Off Duty

"Off Duty" 8x8 inch original mixed media (paper and acrylic) painting on wood panel.

Today was a blissful day of painting, and I finished this new piece. It's #8 in my surfing series and the only one still for sale. I don't have the original posted yet on my website, but I have prints already available here on Etsy.

I also moved my studio downtairs in order to cool down from the heat. We are having a heatwave in NY at the moment, and it's nice to be able to create downstairs in my new cave. Thank you, Christophe, for taking the little ones today!!

"Birdie Garden" in the Nursery!

One of my clients was kind enough to send along of photo of"Birdie Garden" framed and hung in her baby's new nursery. I love the way the birds in the mobile compliment the birds in the painting, and the wallpaper is so cool! You can see more of this beautiful & creative baby space here on Melanie's blog.

Etsy Gift Guide: Alfresco!

I know this is shameless, but I am happy to annouce that my "Blue Bicycle" print is presently featured in one of ETSY's gift guides -- a lovely collection called "Alfresco" that includes lots of really cool stuff about the outdoors.

Ordinarily I might gloss over this little happy piece of PR, but I haven't had much time to paint since returning from Jamaica, and this tidbit brightens my spirits. It was quite a shock to the system to return to two babies and one 6-year old stepdaughter after 6 days of lying on the beach blissfully listening to Bob Marley and waving a red flag for more drinks. Sigh.

The good thing about going away without the kids is that you sometimes realize upon 're-entry' that you need to make a few changes. Tomorrow we are creating a "chore board." It is actually going to be a fairly artistic endeaver that involves wooden hearts and chalkboard paint. Wish me luck. :)

Surfer Girl

"Surfer Girl" 8x10 mixed media on wood panel. Original is sold, but prints are available here on ETSY.

Finally -- a surfer GIRL! I have wanted to create this piece for a long time, and am very happy with the interesting way the collaged parts fell together. I was contemplating just painting her on a regular wave, but then I saw this very groovy piece of paper and just had to poise her catching a wave on an unfolding butterly flower.

Well, for all of you out there who continue to read my blog, thank you SO much! I wish that I could be a better blogger (and blog reader!!) of late, but I have been a tad under the weather. I'm currently recovering from a scary bout of bronchitis and trying to get as much rest as possible. But I will be back to visit as often as I can. :)

The Floating World

"The Floating World" -- 10x10 inch acrylic and cut paper on cradelled wood panel. (original is SOLD) Prints are available here on ETSY.

This is #6 in my surf series, and it was inspired by the children of the film "Surfwise." The alternate title I toyed with for it was "Balance," because so much about this painting reflects that concept: the children and the tree itself, but also the actual composition of the painting and the placement of each shadow in the water, leaf on the tree and piece of cut paper for each child's swimsuit. But I ultimately settled on "The Floating World" because it was more magical -- just like a tree floating in the middle of the water and the idea of spending your childhood in an RV chasing waves.

The Boys of Summer

"The Boys of Summer" 8x10 inch mixed media acrylic & paper on birch panel. Original is sold, but prints are available here.

The latest in my surf series! And don't we all love the boys of summer? Sigh.

Indian Summer

After reading through Christophe's comments on "Heading In," I decided that he was BRILLIANT because I like the title "Indian Summer" so much for my surfing painting. Thank you, Christophe! Now don't we wish we were having an indian summer right now in NY rather than its opposite - a June full of rain and cold temperatures. What is this called? Eskimo Summer?