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...

The Holidays Are Coming...

Hello Lovelies!

I hope you are all doing well out there and that those of you in the U.S. had a nice, relaxing Thanksgiving holiday and long weekend! My weekend was busy, but good. I spent time with good friends having a good time. (It doesn't get much better than that, does it?) I love going on long drives in the winter (they're a nice stand-in for walks when it's too cold for those) and I caught this beautiful, winter sunset up here in Maine I thought I'd share. This really is a beautiful place to live.

What's new? Well, I just posted some new promotional work I did for the holidays for my STAG shop! I decided to make work for both Halloween and the holidays to show how good vintage can look and also to showcase some of the items in the shop right now. I really like how these came out, they really channel a 1960's vibe (which was my goal), with a fun twist. The rest of the pieces in this series can be seen over at Flickr. (A huge thank you to my models Katy and John and my makeup artist Christina! You guys are amazing.)

I have a couple of other exciting projects for clients that I've shot recently that are in the editing stage. I can't wait to show those off, but for now, you'll have to be okay with some candid teasers...




Here in Maine, there is a local photography collective called the Bakery Photographic Collective that provides photo space, dark room equipment and other resources for local photographers. It's a great resource and they have an annual fundraiser called Photo A-Go-Go that accepts donations from local photographers to be sold to benefit the collective. I have donated a framed print of Ms. Peacock this year to support the cause! If you're local, check it out. It's December 14th and the details can be found at the link above! So many talented people are represented.

Speaking of the holidays, one of my favorite companies House Industries (a typography & design powerhouse), has some wonderful products available this season for holiday gift-giving. Prints, bags, even a modern nativity! Check out their site. Here are just a few of the prints available right now:

Let's wrap up with some great vintage Firestone Christmas gift spreads that I found recently on one of my favorite blogs: Retro-A-Rama, shall we? Talk about eye-candy! The colors and the typography and the fact that they are entirely illustrated, really made me realize how much went into those old ads. We really don't bother anymore, do we? Ah, well...

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...