a. t. whim

This is why I LOVE doing ink and watercolor pieces right now. I get to sit in my new favorite chair, with my new ipod set-up right next to me, and a nifty ikea table that holds all my junk. It’s so cozy!

August just had his 8th birthday, with his very first sleep over. It took me a few days to recover. I’m still not quite over it. Two 8 year olds, cake, presents, new toys; I thought I’d never make it. But he had a great time, and that’s all that matters. I must show you this robot I bought him….

I do believe it’s the coolest thing I’ve ever bought. It dances, sees and maneuvers around obstacles, waves hello, shakes it’s head and makes a whimpering sound if you approach it too quickly. Now if I can just get it to vacuum.

I’ve been doing a lot of gardening lately. Neglecting my painting, and trying to make the muddy mess of my yard into something pretty. These bleeding hearts are my favorite thing in my garden right now. I hope I don’t kill it.

Okay so for new work…. I sadly have not much to show you. I finished one commissioned piece, and another for a friend’s baby shower invitation:

waiting for haley

And I just finished another swan painting:

Swans’ child

She’ll be available soon in my shop, along with prints of waiting for haley. Take care everyone! I’ll have to tell you about this spooky movie I just watched tonight soon. I’m a little creeped out! Until then, have a good week. xoxo

I’m back!  With a little bit more color too.  But as soon as I drove across the border into Oregon, it was snowing.  It’s amazing how different the weather is with just a few hours of driving.

Legoland had an impressive display of cities made from Legos…

MADE FROM LEGOS PEOPLE!  AND the little cars moved up and down the streets!  I remember my lego houses having having mismatching brightly colored bricks and a dark green roof, with little blue windows that would swing in and out.

So I lied.  I have no new art to show you.  I have a very good reason!  I decided to check out this silly vampire teenage romance novel that has everyone all a-twitter, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.  I became totally engrossed and obsessed with the characters (especially Edward, yum!).  I read it in a day, and  couldn’t even wait to get home to by the next book from my own bookstore.  I patroned a Borders (sorry Powell’s) and then quickly ate up New Moon.  But I drew the line at the 3rd book.  I waited after driving 13 hours back home and quickly jumped into my bookstore and checked out the 3rd book.  And it’s my devotion to you lovelies that keeps me from snubbing all my responsibilities and having my nose in the book.  I am obsessed.  So forgive me for not painting, books are my weakness.  I swear that after I finish this one, I’ll get back to work (until the 4th book comes out in August).

xoxo

I’m just waiting around for my party to show up in about half an hour, and I thought I’d say HI to everyone!

On Monday I’m heading down to California to visit the family.  August and I are going to Legoland!  It’ll be good to take a vacation, and get some warmth from the desert.  I’m still freezing up here!  I hope you all have a good holiday/vacation/weekend.  I’ll hopefully get some artwork done while I’m away.  I’ve been so busy around the house that the piece above is all I have to show since my last blog.  I know, I’m lagging behind.

Anyway, love you all.  And I’ll be back soon!

xoxo

I got a book of postcards from work full of illustrations by William Heath Robinson. I just LOVE it. It’s called City Living, and it’s just full of *creative* living solutions when living in a small flat. I was so inspired by the above picture that I painted my own version….

I may do another in acrylics this time. It’s been so long since I’ve used my acrylics. I wish it would warm up in my studio already!

I wanted to show you those Arthur Rackham silhouettes I’ve been gushing over. But now I’ve misplaced my book. It happens fairly often when you live in a house with 2 bibliophiles and piles of books everywhere. One day my house will be a library, that or an animal shelter. So anyway, maybe next time.

Tomorrow is the first day of March, my favorite month of the year! Only 22 more days till my birthday. I can’t believe how quickly it came. I’m still figuring out what to do that day. 30 is kind of a milestone right? Am I officially an adult now? I don’t feel like a grown up. I’m still awkward and clumsy, like I’m still growing into this body.

The year of the rat has officially kicked my butt!  I’ve never had a new year begin with so much turmoil.  But I’m happy to report that life is getting back to normal, and things are settling down.

I’m still having fun doing silhouettes, and I picked up a copy of Arthur Rackham’s  Sleeping Beauty which is completely illustrated with his amazing silhouettes.  I’ll have to show you some in my next blog.

It’s quiet around here.  Yesterday it was actually sunny, so I spent all day in the yard racking up HUGE piles of leaves and shooing the chickens away from my poor little plants they’ve been uprooting.  I got a fancy new fridge (I know it’s exciting!).  The freezer in the old one would decide to freeze one day, and not the next.  I’m happy that I can finally have ice cream again!  I’ll spare you a picture of it.  Though it’s the highlight of my week I’m sure you have better things to look at than my fridge!  Then last night August and I went to see Spiderwick, which was fun.  I haven’t read the books yet, but right afterwards we went to the bookstore and August picked up the entire series.

