Sweeter

This is the third piece in my little "Sweet Secrets" series. One sold at Terzian (my gallery in Park City) last month, the other two ship out to Gallery One in Ohio today for their miniature show. The message behind the series is simple: love and sweet stuff. They were fun little paintings to paint. I had a song running through my mind when I painted this one. A line in the song goes, "She's just like you only sweeter." Just "sweeter" stuck on this one. (I have another idea for a painting that will use "Just like you only Sweeter" for it's title - another topic for another day.) I would like to be sweeter. A sweeter mom, a sweeter wife, sister, friend.. I'm also feeling the magic of Valentine's day coming on, it's one of my favorites. Romance, red and pink, love it. The other two pieces are "Sweet Secrets" (shown above) and "Love Birds".

Spring Cleaning

I finally got our playroom painted! It has almost been a year since I drew out the rooms for the house. Complete with kitchen (which is more often used as a restaurant), living room (oh, I epoxied the door handle on, don't worry Gav, it won't come off), and baby's room.

Something about January makes me go into home-improvement-project-mode and crave cleaning out the clutter. It's sunny and warm enough to open the windows and air out the paint fumes. Spring cleaning in January? When the moment moves you, you have to go with it. I dumped seven trash bags stuffed full of toys at DI last week. It felt so good! (Thanks Laurie for the inspiration, I envy your clean-freakiness.) Well, the playroom is painted and ready to accessorize. Did I mention how much easier it is to clean without so much junk? I sure hope they like it as much as I do. I keep going into the room and absorbing all the delicious color. Eye candy, yum. I'm having a hard time not attacking the whole house, I need more color!


While I was at it, I got a much-needed book shelf for my big girls' room. After the Ikea shelf fell for the third time, leaving unsightly holes in the wall each time and narrowly avoiding decapitation, the books have remained in piles on the floor, which is no good at all. Their room is way too cute for clutter. Closets are next...

Get to Work!

I've been working and it feels so good! I have a lot of paintings to paint this year, and am super excited about everything. I finished a couple miniatures to send to Ohio already - so far so good. I started my first "Apron" paintings for my show in December. That's right, it's eleven and a half months away, but you'll see, it's going to come fast. I'll need at least twenty paintings for the solo show. The most I have ever painted in a year is twenty-five. My list, so far, this year is up to 47... Like I said, time to get to work!

I started my piece for the Spring Salon last night. I am doing a self portrait. I haven't done an official self portrait since I was in school. I'm thinking about doing one, loaded with symbolism and typical of my current work, every decade. The Spring Salon will be the very month I turn thirty. I like the idea, though you might have to remind me when I turn forty, please. I'm debating if the pose is a little too dramatic. I have another image that is more stagnant and sober. I liked how I was looking up to heaven, "help me..." said with a little one pulling my hair and another making freakishly high-pitched sounds. In my old age I am getting really inolerant to noises that hurt my ears. Speaking of, a big thanks goes out to Cloe, for standing on a chair next to the tripod and snapping pictures of me to use for scrap. You should have seen her directing the poses, she is a photographer in the making, for sure.

Secrets Revealed

Now that the gift giving is done, I can show what I have been so excited about. I had so much fun making these trays for my family. I was tempted to switch careers from painting to mixed-media collage! Wouldn't that be fun. My mom and dad's tray is entitled "Russle and Barbara are having a Party." Those are their bowling names. Pete, my brother, and Jenn's is a tribute to their love. I used a printed out copy of a painting I did of her and drew a little image of him and hung it on the tree with fruit-hearts. I made queen bee for my sister, Sari. She acts like royalty on occasion (I mean that in a good way), so I thought it would be fitting. My oldest brother, Josh, and his wife Lisa got my favorite, for zen purposes. It has a nice composition that I like to look at. My oldest sister, Cass, and Dan got a modge-podged paper doll, with a little felted coat. I color copied the image and gave them a few copies because I knew how hard it would be not to cut her out and play.

I think they liked them, once they figured out that they were trays. There was a little confusion upon opening that did not ease my homemade-gift-giving apprehension.

It felt good to take December off and just do some creative stuff. I have rejuvenated my creative wells. It's good to switch gears sometimes and start again with a clear head. I have some good stuff about to happen and can hardly wait to jump in and start whipping out these ideas filling my brain.

Happy New Year

As we tip toe through the magical land of the snow people into a new year, I'd like to wish you all a happy, prosperous 2008 full of love, joy, and opportunities to learn and grow and give. Here my sister, Hun, and I give you a big whoopity-do-dah with a honkety-honk to ring it in. I think it's going to be a good one.