Day Off

Every two weeks, Christophe & I have made the brilliant decision to give one another a "day off" from the kids. This way, even though one of us must take care of the little ones alone on a weekend, the other lucky spouse gets to ride off into the sunset for a few hours. It has made us much happier, I think.

Yesterday was my day off, and I got into the car and headed to Robert Moses State Park. It's a gorgeous stretch of beach on the southeast shore of Long Island, just a bit further east than Fire Island (it's actually attached to Fire Island). There's a stunning array of boardwalked dunes and endless blue, unobstructed Atlantic Ocean. You have to drive over 3 bridges to get there, but the weather forecast was for rain, so was able to make the trip in only 20 minutes! And guess what? It didn't rain.

I spent a blissful few hours soaking up the sun and basking in the beautiful scenery. The only surprise was that ummm... part of this scenery included lots of naked people. I had inadvertently wandered so off the beaten path that I'd ended up next to a little nudist colony. Well, what's a day off without a few surprises?!

Found Art Friday - ORDINARY

"Do You Think I'm Ordinary" by Emma Talbot.

"Laundry" by Pippin.

"Random Influences" by Megan Woodward Johnson.

"The Widsom of Ordinary Things" by Cathy Nichols (me).

"Peaceful, Ordinary Day" by Christophe.

What a beautiful group of pieces for our "ordinary" theme. And thank you all so much for participating on such short notice. When the random word generator popped out "ordinary," I was disappointed at first. I thought, 'gee, isn't this the antithesis of everything I try to say in my work.' But then I started to think about how much beauty and magic exists in each "ordinary" moment. So for my painting, "The Wisdom of Ordinary Things," I looked out my window and started painting the scene. And, in the spirit of FAF's serendipities, Christophe took a photo of the same rooftop that I painted (but from the upstairs bedroom). :)

Beautiful work, everyone! And please stop by the blogs of our contributors. The artists not only posted their work, but commented on the process of each piece -- I love what everyone had to say about their paintings this week!

New Customizable Wall Art

I had a lot of fun this week creating some art blocks for children, and one of the things I stumbled upon was this new idea to personlize my "Little Start" art block (guitar piece). This original painting actual resides in my son, Nicky's room, but I created a print on wood for a baby named Logan this weekend, and I just love the effect of adding his name in cut paper! I'm now selling these customizable prints on wood at my Etsy shop.

And, PS, I wholeheartedly apologize to all of my lovely Found Art Friday participants, but I completely forgot to post a theme this month. Duh. I have just been struggling to regain my momentum for the past month after being so sick in April. But I am definitely feeling well again. Thank goodness. But, in terms of FAF, I am going to randomly pick a theme right now from a word generator. Here it is: ORDINARY. Oh my. This is a tough one. Well. Since we only have one week left, I suppose this FAF is for the true creatives out there! I am going to try it. :)

Grandma, where are all the Easter Eggs?

Tiny Portrait #2 in the Penny June Series. 5x7 acrylic & cut paper on wood.

Here is another portrait of the adorable PJ with her maternal grandmother. They are actually attending an Easter Egg Hunt in New York, hence the cute bunny ears. Though, personally, I don't think animal ears should be reserved for holidays. Grandpas are coming soon...

Baby Love

Tiny Portrait of PJ and Grandma Toni - 5x7 inches, acrylic on wood panel.

I finished my first in a series of 4 tiny portraits featuring this beautiful baby and her grandparents. Of course, I used a snippet of Basic Grey paper to create PJ's pinafore. Then I used the peach color for Toni's shirt. I think the colors are very springy. I so wish this had been completed for Mother's Day, but time is so short now that my husband is working away from home. I run back to work after dropping Annabelle & Nicky off at playschool. Then, by the time I set up my color pallette, I only have an hour to work. But today there is a nap happening (for about 4 more minutes!).

I hope that you all had a wonderful Mother's Day and that you were celebrated (you DEFINITELY deserve it, moms!!!)

A Tiny Portrait in Progress: Grandma & Baby

I've finally started the 4 tiny portraits I will be doing of this beautiful baby, Penny June. Her parents ordered a tiny portrait last year of themselves with her as a newborn, and they have commissioned me to paint her next with each grandparent. Here she is with her Grandma Toni at the lake. I just love the expression of joy on Toni's face and the way that Penny June is gazing at her adoringly.