Seeds of Darkness...

Hello Lovelies!

I hope you are all doing well. Things have been busy as usual here at the Mill. I am about done with a self portrait entitled Seeds of Darkness for my gallery show this Friday. The gallery space is actually moving and this will be our first show at the new space. (The theme this time is self- portraits and yes, those dandelion seeds are small skeletons.) Take a peek, she's almost done!

Oh! And if you liked the Masquerade series of little women, half of them have sold! The remaining 2 will be available at Lalo Boutique in Portland Maine. People really liked these... I may do more. Feel free to shoot me an email if you're interested...

I'm just going to bombard you with wonderful imagery and artists that I've found this week that I think you'll love! First up, this great photo (that sort of scares me in a good way) from Irving Penn that was featured on KillerBeeSting's Tumblr site:

Wow.

Kate O'Brien's work is also wonderful. I mean, that still life isn't a painting folks, it's a photo. Talk about taking painterly composition and using it in your photography. Oh, and she doesn't even consider herself an artist... what? It's true.

To the other end of the spectrum is artist/illustrator Fiona Hewitt who mixes 40's illustration styles, with Japanese packaging/lettering, with sentient veggies to create her candy-colored world of craziness. And that moving GIF on her homepage is adorable. The radish? Cute.

I have been hearing a lot about a (I wouldn't call it classical) horror movie lately that I've been intending to see; The Abominable Dr. Phibes. Heard of it? Yeah, it's Vincent Price (who I love) in all his glory. But really, I want to see it to get the following questions answered:

Is that a Weeble playing a piano?

Why are these bats sucking all up on that horse painting?

Could that chandelier be hung any lower? No.

I'll let you know what I find out next time Kiddies!

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Dark City...

Hello Lovelies!

I hope you are all well. I am posting a day late this week because I was in New York for a long weekend for Broadway Bares, an AIDS fundraiser that was absolutely amazing. So many talented performers, so many beautiful bodies, I almost forgot I was doing charity work! We also caught the Mermaid Parade at Coney Island which was just sheer mayhem... in a good way. I took some photos on my trip and I'll be posting more on my Flickr page, so check them out!

I am currently wrapping up a large painting that I'll post pictures of when it's finished. I'm keeping my progress under wraps until the very end... Next week my Lovelies!

And speaking of fantasy photography (not that we were...), have you seen the work of Lissy Elle? She says she "wishes she was a little girl without the weight of the world" and I think she captures this innocence and purity in a heartbreakingly genuine way through her work.

While we're on the topic of calming, beautiful work, I found this tumblr page called Quiet Time that has a ton of great National Geographic photography that someone loved and scanned in for others to enjoy. Some of the shots are scenic, others are chaotic, but they're all very pretty in their own way. Take a peek...

Let's wrap up with nutso news, shall we? I can't wait to share this tidbit with you folks. So, apparently, online retailer ThinkGeek sold canned unicorn meat as an April Fool's joke several months back. The product itself I guess is like SPAM? I'm not sure. But the description of unicorns and the meat itself was completely hilarious and ridiculous. But that's not the funny part. Apparently, they labeled their meat the "new white meat" and now, the National Pork Board has issued a cease and desist letter stating that "new white meat" infringes on their "the other white meat" slogan... really? Yes, really. I couldn't make this stuff up folks...

Hey, look everyone! Pegasus! It's what's for dinner!

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

The Circus has left town...

Hello Lovelies!

A lot to share as usual over here. First, as promised, I have listed the complete set of Cigar, Creeper & Dark pieces for one low price. Now you too can own all of the darkness at once...

I am getting ready to start a brand new photography project that I'm sure you will all enjoy thoroughly. I don't want to spoil it, but I'll give you some hints.

THIS:

PLUS THIS:

PLUS MAYBE THIS:

Yes. It's going to be epic.

I have found an artist who really sets the bar for diversified talent, and extreme talent at that. Igor-Alban Chevalier aka Black Frog can paint, draw, sculpt, he does character design, he blogs. All of his work is beautiful and really top-knotch. Look at these paintings and stuff, he's amazing.

