A Birthday Commission

I created the above painting for a friend of mine. It was a gift for his wife for her birthday of their incredibly beautiful kids... who I adore by the way.

I had to complete it in a rush and was not entirely confident in the way it turned out. Do you know when you get to that point where you have put so much work in, you are tired, and you still fear that something is missing? ...but if you keep working you may go too far and you won't be able to take it back. So I stood, staring, trying to make it all make sense for my creative brain. Finally, I stepped away and let it go. I figured it would look different in the morning and sure enough, it did. Then, at breakfast, when I gave it to him and I saw his smile, I knew that it came out just the way it should have.

For My Artistic Mentor... so to speak

My good friend Jenn has always pushed me to continue painting and keep my passion for art alive. I created this for her as a Thank You for always being there to inspire me. She in fact is one of the people who made me realize how important it is to stay creative... to keep painting... always painting... I suppose I did not realize I had let a part of myself go when I stopped painting a year or so ago. Since I started again, it is like I cannot keep up with my mind. My heart keeps dreaming up series after series before I can even paint them.

However, I like where this technique is going and the series... the softness of it. I have decided to call it "Photographic Memory." I plan to include a set of city photos from around the world as part of this series. Next up is Paris... then probably Amsterdam.

PS - I back-dated this post to reflect when I actually painted them not when I posted them.

A Gift for New Jersey

For Erica's birthday I wanted to use a photo she had of her and her brother when they were young. I love this photo - I was compelled to create with it somehow. Here is what came out.

Californian Influence

So my everything but related sister came to visit this weekend. She was having a personal emergency and I am glad she came to hang out. Anyway, her last night, we took two canvases and painted them side by side. Here is the one that I kept.

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

Talk about a great weekend. Start on the boat and then back to the house for food, fun and friends. As a surprise, Maddy and Erica bought a large canvas that all attendees at my birthday party could help paint. Even better, Mom was visiting and I hate to say we kinda monopolized the canvas, but I made sure everyone put in at least a stroke. It was awesome. A commemorative painting to the past 25 years... over... I am now 26.

A Creation From The WOMB

Hahahaaaa... I couldn't type that with a straight face. WOMB - Women of Many Blessings... so we have created a group of talented diverse women who all bring something different to the table. The first month, we have decided to cook and paint with oils. I was really excited to do this because I had never been able to create a work in this medium. Even more unique, we used nine separate canvases stacked together and painted in unison, back and forth over each other. It was a curious experiment, as each person's contributions inspired new and different contributions.

They are letting me use color...

Loving it... loving it. Color ad for print magazine.

Electronic production now begins...

I finally truly get to put my recently acquired graphic skills to the test. While the design was created for an existing brand, the purpose was to create a unique position for the product. Newspaper B&W ad for San Saba Spa at Lakeway Resort.