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4 x 4 in.
Ok then...how many days has been it been? A whole 2 days away from the blog?! :)
Actually it's been 6 days away from daily painting, and already I'm re-inspired on my vacation ~ and a new friend emerged today. Meet Eli. He's so cute, it hurts.
(...now back to the regularly scheduled vacation!)
I leave you with some pretty peonies. Peony blooms are some of the most intricate and beautiful I've ever seen. And every year at this time, I'm delighted, because good ol' Trader Joes has them available to bring home with you.
See you soon!
This is me yesterday. Not grouchy, I promise, very excited, but the sun was in my eyes. Obviously due to my outfit, you might guess that "no" I did not attend a Hollywood awards function, and "yes", we went surfing!! We beat the heat for a couple of hours and it was so much fun ~ perfect summer surfing weather, meaning the pacific ocean water temp. was WONDERFUL. The crowds were out in full force, as if someone said, "it's officially summer ~ now get out there and surf!". But I'm happy to report that there were plenty of waves for all of us to catch, and apparently from what I've been told, I managed to catch a really BIG wave and thankfully I didn't turn around to see it as I probably would've been frightened and fell off my board instantly, which I did seconds later, but only after I had the thrill of catching it and getting up on two feet again. All the, what often seems like endless paddling and being smacked by waves...is SO WORTH IT for moments like that. If you're a surfer, then you know what I mean.
And in other news, I'm heading off for vacation on Wednesday! so tomorrow is your last chance to get any must needed "orders" in, as my last day to the post office for a bit will also be Wednesday. As I spent my day today getting ready for my trip, I realized just how much in need of a break I really am. Working 6 months straight will do that to a person, I think (turns out my mini "at home vacation" in the spring ~ not so much ~ I worked anyway, maybe just not AS much ;). And I remembered that one of the reasons I wanted to be self-employed in the first place was to be in charge of my own vacation time, and funny thing is I find it harder than ever to "let go" of my work. But it's time, as I also realized today that I'm losing some serious perspective on the big picture and it's time to refresh, and renew and regain that perspective. With that said, I think I'll be back before I head out, but I'm not making any promises as it might be time to officially "let go". (but then if you've "known me" for a while, you know that the creativity doesn't stop on vacation for me, it gets inspired, and sometimes I do like to pop in and say hello, but again, I'm just giving myself the option to be gone if I need to.) lots of love to you out there ~ I hope you too will be vacationing soon!
6 x 6 in.
Happy first day of SUMMER! I hope you have a beautiful weekend. It's still burning up here, so I'm keeping this post short and sweet. These 3 little birds (one of them is Olive by the way :)) are celebrating their friendship, the first day of summer among orange of course (can't let go of my orange yet ~ you know these paintings are timely!) and the title is actually inspired by the Bob Marley song of the same name. The little birds and I are wishing you this sentiment from the song, a very fitting one to remember for the beginning of these carefree days of summer;
"Don't worry about a thing. Because every little thing is gonna be alright."
6 x 6 in.
It's too hot to think and write at this moment ~ summer is definitley here and that's so exciting, because it means that my vacation is also getting near...and that's SUPER exciting!!
happy summer wednesday!
6 x 6 in.
Penguin: Hi Olive, who are you going to be today?
Olive: Why a polar bear of course!
(My guess is that you already know that this one is most definitely in the book!)
*Edit* later today~ I found out that my embroidered tea towel has been accepted in the mad tea towel party opening this summer at the Nicholas Gallery in Cincinatti, Ohio! It will be for sale then and if you're interested in it you can contact Maya.
levitra
16 x 20 in.
And last I left you, to get some sleep. And sleep I did get (with the best Sunday afternoon nap), along with this project I completed! my first ever embroidered illustration that I am submitting to the tea towel show today. I can't tell you how much FUN this was, and also how much time it took. It is all hand stitched and pieced together, one fabric swatch (several from Emily's fabric gift!), and embroidery stitch at a time. I had an initial image in mind and then I let the overall design grow from there.
Now that I am officially rested and back here at the blog, FIRST things FIRST!
I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who has purchased the new book so far!! Your support means the world to me and I can't wait to get the books out to you!
I also want to wish everyone a happy father's day! Sometimes I think that my audience here at the blog is mostly the lovely ladies, but I realize that there just may be some dads who are out there reading too and I sincerely want to honor you! All I can say is, Dad's are the BEST!