I recently stumbled upon a site that's just chock-full of talented photographers from Holland. Most of the work is fashion and advertising related, but the portrait section is truly amazing. Some beautiful people beautifully photographed. The pieces below are photographed by Patrick Martens (the man) and Lone van Roosendaal (the woman). Lovely faces.

And let's wrap up with crazy news, because you all love it, and it's been awhile since we did it. Did you read about the 4 year old girl who was helping her mom bake? Well, everything was going swimmingly, a real mother-daughter bonding moment... until a piece of her hair got caught up in the mixer and was yanked out. But not before her face was slammed into the mixing bowl and her fingers were all tangled up in the mixer as well... She is thankfully okay. Who knew baking could be so dangerous? All along I thought the oven was the most dangerous part for kids...

But at least it makes her Halloween costume choice easier...

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Dark Lakes and Hot Winds...

Hello Lovelies!

A lot to share with you as always from the hot and steamy mill. First, here are some pics from the lake that I promised. I forgot my camera (Yikes!), so I borrowed a friend's and I just got these photos back yesterday.

That photo of the rusted car was the most interesting part of the weekend; we all went to an old dump full of glass bottles and metal parts and things. I found a full Pyrex juicer that was unbroken, and that metal can that I plan to paint something on eventually. I also found neat old brown bottles so I cleaned them up and I'm using them as candlesticks. It's amazing what people throw away Lovelies!

I have listed a ton of new photography in the shop for summer. Muscle cars, carnival rides and neon, perfect gifts for Dad or for yourself! Take a look at a couple below.

To wrap up business, I have completed the Cigar, Creeper & Dark Circus and Sideshow series finally and in the next week, I will put up a listing for the whole set as promised. One price, you own all 10!

I don't know about you Kiddies, but I love unique houses (I mean, I live in a mill), so when I found this Flickr set called Rich People Rooftops NYC, I fell in love. Sure, some would argue it's invasive to shoot a rooftop, but I disagree. Plus, these places are so beautiful, they need to be shared. It goes well with the Rooftop Houses article from Apartment Therapy. Love all of these.

Have you ever seen the work of Rimel Neffati? She does different things, but her self portraits are amazing. The makeup, the different photographic treatments, the selective focus, her face? I just truly love it all. Here are just a few examples.

I'm going to wrap it up with a TV show recommendation. I know, I've never done that before, but I felt this would be a fitting recommendation for you readers. If you haven't seen True Blood yet, you need to check it out. I was resistant at first because I thought it would be corny and the same old vampire thing. But the characters, the plots, the dialogue, are all fascinating. Take a look and let me know what you think.

Plus, this is the least annoying roll Anna Paquin has ever played.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Dark Lakes... Hidden Depths

Hello Lovelies!

For those of you in the U.S., I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. I spent the weekend with friends at the lake cooking out, having laughs, going out in the boat. It was a beautiful hot weekend and it made me realize why I love living in Maine all over again. I got some nice shots which I'll post next week for you Lovelies.

My weekend was like this, only no one ended up eaten...

I am starting a couple of little projects this week to keep things fresh. First, I will be listing some very small original paintings in the shop, more about that next post, but you'll want to check them out because they're going to be affordable and I rarely list original work in my store. I also may add more lockets to the shop. I'm down to one right now, and I think it offers something completely different for my Lovelies who like pretty things. Stay tuned.

I have found another wonderful artist that I want to share. Lesley Reppeteaux's work is dark and creepy and also beautiful and graceful. The eyes especially are haunting; they're empty, yet convey emotion somehow. She has work in several shows right now, and I would love to see some of her pieces in person. Amazing stuff.

And have you seen the work of Femke Hiemstra? Another amazing artist who combines pop culture references with Mark Ryden-esque characters and paints on found objects; tins, books, signs. Her work is beautiful, detailed and wonderful. Take a look.

It's been awhile since I've posted some Covetables. (Items that I'm coveting in various stores on Etsy.) So, here is a fresh one for you. I decided to list an item I love from the most recent 8 stores I've hearted. Go check them out, they're pretty neat.

1.) curster

2.) enamorphoto

3.) kengarduno

4.) touristrevolution

5.) kecky

6.) helllllen

7.) flightpathdesigns

8.) inaluxe

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...