Sexy Shipwrecks and Scary Suitcases

Hello Lovelies!

I hope you are all well and that if you celebrate Easter, you enjoyed the past weekend. I had a lovely day with my gaggle of nieces and nephew all dressed up in their little outfits. Some bright eggs, some ham, a ton of candy... perfection in my opinion. I snapped some nice spring shots of the day that I thought I'd share:

On a darker note, I have added yet another vintage stenciled suitcase to my friend's boutique here in town. This one is called Skeleton Tree and features a nice gold Sears Courier suitcase with a custom stencil on the front. It's signed just like a piece of art and would add a hip and haunted piece to your travel luggage if you're interested...

I have also listed the entire Kong vs. El Tigre print set in my shop! Now you too can own this hilarious series; perfect for the office, den or TV room.

And speaking of shopping, I found a great new artist I wanted to share with you! Have you heard of Dienzo? No? Well, then you're in for a treat! I found Rick Dienzo's work via a blog I follow and I fell in love. It's like The Addams Family meets Beetlejuice the cartoon. Very fun stuff. Here are just a few of the prints he sells:

Let's wrap up with a great image, shall we? This bright, colorful spring-looking piece (except the skull part), is entitled Confetti Death and it's by Typoe. Great stuff Kiddies.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Bright and Dark...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are doing well out there! I have a lot to share as usual from the Mill. First, I have entered CMYK Magazine's Top 100 New Creatives competition and I'm really excited about the pieces I entered. I'm hoping for the best. Take a look at my entry page, their layout is really nice and puts everyone on an even playing field. Wish me luck!

I have scheduled a ton of shoots both for personal projects and for clients and I'm really excited about all of them. One of the shoots I'm especially excited about involves the outfit below + a swarthy looking fellow + mischief and maybe a black eye. It's almost as much fun preparing for these shoots as it is actually shooting them (though washing those pants in my bathtub got a little crazy). Standby for greatness!

Have I found some neat stuff for your eyes this week Kiddies! First, have you ever heard of Wladyslaw T. Benda the famous mask maker? Neither had I, but Etsy posted a blurb about him on their blog and I was blown away! The work is impeccable and the shots of the masks are dark and moody. I love it. {Most of these images came from Chromium Dumb Belle Blog, which is neat in its own right.}

And if you love days gone by/classic 1940's/50's life as much as I do, you need to stop by Neat Stuff Blog. Every post is chock full of great old snap shots of how people lived back then. The fashions and architecture and cars are fascinating. This post of Kodachrome shots of New York City is especially amazing. Here are a few of my favorites:

Let's wrap up with a bit of odd news, shall we? Apparently, there is a 103 year old judge still hearing cases in Wichita, KS. Now, I'd be the last person to say that working while you can is a bad idea, but really? He was literally appointed by John F. Kennedy and he says he'll be leaving office "feet first"... Wow. I hope Kansas doesn't get any cases that require a young mind, they'll be out of luck.

"As I've told you, and your father before you, and his father before him, and his father before him: Marijuana still isn't legal in the U.S. Now get oughta my courtroom!"

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Dry Bones...

Hello Lovelies~

So much to share, so let's get started! First off, I was archiving and organizing my photos recently and came across a ton of shots from some classic car shows I've attended and I thought I'd throw them up on Flickr for your enjoyment. I have an exciting collaboration coming this summer with a man who has an extensive car collection and he's agreed to let me use them for some conceptual work. I'll post those photos here too, so follow along and add/or me as a contact.

And I was reading one of the blogs I follow the other day and saw this adorable old video of the Lennon Sisters singing Dry Bones. The costumes? The dancing? That little one at the end? So cute.

Something else to share with you all, have you seen the work of Christopher Conn Askew? It's like nothing I've ever seen before, a mix of tattoo and geisha art with an Indian influence. I love it. His mix of symbols and overall aesthetic remind me of Camilla Rose Garcia's work... which is brilliant. Take a look at some examples:

And let's wrap it up with a movie recommendation, shall we? I just watched the 1968 movie The Boston Strangler last night and man is it creepy. Based on the real life events surrounding the murders in Boston, the strangler is played by Tony Curtis who I like, but I never thought much of him as an actor. Well, he surprised me in this role, he was by turns pathetic, murderous, crazy and creepy and they had him wear brown contacts so those blue eyes of his look almost black. Plus, it stars a ton of other greats like Henry Fonda. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Kong vs. El Tigre...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all doing well. To start, fresh from the studio, I have some brand new work to share with you. This new mini-series entitled Kong vs. El Tigre, was inspired by lucha libre (and because I had access to a gorilla suit, you take what you can get Folks). I think it came out really well and it was a ton of fun to shoot. A big thank you goes out to my Sweetie for donning the gorilla suit and flailing all over a mattress to get just the right shot. Here are some hi-lights:

I have also started putting custom stencils on vintage luggage. I'm creating these like small works of art complete with signature because they really are one of kind. The first piece, entitled Orange Skull, is available at Lalo Boutique here in Portland. I have more neat stencils in the works and I'm happy to stencil a piece you already own, so feel free to shoot me an email if you have a laptop case, suitcase, makeup bag, etc... that needs dressing up!

Have you guys heard of the site Nileguide? It's great for finding cool places to visit when you're traveling, and they did an article on 8 Abandoned Amusement Parks Abroad "open for exploration" that people have been visiting for years to take photos. And the photos are amazing. Take a look, and visit the site for more!

Have you ever seen photography that's so timeless, it truly looks like it was just photographed yesterday? The work of Pete Turner struck me that way. I looked at his site, and it looked really contemporary, and then I noticed the dates were all in the 50's. Great eye, great color, a joy to peruse. Do yourself a favor and take a peek. Here are my favorites:

And speaking of classic, one of my favorite movies is Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (of course). I found this great still from the set that I'd never seen before. Hitchcock was apparently showing Anthony Perkins how to be foreboding even when merely standing still. Great stuff.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...