As Spring Arrives...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope this Tuesday finds you all doing well out there! It's been a busy couple of weeks for me and I find as spring creeps into Maine with its longer days, budding trees, warm winds and sweet smells, it causes me to look at life in a new way every year. I find this time of rejuvenation energizing and my artistic pursuits (so sensitive to the weather and seasons) benefit from this new energy and a fresh outlook on life in general. I've been working on some exciting things and I would love to share them with you. Want to?

To start, as I continue to build the client work in my portfolio, I wanted to do a more editorial project that would visually document a local Maine business: their daily workings, the tools of the trade, the people who run things. I specialize in highly styled people-based shoots, so these day-in-the-life projects allow me to exercise a different aspect of my creativity as a photographer.

I decided to work with a business called Mid-Coast Shoe Repair on this project and what a wonderfully accommodating group of people they were! Plus, they loved the work and plan to use it on their website, so it's a win/win! Always a good thing, no? Some of the candid outtakes are below and the entire professional album may be found over at my portfolio HERE. I found the idea of young people apprenticing as cobblers in this day and age and then taking over a 20+ year old business instead of letting it close, absolutely fascinating. It's so nice to find people who value traditional trades and help keep them vibrantly alive, don't you think?

What else? Oh! The fine art prints for the Modern America Series are finally available for sale! You can find 8" x 10" prints here at Stapelia, or, if you would prefer additional sizes, here, at my Society 6 store. I just received the first order of these prints in and they look amazing. I am using metallic inks on these so they almost look three dimensional. Get yours, today!

I am also adding some great new things to STAG this coming week! It's been awhile, and I have some things piling up. So many neat items, including this nautical scarf that looks like the W (Whiskey) flag in the nautical alphabet that also has monogrammed initials on it. Really clean and really unique, this would look great stuffed into that blazer this summer. And the transistor radio below was fixed by a friend and now, we all think it's haunted. Apparently, it only plays Frank Sinatra and other old music despite there not really being an old music station in the area... Odd. But cool.

And finally, I believe I mentioned a couple of posts back that I am doing the illustration work for Portland Maine's Old Port Festival Weekend this year. Well, that illustration is finally done! The work should be posted online etc. very shortly. Until then, here are some sketches and the final thing (taken from my computer screen... yikes) below! I'm so flattered they asked me to do this project.

So much work being done, but that doesn't mean I haven't taken time to relax. How do I relax, you ask? Oh, by going up to my good friends' house in the country and helping them take down their old greenhouse and put up a new one! This may not sound very relaxing, but for me, working in the sun with power tools and laughing a lot is one of my favorite things to do. I mean, sure, none of us really know how to build a greenhouse, but we'll get there... I'm sure we will. Haha.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Bright Spring Days...

Hello Lovelies!

It has been awhile since my last post. Life has been very busy, almost too busy to take time to share it with you lovely readers out there. So let's play a bit of catch-up, shall we?

Let's start with some business news. I have released the entire first part of my Modern America Series! It took almost a year to shoot and complete the first 7 shots in this series. I am very happy with how the series is going so far. I'm planning to do 5 more to finish this work off. I am actually opening these last shots up to my followers for suggestions. I will be asking for ideas over on my Facebook page in the coming weeks, so follow along for that. A few of my favorite pieces in the series are below, and you may view all 7 over at my Behance site. This is some of my best work to date as an artistic photographer: I'm very proud of it. A big thank you to all of my models, assistants and hair and makeup people for helping me realize my vision. I hope you like it!

I have also been listing and selling things like crazy over at STAG as usual. A ton of great items in the shop and more to come very soon, including the amazing buffalo plaid vest, women's Russian jacket with gold buttons and an amazing vintage Windmill brand stadium style overcoat for the ladies, all shown below! Stop by frequently, new things are listed almost weekly...

And the final bit of business news is in the area of illustration. I was recently hired to do the design work for the Old Port Festival Weekend here in Portland, Maine. It's the biggest music/vendor/arts festival in the state of Maine and this year they're extending it to an entire weekend, so I was delighted to be asked to do it! I'll pass along more official site/poster information as I get it, but here are some of the sketches and then the final work. I am happy with how it came out...

I mention life has been busy, and boy, it sure has. A lot of great things are happening and the weather is getting warmer and spring is here in Maine! Here are just a few of the beautiful things I've seen, done and enjoyed since my last post...

