Becoming Rita

I decided at the last minute this week to enter an online self-portrait competition. But, the last thing I wanted to do was paint myself the way I am typically every day. I have always thought I should have been born a 1940's film star, like Rita Hayworth or Lauren Bacall. So, naturally I took this opportunity to turn myself into a 40's starlet.


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1932

Finally finished.


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A bit of Random for your Tuesday

1. I finished my taxes yesterday, but for some reason that makes me feel like I have the right to take a little mini-vacation. Not a good start for this year's earnings...

2. I am still in my pajamas, still drinking coffee, and contemplating 2nd breakfast.

3. At some point today I will have to get dressed and go teach my after school program at the museum, although I have already wondered if the kids would notice if I showed up in my current state of sweatpants awesomeness.

4. My after school kids are building museum dioramas, and it's pretty amazing to see what a 3rd grader can make out of a cardboard box.

5. I have been trying to figure out how to make my time out of my sweats as short as possible.

Just a glimpse

A small portion of the piece I am currently working on.

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She Wore Blue

24"x 24"
Oil on Canvas
To purchase, email me with the title in the subject line.

You may have seen where I posted this piece on Valentine's day, but I never explained anything about it. The photo is of my Grandparents when they were younger. I really don't know where they were all dressed up to go, but the massive corsage on my Grandmother's shoulder suggests it was somewhere fancy. They were sitting in front of a large brick fireplace, I am guessing just before they left for their fun-filled evening. I actually don't even know what color her dress, but in my head I saw the light, gauzy layers as a beautiful sky blue.


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Hair today, gone tomorrow

When I was little, I always had long, thick, dark brown hair, and I hated getting it cut. I would cling to it like a thick brown security blanket. It wasn't until I finished high school that I discovered the joys of changing your hairstyle, and especially over the past few years, it has changed fairly often. About a year ago, because of budgetary concerns and because it is something I always wanted to do, I made the decision to grow out my hair so that I could donate it to Locks of Love. I have slowly been saving up my dollars and growing out those inches to have the required 10" of hair. Finally, yesterday I reached my goal, and was able to go from this:



to this:

About a foot of hair gone and approximately 5 pounds lost in about an hour.


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A new start

Happy New Year Everybody! I had every intention of sitting down to write this post this time last week. In fact, Monday night I made my mental to-do list of all the things I was going to accomplish in order to get 2011 off to an organized and enthusiastic start. That was until I woke up on Tuesday morning with a raging sinus infection that has completely knocked me flat for the past week. I rang in the new year huddled under a blanket on my couch, clutching my box of tissues in one hand and a glass of sparkling grape juice in the other.

That rough start aside, though, I am excited about the prospect of 2011. 2010 was a year of choices and balance. The choices mainly centered around choosing to give up a portion of my free time for a bit more guaranteed income, and learning to balance all the new things I had taken on board. Some days felt like a mad dash from one job to another, getting home at night with just enough time to rest up and start again the next day.

But 2011 dawned with a clearer idea of the work that has to be done and a lot of hope for the future. I already have some exciting projects in the works, and a few others in the planning stages. I have plans to experiment with a few new media in the coming months, as well as to continue to master my current one. And, I am hoping to make some much needed updates to the blog, website, newsletter, and other areas of my business as well. Thanks for sticking around through the past few years, and here's to many more exciting adventures to come! I leave you with a few of the commissions I completed for Christmas. Enjoy!

Have you seen Fete?

Have you seen the new Fete Magazine? It is a new online magazine celebrating downtown Greenville. And the new December issue just happens to have one of my paintings on the cover. Go to http://emag.fetegreenville.com/ to check out this great new mag (and flip over to page 11 for a little bit more about me.)


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A Weekend for Art

There are so many art events happening this weekend that you could fill every minute with amazing local art. Below are a couple of events I will be participating in. I hope you will get a chance to check out all the great art, music, and more!


The 2nd annual Winter Art Market at Art Crossing is this weekend. The event includes over 50 local artists, local musicians, tea garden provided by O-Cha Tea Bar, and more.

Art Crossing is located in the heart of downtown Greenville along the Reedy River in Falls Park. Check out http://www.artcrossingwam.blogspot.com/ for more details about this exciting event.



































And, while you are out, check out the Small Works Show at The Artistry Workshops and Gallery. This is an amazing selection of local artists, and these pieces are the perfect size for gift giving. Visit http://www.TheArtistryGallery.com for more details.

Wish you were here

Getting ready to send some mail...


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Lillies and lessons

A few more background touches and details, and I think this one will be done. The woman in the middle presiding over this unruly crowd is my Grandmother. Although I don't know much about what is going on in this scene, I am guessing it is Easter. I love how only the kids right in front of her are praying or paying attention. My favorite part, although it is hard to see in this little photo, is the boy just to the right of my Grandmother. He seems to have realized he is in the middle of a bunch of girls, and is peering around them to the group of boys at the end of the row.


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All in a row

Continuing to work on this colorful row of children. I love how you can get a sense of their personalities in this moment, just by their poses and gestures. A little more about the inspiration photograph later.


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