our loft featured on Etsy.com

Our little brick loft was featured in this week's "Get the Look: Decor" column on Etsy! Some of the photos were a little outdated - we now have some of my bigger original artwork hanging on the brick wall where those surf posters were - but the look is still mostly the same. Plants, art, and lots of brick :)

You can check it out on Etsy if you want to read more.

inspiration

Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working. - Pablo Picasso

I started this on Friday and was so excited to return to it this morning :)

At the end of this week I'm heading to the lovely little print shop that photographs my work (and also produces my canvas prints.) It's an hour north of Boston and I have to make the trip twice to drop off and then pick up my work, so I'm determined to spend a lot of time in my studio this week and complete as much of many in-progress pieces as possible to make the most of this trip. You can't (and shouldn't) force creative work, but you can definitely welcome inspiration and encourage productivity by spreading out your materials, rolling up your sleeves, tuning out distractions and putting yourself in the moment. I'm hoping to have several new prints, and a few original pieces, available in my shop at the start of next week.

morning light

sweet carolina

Oh my sweet Carolina, what compels me to go
Oh my sweet disposition, may you one day carry me home

- Ryan Adams, "Oh My Sweet Carolina"

When I saw this sweet little farm while road tripping through western North Carolina last fall, I knew it would become a painting but I couldn't really wrap my head around exactly how it should look or progress until just now. I think I'll add a few more details but not too many... "Sweet Carolina" sort of just fell together itself and I'm so happy with her.

inspired by: other painters' palettes

"I found that I could say things with colors and shapes 

that I couldn't say any other way - 

things I had no words for." 

- Georgia O'Keefe

SF Girl By Bay recently shared this collection of palettes of famous painters (my favorite was Gustav Moreau) and it inspired me to do a roundup of paint palettes from other artists I admire...

Artist Xenia Hausner's palette.

The watercolors of Geninne Zlatkis.

Robin Luciano Beaty's encaustic palette (via Apartment Therapy)

The watercolors of Holly Ward.

The work apron of Flora Bowley.

Watercolors, old and new, of Gustavo Aimar.

Audrey Kawasaki's oil paints and palette.

 

Mine :) You can take a look at the painting this palette is creating over on my Facebook page.

down by the banks of the river charles

This year my friend Laura will run the Boston Marathon for the second year in a row and is running as part of the local youth charity America Scores! team. Because of the time, energy and cost involved, I'm not able to donate artwork often, but I LOVE Laura's enthusiasm for what she's doing (and she was my inspiration to begin training for my first 5k!) so I created a Boston-themed painting to be raffled at her fundraising event this weekend. 

An outtake... we are dorks :)

"Dirty Water No. 2"

24" x 18" acrylic and collage on gessoed panel

I think it was a hit! We had a lot of fun at the fundraiser and the winner of the painting seemed happy to have it. "Love That Dirty Water" is a line from a song about Boston by The Standells... we were lucky enough to see the Dave Matthews Band cover it during a concert at Fenway park a few summers ago and I've loved it ever since.

a rainy morning.

Chubby Boots... sometimes I don't even know.