Etsy-ness!

From Blogger Pictures

We'll see what happens, buuut...



I'm on Etsy now! Check it out and let me know what you think. Too pricey? Not good enough? Just right?

What else can I sell? I want to go to France this year!

Puppy Progression

I've been meaning to post these images of the painting I did of Xavier's best friend, Arthur. Here they are!

From Arthur painting

From Arthur painting

From Arthur painting

From Arthur painting

I decided against painting the letter "A" on it - it looked fine without.

I was happy at how this turned out, and thrilled that Xavier liked it too. Maybe I should do pet portraits instead of people.

30

From Open House 2008

Today is Eric's birthday. I feel like it was yesterday that I painted this picture, but the reality is that almost eight years have passed. It reminds me constantly of why I cherish him - he waits for me to finish some project (like, say, a senior show) and dutifully acts as a model, a gopher, and a confidant. He is patient and regards me with such esteem. Here, he looks at me - can he tell that it is I who is doing the admiring?

I love this man, and I am so glad his parents chose to have him 30 years ago.

Portrait Inspiration

The following is something my mom sent me. I love it! So many inspiring portraits.

Recent Work - just kidding!

While my hallway is still in the "Work in Progress" stage, I enjoyed this mural at the DuPont Mansion Bed and Breakfast on Fourth Street, near Central Park. I attended an appreciation party for volunteers of the Old Louisville Garden Tour. I was unable to make it to all the gardens, but I so enjoyed greeting people at Garden 8 on Fountain Court. I am going to do it again next year! I met so many wonderful neighbors. I love living in Old Louisville - have I mentioned that?

Some shots from 410 Fountain Court:

What I've Been Up To

Have I mentioned how much I love summer? My ten-page to-do list probably consolidates down to only about three pages now. I have time to pursue so many different ideas, chasing them like Alice chasing the White Rabbit. Hopefully, I'll have a colorful array of completed projects in my pocket before the fairy tale ends. So, here are a few of the characters in this summertime story:

Our Hallway

My wonderful mother-in-law, Kathleen, and I are experimenting with Pompeii-inspired murals in our hallway. It is coming together nicely. It will be so different, but I love this style, the colors, and a vision of what it will look like is slowly revealing itself. Which brings me to...

Louisville Faux website
Do you love the look of Venetian plaster? Do you have a ceiling or accent wall that you want to stand out? Look no further than Louisville Faux for samples and ideas for your next redecorating project. :) (We're only a day old, so check back often for updates!)

Louisville Love

With all the love for Louisville I've seen, I want to exploit it as much as possible. :) I do love this city, especially living downtown. I want to my fondness with other "lovers" through the pictures I've taken. Here's a mock-up of what I have in mind. I'm experimenting with details, like whether or not to "seal" the bottom, to write "Louisville" on it, etc. Another idea, for notecards:

The seals are made from hot glue gun glue. I tried many, many ideas that incorporated reusing stuff I had (crayons, candle wax, etc.), but this seems to be the most consistent.

Organization

I don't know about you, but I hate looking for things. I want to be able to have the super power of knowing where any one thing is at any one time. It helps to have purged so much stuff over the years. I finally feel like I have just the right amount of things; enough to make me able to do certain projects, but not too much to be unusable or unmanageable. I've organized all the closets, the pantry, and now my art/craft supplies.

I've managed to also spend some time in the garden and trying out a few other crafty projects, not to mention catching up on reading, visiting with friends and family, being outside, painting portraits, and researching all sorts of ideas.

Next up:
> figure out Etsy and CafePress
> delve into more portraits and painting
> test the vast waters of sewing and upholstery (!)
> try more new recipes
> make more areas of our life more sustainable - rain barrels, anyone?
> ride bikes further and more frequently to prep for a long anniversary trip in late August (any thoughts on destinations within about 30-45 miles of downtown Louisville?)

What have you been up to this summer, or what future plans are you anticipating?

Painting and Other Things

While I was hard at work on a portrait, my cat, Melville, was toiling away at this lovely little composition. Why is it that cats always seem to sleep on something that color-coordinates with their fur?

I did paint today! I'll post pictures soon, after I get approval from my client. Here's some evidence, though:

I also have been doing calligraphy for a friend's wedding invitations:

All in all, a good summer so far! What have you been doing?

Hooray!

We have been searching for a table for our kitchen for the last few years, and today we find it. It was sitting there so unassuming at Target. I would've loved to have bought something used or at least built in the U.S., but it was there and it fits so perfectly. we may have to stain it black to match the cabinets. We've had two meals on it already!

This weekend has been so perfect. I tried out my oil pastels (I'll need to keep trying; I'm not crazy about them), and I started seven different paintings. Six of them are portraits, and the last is based on the picture posted below. Here's that work in progress...

I also searched through all my digital pictures to find some artistic ones that I can use as practice. I ended up printing 115. We'll see what happens!

Trumpeting

Here's a recent painting I've done, again donated. I've still got a half-dozen of donated portraits in the queue, but I'm feeling energized and inspired in this new year. I've uploaded some shots documenting the process as well, though the underpainting is a little pathetic. More to come....