As The Days Get Longer...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all well out there, as usual! Gosh, there is so much to share, this will be a long post full of pretty things… ready?

To start, let's get the business out of the way. I mentioned last post that I was going to be doing a fine portrait series entitled 1910 that channels sort of an explorer-meets-fashion vibe. Well, the pieces are falling into place for that series and I am getting really excited about it! I designed a mini logo for the series itself both to help give it a unified watermark when the images are done and also to identify it as a series in my portfolio. I went really simple and included the signature crown from my logo as well as my initials to tie it all together. Here it is. What do you think? I also ran it over a photo just to make sure it held up and I believe it does. Subtle, simple and classy are the buzz words for my new work!

And speaking of business, I have found some absolutely amazing pieces recently that are going to go up into STAG very soon. Several amazing vintage coats, including the Windmill Fashion brand coat I mentioned last post for the ladies, the buffalo plaid hunting coat pictured below (I took that for a test drive to work the other day and wow, is that a nice coat! You boys sure are lucky it's too big for me…), and another piece that I will have to get some shots of to share next post. Some of these pieces will be used in the 1910 series before I sell them because they deserve to be photographed properly and the buffalo plaid coat also has pants to go with it and I will be photographing a man in that entire suit very soon! (That shoot will look a bit like the below shot, only less geeky and awkward and more trendy… ha!)

And speaking of stylish plaids, that brown and plaid coat below is my new winter coat! It is a Penfield brand winter coat for the ladies! My sweetheart gave me the heads up about a used one at a local consignment shop and I fell in love with it. It was cheap, stylish and in great shape, so winning all around! I was so happy to find some buffalo plaid that's also a bit girly because I love men's fashion but I wear women's fashion. When the two meet, I am a happy girl.

And lastly, I was asked several months ago to paint a piece for a children's hospital in Seattle. They do an annual fundraiser where painted parasols are auctioned off to benefit the hospital and artists from all over the country are donating pieces. I started mine this past weekend and there are a few process shots below. I am doing an animal carousel themed parasol and I am really excited with how it's coming along so far! It's so nice to do the occasional commission to keep my hand in painting a bit and when I'm not painting all the time I tend to enjoy it much more. I will show more shots as I proceed with this fun project!

And speaking of fun, I have to share this amazing lime cheesecake my friends made for my honey's birthday recently. I didn't even know you could make a lime cheesecake, but they did it and what fun decorations they added! Wow. So pretty. And it tasted delicious as well! We did some serious celebrating and had such a good time. Goodness, I have some amazing people in my life. I am so lucky.

To wrap up, I have recently found the work of an amazing photographer I wanted to share with you. I first discovered Christopher Payne's work with his Asylum series several years back. (A couple of those shots are below.) Stark, beautiful, well-composed with a great eye for color, Payne's work immediately drew me in. I can't say that I'm a big journalistic photography fan, preferring people-based work, typically. But his work hints at the people in these spaces as much as the spaces themselves, I think. Then he did an amazing series called Textiles, that covers textile mills in the Northeast and South and then there's his Steinway series. All are breathtakingly beautiful and you owe it to yourselves to really take some time to enjoy his work. Pieces from all series are shown below.

I will send you off into your weeks with this beautiful Maine sunset I got to experience the other night. Yes, it was that pretty in real life. Goodness, Maine is such a beautiful place to live, you guys.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Soft Snow & Sweet Gingerbread...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope this week finds you all doing well out there! We've gotten a break up here in Maine from the cold and the snow for long enough, and it appears that winter is finally upon us. We've had some snow and it's snowing as we speak (or rather, as I type this). I love true winter in Maine. So pretty. And this time of year, it gets me in the holiday spirit!

Speaking of holiday spirit, one of my favorite little ones asked me to help her make a gingerbread village this past weekend. I couldn't say anything but yes (and I'm glad I did!) we had laughs, got icing all over the place and then... she spilled the sprinkles. Ha! So fun... I made this little collage with the photos from that day. (And that's her in her tights... she said they "help her decorate better..." I'll take her word for it.) :)

What else? Oh! I mentioned a couple of posts back that I'm creating a portrait family tree for a holiday gift this year. I will post those final shots next week, but until then, here are more candids from the most recent session for that project because I can't resist! Those faces... goodness, so cute. (This is what happens when you eat crackers at a portrait session and/or are really, really shy. Brilliant, no?)

I have also recently added a ton of new items to Stag with gift-giving in mind! Some vintage holiday decor, special small gifts for the stocking, things for pampering and things for the hobby-loving man in your life! Oh, and immediately below is just a small selection of some of the wonderful new ties going in the shop very soon! Wintery, warm, wooly (and in some cases, wide) ties!