Father's day is always a very poignant day for me, because I'm reminded that my dad is not "here" with me. And in that very same moment I remember that he's always here with me, and yesterday I celebrated him in the best possible way. My dad had a lifelong love of the ocean, also one of his greatest gifts he shared with me ~ one of the many reasons I enjoy surfing so much ~ and yesterday that is where we were, in the ocean.
Also my thoughts are with everyone out there mourning the loss of Tim Russert, especially of course his wife and his son. Also an only child who lost their dad suddenly during my college years, this is a circumstance I am all too familiar with, and I found myself in tears on Friday night as I watched MSNBC for hours in disbelief while I learned even more about this amazing man's life. I also watched Tim's son, Luke on the Today Show this morning. He certainly is his father's son, embodying so much strength and grace and sincerity at such a delicate time. Even though we may never meet these television personalities, they feel like a part of our extended families, coming into our home almost daily as we trust them to deliver and impart their knowledge to us. And since you already know how much I value authenticity, integrity and a true joyful spirit that loves life, then it goes without saying why I respected and admired this man and journalist so very much.
Ok then, I was waiting to post about this later today but it's 3 something in the AM PST and it seems I can't sleep because of all the excitement. And from the emails I've been getting, it seems many of you aren't sleeping either. It also seems like the birds aren't sleeping either (when did bird's start singing at 1:30 am?) Come to think of it, how did I think I could sleep through the release of my first children's book? It's not everyday you release your first children's book. But it is today, on a very special Creative Thursday: This is the official announcement that the first Creative Thursday children's book is now available for pre-order right here!
Yippy!!!!!!
As I wrote in my email that I sent out a few hours ago, after countless questions asking me if I ever "thought of creating a children's book?" ~ I finally did. :) It seems like the obvious next step, doesn't it? Considering my present style that includes all these characters just asking for their stories to be told. If you've been wanting to know the stories of the characters as much as I do, then here we go!
For those of you following the blog, and the daily paintings, all of these "Olive" paintings might be starting to make some sense?! If you've been wondering why I've been particularly attached to my little "Olive" character lately, now you know why. Basically you've been getting sneak previews to some of the book illustrations over the last few months. Since there's only one of me here, a girl's got to multi-task.
"Who are you going to be today Olive?" is a story about a little bird named Olive who is just learning how to be herself. As I also mentioned in my email this is pretty much my autobiography thus far.
While I was approached by a publisher last year, in keeping with the indie design spirit I've decided to self-publish this edition and I'm releasing the first 100 hardcover for pre-order, numbered and signed at my website. They will be ready to ship in August 2008. Needless to say this particular project is very near and dear to my heart.
You should also know that while this is a "children's book" ~ it was important for me to write one that I would want to own, one that I would enjoy as much as the kiddos. So with all of that said, I really, truly hope you enjoy this new addition to the growing collection.
thank you, thank you, thank you already for your thoughtful emails, blog posts spreading the news!! and book orders!
wishing you a very happy creative thursday! ...I'm going to try to get some sleep now.
STILL loving this color. And just to prove it to you, not that you really need proof, but really just for fun, here I am in one of my recent outfits. This is me saying hello to you, decked out in orange from top to toe. In fact this entire outfit except for the headband is from the gap...you see why I'm campaigning to be their model :). Not that I usually wear clothes from all one store, all at the same time ~ you know it's more fun to be eclectic with fashion by mixing it up ~ but this particular outfit just works and I highly recommend it for the summertime, especially this light and airy cotton ruffle skirt which comes in a whole variety of great colors.
Then, my favorite new bag that I had been stalking at Anthropologie for months now and finally decided that it was time to come home with me. I mean really how can you resist such creativity in a bag, down to the pretty pink flower lining inside.
And finally, my favorite new bowl, an addition to my growing collection of these fun "latte" bowls from once again, you guessed it, Anthropologie. Yup, I eat blueberries and yogurt (and any other food that fits) out of it just about every day ~ and that navy blue, orange and white color combination, also featured in the above bag ~ let's just say you know that color combination will probably be showing up in a painting soon.
I fully believe that it's important to surround yourself with what inspires you most, that and it's always fun to share some of those things with your blog readers too :). hope you're having a good Wednesday!
More wonderful clients. This time I got to paint them! A commission I've been meaning to share ~ Meet Matthew, Maggie and Jennifer.
