Turkey with all the Trimmings...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope this week after the Thanksgiving holiday finds you all doing well! So much to share as usual over here in wintery Maine. Let's get down to the business piece first, shall we?

To start, after several years of not painting, I was doodling and got inspired to do a series of work inspired by 60's children's illustrations. The Top Crown Series, as I've named it, is now complete and listed in the shop for sale! These mini paintings are so cheery and fun and each piece is also accented with glittery details! I love them very much and I hope you do too. I think they will make some people very happy this holiday season!

What else? Oh, well STAG is also being stocked up with wonderful, unique, high-end vintage items for the holiday season! What better way to say you care to the men in your life than to give a special gift that you can't get at the mall? I even have some pretty things for the ladies out there, as well as vintage holiday decorations that will brighten the homes of the customers who snap them up! Just a few of these great items are shown below.

These golf shoes are about the craziest thing I've ever seen in men's footwear. Like clown shoes with a purpose.

For the ladies: A purple 100% wool blazer. Beautiful.

And for those of you who have a hard time thinking of things for that special someone, I am doing a Stag Item of the Day every weekday between now and December 20th to get those ideas percolating. Those will be posted on the STAG Facebook page!

It's not all work and no play around here, Lovelies! Oh, no. Thanksgiving was this past weekend and I joined some very good friends for a day of laughter, friendship and good food. (When your family lives across the country, your second family becomes as dear to you as your real one.) I did the baking, which included a lemon torte (hard to do, but I figured it out) and a pumpkin cheesecake with a candied pretzel crust (easier to do because I've practiced). Both were delicious. (Well, the whole day was delicious, frankly.) What a wonderful way to kick off the holiday season. I'm a very lucky girl!

This weekend, I plan on decorating my own place for Christmas and I'm very excited! There's nothing better than sitting in your living room reading or drinking a glass of wine with just the light of the tree on, no? And I will be playing my Christmas records the entire time. Because, you can't beat Bing Crosby's voice on a record with a little hiss and some cracks and pops. Don't you agree? Happy Winter, Lovelies!

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

The Dark House...

Hello Lovelies!

I hope you are all doing well this fine Monday. The weather is just nasty up here in the North, perfect weather to get creative, I say.

A lot share. First, I have completed a new series of paintings for a December show in my gallery entitled The Dark House. Definitely inspired by The Addams Family and things of that nature, the best part of this series is the way it will be displayed. The smaller paintings depict various rooms/people inside the Dark House, so when it's hung, strings will connect the smaller shots with their place in the bigger piece. Kind of like this picture:

You can see more shots of the series on my Flickr page, and I'll give more details about the show as it gets closer!

I have also created some new scratchboard pieces entitled the Death Crow Dandies, perhaps for the shop, we'll see. I have one more to go to make 4, but I think they're coming out splendidly, don't you?

Oh! And last piece of business, the garland is doing really well in the shop, so I will be listing more this week; different colors and styles, all handmade. So if you're interested, peep it out.

I have found a designer that I want you Kiddies to meet; Caleb Owen Everitt's work is obviously inspired by design trends of the past, but he puts his own modern spin on them, creating an aesthetic that's aged to perfection. Take a peek. I'm sure you'll feel inspired like I was. I want him to design my life. Haha.

Speaking of work inspired by past aesthetics, have you heard of Max Dalton? Well, you should know him. His work definitely speaks to 60's style illustration, and his fake album covers (like the ones below), are the bees knees. You really can't help but smile when you see his work...

Let's wrap up with a movie recommendation, shall we? Of course. I'm sure you've heard of Soylent Green, if for no other reason than the famous quote "Soylent Green is people" which is definitely overblown and really, so obvious by the end, the line is unnecessary. Regardless, I watched it again the other night and it's kind of good. If you like "The Future is Going to Really Suck" movies, this one is for you...

Plus, you get to watch Chas Heston run around the entire movie in a standard police issue pimp scarf.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Psychopomp...

Hello Lovelies!

Well, fall is upon us up here in Maine. It's my favorite time of year; the days are shorter, the air smells of burning wood, and of course, Halloween is just around the corner.

In this vein, I have been working on the largest piece I have ever done for my gallery's October show. The piece is entitled Psychopomp and it measures 12' x 4' on 4 stained birch panels. I don't want to spoil the surprise, so here are some teaser shots. I will show you the entire thing when it's done! And if you're local, stop on by October 1st to see it in person at the gallery and to say 'hi'.

I am also working on some small pen and ink illustrations for the shop that will be dark and somewhat Halloween related. I try to offer a couple of small and affordable original pieces each Halloween for my fans. I'll keep you posted when those go up.