I haven’t been doing as much painting as I should be.  I’ve been catching up on some reading, which I’ve neglected for a year now!  And thinking about what I want my yard to look like this spring.  Next month I’m going to turn 30.  THIRTY.  I’ve decided to give up fast food and smoking, but as the deadline gets nearer…. I’m a little panicked.  I’ve got a whole month to come to terms with my decision.  It’s going to happen.  I should wean myself now so the shock isn’t so great.

Outside it’s hailing.  My toes are very very cold walking around on the hardwood floors.  I think I need more rugs.

Chinese new year is coming up very soon, and my house is a complete disaster!  So as soon as I’m done here, I’m going to start cleaning from top to bottom.  But first I was looking through my studio and online in my shop and I started my new year’s cleaning there.  First I retired many older (and not so old) prints.  Sorry if you had your eye on one.  I can still make a special posting for you if there’s one you absolutely must have and I’ve gone and deleted the listing.  I don’t like having TOO many listings in my shop, it gets overwhelming.

I then went through my stacks of originals and marked some down for the SALE SALE SALE section of my shop, and deleted other listings to just give away to my peeps.  Purging feels good!

I don’t know if I’ll finish cleaning before the new year.  Really, this place is a pig sty, it’s so embarrassing!

Take care everyone, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!  (year of the rat, if you were wondering… not usually good for us horses)

As I was re-alphabetizing the Fairytale section of the Kids’ room at Powell’s today, I (of course) had to stop and flip through all the Arthur Rackham books. The man was truly an amazing artist. I especially LOVE his silhouettes. So inspired by him, I did a couple of silhouettes myself today.

I’ll Lend My Heart to You

Tree Tattoo

I’ve also been wistfully thinking about the many tattoos I want. Like a tree above and the mermaid tail below…

But unfortunately I have too many practical things that eat up my money.

And tonight, as I was watching a Frida documentary, I was thinking how nice it would be to visit Mexico. Visit Frida’s home, take in some sights, and add more little goodies to my Dia de los Muertos shrine. It’s probably been about a million years since I’ve taken a real vacation! Just for fun I’ve been looking at travel books, checking flights, you know…. pretending I’m fabulously rich and can take a vacation whenever!
Perhaps one day… But for now, I’ll just draw myself with prospective tattoos and stare at books of Mexico.

Oh yeah, and the illustrations above will be in my shop sometime this weekend. Have a good one!

YAY! Snow day!

I just saw Sweeney Todd last Tuesday. I loved it so much, I didn’t even mind the pretty boy who was suppose to be a *sailor* or the ear piercing voice of Johanna. Johnny and Helena were so perfect, I could sit and just watch them forever and ever. AND Alan Rickman was just the perfect creepy villain. Musical bloody brilliance. Tim Burton gives such visual eye candy with all his movies, I expected nothing less.

Unfortunately I couldn’t say I shared a love for The Golden Compass. Visually, yes, it was okay. But, for these books in which I hold so dear, I feel like they ripped them to shreds and glued it back together haphazardly. I was so disappointed with the whole film. There wasn’t any of the rank, nastiness that was Iofur’s palace. I didn’t feel the connection and importance of people’s daemons. The beautiful way the gyptians ran as a society was completely dismissed. SO upset by the whole film. I’m afraid of what they’re going to do to the other books. I don’t think I can bare to watch.

To put that film out of my mind, I’ve been rereading the series and appreciating Pullman’s beautiful writing all the more. So I guess I should thank the movie for making me love the books more than I had already. Oh please, if you haven’t read these books already, do so as soon as you can. It would be tragic if you only had the films to glimpse this trilogy’s brilliance.

I’ve painted a few little things. Two of which I finished today, that I love love love.

Mad Alice

Snow White on a pyre of roses…

Both of which I’ll be posting in my shop soon.

The following I did a little while ago.

A Horsey girl to ring in Chinese New Year!

And a girl who’s been shot by cupid so many times, she’s bleeding hearts… poor thing.

It’s still very very very cold here; colder than it has been all year. I think it’s so unfair that it isn’t snowing. Maybe if I wish hard enough….

xoxo

Look!  I have my very own spinner!  I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner.  Now you local Portlanders can purchase my prints from Powell’s Books at Cedar Hills Crossing (My lovely bookstore in Beaverton).  I like to walk by it at least 5 times a day when I’m working.  So come check it out!  And also our new diggs in Cedar Hills if you haven’t been yet.  It doesn’t quite have the same funky warehouse feel to it, but still piled high with books.  I don’t know if I’ll ever get over losing my old kids’ room, but this one is nice too.

Anyway, I’ve been lazy lazy lazy, and haven’t painted anything for a couple of weeks now.  I think I’ve been admiring my new car too much!  But I’ll need to start paying for it soon, so it’s back to the easel!

Promise I’ll have SOMETHING to show you soon!  xoxo