And finally, today is my birthday! As with most people, birthdays are a fun time of reflection for me. I like to take the opportunity at least once a year to stop for a moment and really appreciate all of the wonderful things that have happened over the last year. I have so much to be grateful for: amazing friends, a studio, the ability and opportunity to make art and get paid to do it on occasion, a life right near the ocean that is so beautiful in a community of kind, caring people. I co-celebrated my birthday yesterday with my dear friend Timothy and I realized I'm a very, very lucky girl. I hope the next year is as good as the last...

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Cold Beach, Hot Cowboy...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope this Monday finds you all doing well out there! Things here are busy as usual. So much to share.

To start, my Westworld shoot is finally done and posted. Some of the shots are below, and the rest can be found over at Behance. This was such a fun project in so many ways. To start, it allowed me to put my own spin on one of my favorite 70's-era science fiction movies. Then, I got to work with a great crew and one of my favorite models who always brings his A-game even when it's 20 degrees out. We braved some runny noses, ice, finicky equipment that froze, and a dark, dirty coal furnace to get these shots and everyone nailed it, I think! I hope you enjoy...

Speaking of projects, I believe I mentioned starting another large-scale project a few posts back? (A project on-par with my Zom-B-Vex, Venomous Vixens and Cigar, Creeper & Dark pieces.) Well, the new series, which I've entitled Modern America, is inspired by the paintings of Norman Rockwell. Few know that Rockwell's paintings were in fact based on photographs he styled himself, so it's only fitting to take those paintings back to the photographic medium, I think. I will create 12 or so final works, based on his paintings, but I am giving each a modern twist by addressing issues, dynamics and aspects of modern life that in many cases, didn't even exist in his day. I shot the first piece over the weekend, and I will post that next week! Keep an eye on this series, it's going to be good, I think.

We had yet more snow over the weekend, but that didn't keep me from getting out to the beach and enjoying the misty pre-snow weather. It's quite meditative being out there: watching the waves and the sea gulls. I'm very lucky to be able to drive 15 minutes and be at the beach: it's one of the benefits of living in Maine, for sure. And I also found this strange piece of metal out there that was all beautiful and rusty. I have a little curio cabinet that I put beach things in and I added this to the collection. I hope it was off of a boat from somewhere very far away...

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Quiet Snow & Geishas...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all doing well out there as usual! Things here are going splendidly. A lot of different projects that stretch my photographic skills across the entire gamut; artistic shots, lifestyle shots, lifestyle shots that need to look artistic. I love the process and appreciate the opportunities!

To start, I am doing an exciting collaboration with one of my favorite makeup artists to enter a top secret competition next year. These are makeup-centered shots that push the envelope with techniques and execution. (I'm just there to make her look good photographically. Haha.) So, we're giving it our all and hoping for the best! Here is the first shot of the series that I'm calling Snow Geisha. This is my first time working with this model, but it won't be my last. I love her look and despite the fact that she's Native American, we were able to tip the scales to Asian with makeup. I hope you like it!

I have also dropped a ton of new things over at STAG this past week! Some of the items are pretty cool this time around, including this great 1970's wallpaper with gold backing, men's leather train travel slippers in a leather case, a wack-o merry-go-round cake kit and the cream on top: a rare set of 4 sake glasses that have nude women in the bottom of them. But only when you fill them with liquid! Stop on by and peep out the goods if you like vintage, or if you need a unique gift for someone!

Oh! And I wanted to share this amazing purchase I made recently with you Kiddies. I am not a big clothes person and I really like shoes even less. If I shop a couple of times a year, that's a good year for me. I just don't have the interest. But, when I saw these boots, I literally bought them immediately. I had to! They're so me: masculine and practical with a feminine touch. I can't wait to get them, I'll show you a picture when I do!

And I have found an amazing photographer - CGI man whose undersea series I wanted to share with you: Andreas Franke. Heard of him? No? Well, a quick trip to that website will give you a taste of the amazing. But, he did a series (and may still be shooting it), featuring underwater shipwreck photography, paired with images of the people who might have walked the decks back then! Mad men, fighters, lovers, people from Marie Antoinette's day, which doesn't even make sense, but who cares? Beautiful and fun imagery. Take a look:

And I am getting ready to start a huge personal project that has a lot to do with this guy. That's right: Norman Rockwell. It will probably take me all year (if not longer), to execute all of the shots I have in mind, but when it's done, it will be on par with my Zom-B-Vex, Cigar, Creeper & Dark Circus and Sideshow and Venomous Vixens projects. I can't wait to start!

And this is probably how he would have reacted to what I'm getting ready to do...

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...