So, I have found yet another photographer who does some great work. John Myers has a beautiful website (which is always a nice surprise) and he appears to do both conceptual and almost photo journalist type work. A sense of humor runs through all of his work and you just can't stop clicking through. Plus, down in the lower left hand corner, you can find out if you have character or are a character. I love it!

Have you seen the work of Steve Morris yet? Wow. There are a few examples below and take a look at his site for more work. I love him because he has a lot of different styles and techniques depending on the project. He's not a cookie-cutter artist. The work below is by far my favorite, both the colors and the Hansel & Gretel + mean things theme makes me laugh. Great work.

It's no secret that I love the circus, the sideshow and carnivals. If you've read this blog long enough, you know how much of a fan I am. Well, I have a book recommendation for you folks who love this stuff as much as I do. Step Right Up! by Dan Mannix, is a real page-turner. Apparently, Mannix joined the circus in the 40's just to write about it. More specifically, he joined the sideshow and learned a ton of things like sword swallowing and knife throwing and the like during his tenure. It's a fascinating non-fictional account of carny life that I highly recommend. I think it's out of print, but not hard to find.

Plus, the different covers are sort of neat.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Island of Misfit Toys...

Hello Lovelies!

Well, today is the final day to enter the giveaway! Go here for details and to enter last minute. I will announce the winner tomorrow (Tuesday) and ship to the winner mid-week!

I have been busy as usual over here. First, I am doing some paintings for my gallery called The Island of Misfit Toys series, (somewhat inspired by the Rankin Bass film, but instead of you know, a pistol that can't shoot or a dolly that can't cry or whatever, I have a deposed bear king who's murdered by the Bee King who tries to make it look like a suicide.) Take a peek, they have not been "glittered" yet, a vital step with my pieces as you know. More to follow!

So, the art is sorta like this... only with murder and suicide.

I will also be listing more harlequin lockets this week, I have more chain and fun little jewels to make them all different and special.

I have found some more wonderful people to share with you all. Eugenio Recuenco is a photographer whose work is dark and dramatic and painterly and I truly love it all. I flipped through the portfolio and I couldn't wait to see the next image. Take a look:

Telegramme is a top-knotch design firm out of the UK. I found their site the other day and they have a ton of beautiful work, but their work specifically for the Queen of Hoxton, a bar/art gallery/movie house/totally awesome venue in London makes me want to go there immediately! Look at these monthly fliers, they're like mini works of art. If you live near London, go to Queen of Hoxton and tell me all about it!

I'm going to wrap up with a book recommendation. My local library had their annual book sale a couple of weeks back and as a library supporter and lover of books, I went. I picked up several books, and Burnt Offerings was one of them. Now, they made a movie out of this book and it has Karen Black in it, which means, it most likely sucks and I plan on renting it and telling you all about it. But, the book was really good. The characters and the descriptions were more than I expected from a 70's paperback. Go spend 50 cents and get a copy and let me know what you think.

Yeah, you won't find the "Face of Evil" doorknob at Home Depot...

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Hot Dark Nights...

Hello Lovelies!

Whew, I just wrapped up a hot, beautiful holiday weekend here at the Mill. Lobsters, cold beverages and laughs were to be had and it was wonderful. In honor of the nice hot summer weather here in the Northern Hemisphere, I have posted some newphotography to the shop. Take a peak:

That Cyclone photo is my new favorite I think.

I have had quite a bit of success here recently with my original paintings (the Seeds of Darkness portrait from last week has already sold), and so Iwill be listing more original work in my shop. Keep your eyes peeled for that. I will make announcements here too.

I did a little shopping over the weekend and my purchases were so funny (and so me) that I thought I'd share. Yes, that's a squirrel knife for camping, and a Hello Kitty makeup bag. And yes, I will use both. That's me in a nutshell Folks. Haha.

I have found a great photographer whose work I wanted to share. Debbie Carlos has done a lot of different types of photography, which I find refreshing, but my favorites (pictured below) she took at the Chicago Field Museum. Those birds? I love them.

And now I'm going to take you from classy and muted to crazy town. Stefan Strumbel's work definitely toys with ideas of mass consumerism and gluttony, but he puts these strong statements into a technicolor palette that's confusing at first, right before it becomes awesome. Take a look:

I ordered a copy of Dr. Phibes (the movie I mentioned last post), and as soon as I watch it, I will be putting a mini review up for humor's sake. Right now, you'll have to be satisfied with a crazy news story. Did you Kiddies read about the maggots on a plane? Apparently, a US Airways flight leaving Atlanta was taxiing for takeoff and people started noticing maggots falling from the overhead compartments. Not oxygen masks. Maggots. So, they turned the plane around and fumigated. Turns out, one of the passengers brought rotten meat onboard in his carry-on. What? Yes, this is real life.

And that flight was still less awkward than this opera...

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...