In one of my recent junking trips to find items for Stag, I happened upon an entire unopened package of ribbon from the 70's. You know the stuff; shiny, plastic, bright colors, perfect for tying. I had to have it for my own gift-giving! Not a day later, I came across this amazing post from one of my favorite blogs: And Everything Else Too that gave a ton of creative and beautiful vintage gift-wrapping ideas! (Kind of perfect timing, don't you think?)

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Meat - B - Gone, Indeed...

Hello Lovelies!

I hope this weeks finds you doing well out there. I have been busy over here as usual, trying to balance all the different sides of my business so fresh content is always there for you! I shot my latest conceptual project yesterday. I'm still working on it, but here are some teasers. Below is the fake product prop box I designed for the shoot and a candid of the model. (This candid shot reminds me of the soft dreamy cover of Chet Baker's Chet album for some reason. For a two-second shot, I kind of love it.) I will release that work next post!

What else? Oh, since I do so much conceptual/commercial work, I feel a lot of people have the impression that I don't do product or family photography. This is simply not true at all. So, to clarify what I can do, I designed this handy FAQ for your reference! The bottom line is this: If you want the best and you're not sure if I do it, please send me an email and ask. That anniversary headshot below was very different from my usual eccentric fare, but I can do that too (and I enjoy it)!

But back to the odd, I don't usually do casting calls on the blog, but I need 6 8-9 year old kids for an upcoming project, so I thought I'd widen my net. If you are local to Portland, Maine, have a son or daughter who is 8-9 years of age and has the ability to focus and take instruction, and if they're comfortable in front of the camera, email me! I am shooting my annual Halloween card September 30th and it's all about the kids this year. The main criteria is that they have to fit into one of the outfits I'm renting. So, send along a message if you're interested and I'll try to make it work. (I don't want to spoil the concept, but it has to do somewhat with the below image...)

I have found an amazing artist recently who I wanted to share with you: Fernando Vicente. Wow. That's all I can really say. Mixing an expert mastery of human anatomy with a classic painterly approach and then placing his subject matter in clothing and fake magazine covers to give it a 1940's Vogue sense of familiarity, I honestly have never seen anything like it. And those faces (when they aren't dissected) are so expressive. I love this work. Take a look.

And let's wrap up with a movie recommendation, shall we? As you know, have no taste in film by most peoples' standards. No Criterion Collection for this girl. So, it should come as no shock that I love almost everything Pam Grier did during her blacksploitation period. Including, my latest find: Big Doll House. Wowza, this movie has it all; cat fighting, naked women, prison breaks, drug addiction, torture with cobras and of course, Pam Grier's horrible acting and ginormous fro. The bottom line is this: watch it if you have a spare hour or two and tell me what you think, and if you have better things to do, I laud your self-restraint. Ha!

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Blue Bayou...

Hello Lovelies!

I hope you are all doing well out there as usual. A lot going here. First, I was in the studio yesterday shooting some product for Stag (my new vintage men's shop opening Father's Day), and while I was at it, I did a little impromptu shoot of Amy wearing some of the Stag inventory. (I'm not sure she'll give up that tie or those suspenders so I can sell them, but I thought the shots looked summery and sort of bayou-ish. Don't you?)

And speaking of Stag, I will post the shop url to the blog once I have items listed and it goes live, so keep your eyes peeled, these are items you don't want to miss for the special man, boy or dad in your life!

I have also finally gotten around to listing my One-A-Day photo piece in the shop today! This is a one-of-a-kind photo art piece that includes all 30 of the photos shown HERE framed in a floating plexiglass frame. It comes with the hardware to hang it and the plexi still has the protective sheeting on it, so you may remove that upon its arrive for a crystal clear surface. The pictures don't really do it justice. This is the only one I'll ever do most likely, so check it out!

And I have a bit of sad news for those who don't already know. One of my biggest inspirations, the author Ray Bradbury (who wrote Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, Something Wicked This Way Comes and many others), died last week at 91. While he lived a long full life, and left a ton of great work behind, it symbolizes the end of an era to me and so of course I was saddened by the loss. If you're not familiar with his work, you can usually find pulp novels from the 50's for pennies on the dollar to get your feet wet. If you're a fan, what was your favorite work by him?

I found the coolest music video recently on a blog I follow and I wanted to share it. It's fully illustrated, creepy and a bit hypnotic. I just couldn't look away despite being sort of unsettled by it. Take a look:



And let's wrap up with another great movie that I saw recently. Master of the World, a 1961 adaptation of Jules Verne's classic of the same name starring Vincent Price was unexpectedly good. The effects were pretty believable, the sets were great and the acting wasn't too bad either. The premise of the movie is that a scientist in the 1700's creates a war blimp that he uses to float all over the world intimidating countries into peace by threatening to bomb them into oblivion from above. Sounds backwards doesn't it? Well, that's Jules Verne for you. It's on instant on Netflix right now, so check it out if you want some light film entertainment.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...