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...

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...

A Van, A Dog & A Mountain...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all doing well out there as usual! Things here are very, very good as always. And, as always, there is a lot to share.

To start, with the New Year, I have decided that my photographic work is going to take a decidedly new direction into the arenas of fine portraiture, fashion and lifestyle work with an eye towards the commercial end of things. In that vein, I have started planning some new projects that I think you will enjoy quite a bit. The first project will be fine portraiture and I am calling this series: 1910. I can't wait to get started! This series was inspired by the Ralph Lauren shot below and I will be shooting that next month, so get excited!

I have also been hinting at my big secret project for months now and I plan to release the first part of that in just a couple of weeks! I will give you a hint, the name of this series is Modern America and as the title suggestions, the work deals with modern issues that we face in society today. That's all I'm going to say. Standby for those shots very soon.

What else? Oh! I am working on a very exciting long-term project for some clients/friends of mine that I am getting really excited about! My friends own Premium H2O, a plumbing, heating & gas company up here in Maine. They bought a vintage Metro van from the 1950's this time last year, and they have been slowly working away at getting that van completely restored. Ultimately, it will be used in their actual fleet of vehicles and as a marketing tool. The van is amazing. I am documenting the process of its restoration for them and I will ultimately be using these photos to create a restoration book for their business. I was in the garage last weekend shooting part 2, as they are completely replacing the entire undercarriage. Here are some shots from that day. (Any day that finds me in a garage in Maine in winter with a bunch of boys who are drinking beer, laughing and wearing buffalo plaid is a fun day for me!)

And speaking of boy things, I went to a flea market while I was up north shooting the truck and I found some great, quality items for STAG. Including: a red wool men's vest that's amazing, a vintage Windmill brand tan women's wool coat that's in excellent condition and these things below (a pair of vintage, all-leather shooting gloves, a pair of women's wool mittens with flowers from the 1970's and a pair of vintage boots). All will be listed soon, so check back regularly for that!

We've had a beautiful winter here in Maine so far. A lot of snow, some nice, cold days and now the days are getting a bit longer. It's really boring spending all that time indoors, so I try to get out when time allows and when I have the motivation to do so! This past weekend, I went hiking up Bradbury Mountain ('mountain' really over-states it, it's really more of a hill) with a furry friend and took some shots of this beautiful place called Maine…

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

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...