I'm just lucky our few decorations are on the inside of the house. Happy stinkin' Halloween. Esther's going to be so bummed when she gets home and finds "her" pumpkin gone. She picked them all out at the pumpkin patch, but one pumpkin was her "special" one.

GRRRRRR. Now I have to go to work and be pissed off all day.
Sorry to vent--I do feel a little better, though...

And the Winnah is...

2008-10-29T09:00:00.004-05:00

Congratulations Kris! Since I don't have your contact information, please email me and we'll do some collaborating on your prize!

spookycat50@hotmail.com

Thanks to everyone who helped me out--you guys made this whole choosing thing fun and a little exciting!
The winning pieces by popular vote are: 1, 5, 6, and 11. If these prints do well, then I'll do a batch of the runners-up: 4, 8, 9, and 10.
Yay!!

Prints for my Etsy Shop!

2008-10-21T20:16:00.006-05:00

I'm in a bit of a quandary--I want to start selling prints of some of my ACEO's in my Etsy shop, but I'll have to start with only four images. I've narrowed it down to these; can you please pick your four favorites? I'll sweeten the deal: out of the replies I receive I'll draw a name and the winner gets an original ACEO watercolor painting! You guys have a week!

10.

11.

Thanks so much! I'll draw a winner on October 29th!

W00T!!!!

2008-10-20T16:32:00.003-05:00

How much does my husband rock?! I've wanted one of these for so long, I can't even begin to tell you... And it's RED!!!!

*dancing in the kitchen* *dance* *dance*

It's Your Anniversaraaaaayyy!

2008-10-20T11:57:00.002-05:00

Seven years ago today we got hitched in Mokelumne Hill, California. As Ricky would say: "Dude, we're so OLLLLLD." It doesn't seem like it was that long ago.

Here's one of my favorite photos from that day:

Don't we look like some late 90's indie rock band's album cover? I don't even know who took this photo--we didn't have a photographer. We just handed out disposable cameras and let our arty friends and family members go nuts.

It was a good day. We had about thirty good friends and family members there; it was a sunny, gorgeous day. I couldn't have hoped for a better wedding. I do remember giggling madly through most of the ceremony, out of sheer nervousness. I laugh at the most inappropriate times.
So yep, been married seven years, and WE'VE NEVER HAD A FIGHT. Hahahahahahaha! If you believe that, you'll believe anything.

Opening at the Kayo!

2008-10-15T16:03:00.005-05:00

It opens Friday!

I'm so excited about the show. This is my first show at the Kayo Gallery, and I can't wait to see photos! It's too bad I can't be there in person.
Wish me luck! I need to make back the exorbitant amount UPS charged to ship my pieces out there :)

For more info, here's the website:

clicky for piccies