easter eggs

Painting eggs today ! I've needed a little diversion from large projects. My mother was good at getting us involved in creative ventures without worry of the mess we might make. Blowing eggs and painting them .... with brushes and acrylics. Toothpick structures were another good winter activity. One of my older brothers , John, who was either the most  extreme or just the most competitive , attempted to make a life size form of a man from the ground up. Muscle structure and all.  The hips were constructed before it became a victim of circumstance . 5 adolescents in one home, not conducive to fragile works of art. There are no eggs that survived that time either.

last coat

Just finished the very last coat of sealer on the floor cloth. All the prep and tedium of getting a beautiful piece of art work completed.... all worth it in the end. Common comment I get from the observer is
" That looks like so much fun!" and my response is " I'm happy when it's completed. I do love my work... but I find that about 10% of it is fun. Then comes the drive to see it through to the finish. When I do get it done.... I am in an annoyingly good mood.

aged floor cloth

 A couple of photos of the 20 yr old floor cloth that was completed and used under an old oak dining table for many yrs.. Now it's in my kitchen . Mop when it gets dirty . I love to cook for others,  nice way to brighten up the work space .


 No worries, no vacuuming or laundering.


What do you think?


20 yrs of heavy use and no fading or staining.


Super durable and Harvey can't hurt it.

floor cloth

I am finally getting this rug sealed.  

At least five coats of a Uv resistent interior/exterior poly on both the top and underside . Definitely a two man job. 2nd coat today and by the end of next week , hopefully it will be in its new home.

I kind of hate to see it leave the studio. 

functional art floor cloth

Today I am finishing the painting on a HUGE floor cloth. This one is a 12 1/2 ft X 7 1/2 foot rug that will be placed under a large dining room table. It is a commission for a couple that happen to be Greek and Norwegian. She being the Greek 1/2 and He , the Norsk . Hence the Greek key border that compliments the Norwegian rosemaling scroll pattern. Many advantages to having a floor cloth rather than a conventional rug under a table, not to mention,  art for the floor.

I always gather what I can of a surrounding area and the people who are going to enjoy the work . I've learned to trust my intuition through many years of work in this area. When I work too hard at the idea .... it tends to be an unnatural fit.

color consult

I just stopped by to see the results of a color consult I had done before the holidays. Took a few photos. I should have taken more but, I will tell you about it.

 She found me through the yellow pages after applying many paint samples on the walls while the painters were getting antsy. The call came with 2 days left for a deadline. Really a tremendous amount of work was being done to overhaul what had been a rental for 15 yrs  into a home made for beautiful artwork and collected antiques.
Some of the colors I chose were adjustments to those that she already had in mind and others were a complete switch. Or should I say a re-arrangement of colors. I brought in the dark teal to accent the slate counters that she was having installed. The pumpkin color was a color she loved and planned to have on the cabinets. Instead it was put on the walls as a compliment to the dark woods on the opposite wall.

The gold in the living room was what I would call an adjustment to what she had chosen. I could see from the samples what the desired look was . I never want to change your style.... my desire is to create the finish look you have in mind. Sometimes ( as in the cabinet color ) I'll raise another alternative to enhance the look.

The hall bathroom and hallway was done in a deep red that  had already been chosen.No photos .... sorry. My part was to encourage using the red in the bathroom, which was initially going to be all white. The bathroom had  lots of white tile , black accents , and an overall retro look . The focal piece of artwork being a black and white photo of Martha Graham, which was set nicely by the red .

super bowl sunday

Super bowl munchies are on the agenda today. guacamole with fresh avocados, a little jalepeno, onion, garlic, and lots of lime.
Also peach , habenero pepper jelly with cream cheese on crackers. Yum! I found the best pepper jelly locally made from organic ingredients and am carrying it in my shop. Pepper jelly is one of my favorites and I've tried lots. This one is awesome. The first food item I have consigned.I feel it fits in with all the other locally made art . Food art .... that is what I would call it! Great orange color too.

iphone

I'm waiting for my iphone ( thanks to verizon ) next week. I'll be posting more real time info once I get that up and running. Pics of work in progress and video of classes is what I am hoping for.

Today I've been working on the very large floor cloth commission I've been talking about. It is coming along. I take little breaks in my work day by painting some blown eggs for easter. I find small detail and the  size limit is relaxing for me. I can only do so much on 3 square inches of space... no stress.

These are just a few of the piggy banks I painted last year. 150 of them and there are only 6 left. All sold!
ONE HUNDRED FIFTY you say. ..... what an exercise in creativity . Each one unique.

pink lady

pink lady is a piece I completed last year. The subject and idea came from an old 1914 grainy black and white photo of my grandmother in her youth. The photo was taken not long after she arrived here in the US from her home country of Northern Norway. My grandmother , as I knew her , was energetic and direct. Although she was a petite 5 ft woman , you couldn't miss her presence in a room. Her favorite color throughout her long life was pink. So much so that at the age of 18 and 13, my sister and I , were sent to the farm to paint grandmas house. Pink ... of course. She wore pink most of the time and the perfume she loved was rose.

I wanted to bring this photo to life with the colors I see around my grandmother. Her impish personality is evident in the photo and I imagine what she had in mind for her future at the time the photo was taken. Every opportunity in the world was waiting for her.

So hot pink was the color for this painting. No doubt about it. She was not to be taken lightly.