Sea Captains & Fishing Boats

Hello Lovelies!

I hope you are all doing well out there. Things here have gone from busy, to super busy and it's great. Where to start? Oh, this is sort of funny. A good friend of mine who helps me a lot with shoots and costumes etc... asked me to make her a special T-shirt that she can wear on shoots and just in general. So, I did. Take a look, her words, not mine. (Several other people who help me like it so much they asked for one too...) Truer words have never been spoken, people really do sorta just do what I say during shoots. (I think that's why we all work together so well.) Hahaha! Too funny.

I have a really exciting shoot coming up this weekend that I can't really reveal anything about yet, so instead, I'll reveal some behind the scenes prep shots for a mini personal project I'm doing. It's going to be an amazing, artsy and humorous sea captain shoot. I can't wait to do this one.

This is the special octopus eye patch the model will be wearing.

I was inspired to do a patch like this by this shot of Salvador Dali, but of course, I will add my own twist for the shoot...

And, the background will consist of this great mod 1960's wallpaper that I found that has a somewhat impressionistic sea/boat them to it.

There is nothing more tedious than installing old, unpasted, paper wallpaper. Ugh. But it will look fine when I shoot it.

I can't wait to bring all of these elements together, standby for that!

I have found an amazing artist I wanted to share with you, Lovelies: Darion McCoy. Heard of him? Well, I find the juxtaposition of his pastel, Easter-esque color palette against the subject matter and the way he conveys it, deliciously unsettling. I don't know, something about those faces is creepy, don't you think?

And while we're on the topic of beautiful, creepy and unsettling, let me introduce another artist: Cristian Grossi. A fashion designer by trade, Cristian also has amazing artistic fashion designs that (I don't think) have never actually been made into clothing. Like his Insekta 2.5 collection. The lines and the delicate (yet sinister) faces mixed with bugs? And on his site, I believe some of them are gifs, because they move and glow and it's amazing. Check it out.

Let me wrap up with a blog recommendation: The Bold Italic. Beautifully laid out, interesting to read and full of funny anecdotes, this site focuses on things to see, do, eat and enjoy around the San Francisco Bay area. I don't even live there and I'm ready things that I find universally interesting and fun. I think every city should have such a good site to convey it's mysteries. Take a read and add it to your feed if you like it.

 Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Killer Sweets...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all doing well out there. I have been busy as usual over here in the Mill.

To start, I recently finished a brand new series of paintings entitled Killer Sweets, a couple of which are displayed below. The rest are displayed on my Flickr page here. If you're local to Portland, Maine, they are displayed at Dock Fore until the beginning of next month. Fun little pieces that deal with dessert and death... just the way we like it around here.

And speaking of paintings, if you're ever interested in purchasing my original work, I have a portfolio with a painting section here that you may peruse at your leisure. All of these works are for sale and you may contact me directly if you're interested. I ship worldwide!

My Sweetie and I decorated the house for Christmas over the weekend and it's almost done. This is our living room by the glow of the twinkle lights. I love it, and every year I'm happy when the lights are up.

Most of our decorations are vintage, and I try to add a new piece every year from our forays into junking. This year's addition is this pair of blown glass mercury candles with trim. Beautiful, aren't they?

This homemade pine cone turned mini tree is my all-time favorite decoration and it gets a place of honor every year on our mantle.

While we're on the topic of the holidays, I have a great item and shop for the Holiday Gift Guide this week Kiddies! First, the item of the week (and really, it could be the shop of the week, because come on people... so cute), is from Hine on Etsy. The print below is entitled Holiday Surprise Gift and it's perfect in every way. That teeny red octopus? The wallpaper? Needless to say.

This is so cute I want to explode!

And the shop of the week is Something's Hiding in Here. They have a wonderful blog here, and their packaging is beautiful and then there are the items themselves. Like these mitten cupcake toppers. Sigh. I love it. Oh! And if you have a boy in your life who likes to dress up, they have a new shop Forage, that's nothing but bow ties made from vintage material. Really? Yes. They're that cool.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Bonny and Clyde and the Reaper...

Hello Lovelies!

Well, I hope all of you have wonderful plans for this Memorial Day weekend. For some, it kicks off the summer (for others, it kicks off the fall and/or it's not an actual holiday in your country... hahaha). My Lovely and I are making a trip up north to a cabin on an island on a lake... to talk with friends, BBQ, canoe and just relax. I'm looking forward to it immensely.

I have been busy here at the mill getting my paintings together for the First Friday Artwalk at the Sylvia Kania Gallery here in Portland, ME coming up June 5th. I will have 4 paintings up and here are three of them. This series (which I've mentioned in past posts), is finally complete and it is entitled: Bonny, Clyde and the Reaper. Stop on by if you're in the area and take a look at all the wonderful work! 

I have discovered a wonderful online stationary store here recently that I just had to tell you all about. Old School Stationers is based out of the other Portland (OR), and they specialize in cards and wall prints. Most, if not all, of these are letterpress and they're all definitely to die for folks. This Camping Circa 1960's set is a particular favorite:

   

And let's conclude with a little humor, shall we? I just a read the following headline: Snake Wasn't Used As School Jump Rope. Upon reading further, I discovered that at a school in Pittsburgh, PA, a high school student "swung around a snake from a biology class but didn't use it as a jump rope as police at first claimed." Did the student feel bad for the snake and refrain at the last minute from swinging it, to jumping it? you ask... Uhm, no. Apparently, the snake wasn't long enough to jump rope with. WHAT?! What? First of all, why was the snake even out? Where was the teacher when he took it out? And what would possess anyone to swing a snake around?! His parents are in for a tough go with that one. Whew. Good times.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams