April showers

As the old adage says, "April showers bring May Flowers."  This illustration was done for A.Tierney a wonderful purveyor or preppy items to brighten even the gloomiest of days.

Need a bit of cheer, a new tote, a fun belt or perhaps an umbrella to ward off the rain.  Thank you A.Tierney for my new "PVE" preppy pendant neck charms, sure to provide fun and smiles!

Ladies always love color and after all, if you have a girl, you know how they love to borrow from Mom!  Better yet, Mother's Day is right around the corner. 

Shower Mom with something bright and cheery, flowers or a fun A.Tierney Item.  

Tell them pve design sent you, singing in the rain!  

kissed by the sun

Several years ago, my mother painted this water-color of three of her toe head grandchildren, Christian, Alexandra, and Amelia - my daughter on the right.  Many people refer to blondies as "toe-heads."  This phrase or name was coined in the 19th century and "toe" is actually from the word "tow" meaning a flax, hemp, golden fiber.  I love this painting, the way the light shines on these little angels and the way they are standing so close and in awe of the flowers.  The flowers are playful and simple while the children look to be on the verge of making mischief and picking these flowers yet waiting for the green light from their Grandma.  

My mother has always had a contemporary way of capturing children and to me this painting embraces the "toe-head" magic.  It is as if they were kissed by the sun, a color that every salon would like to have in a bottle.  

 

Mother and child

One artist who inspires me is Mary Cassatt.  She painted many scenes of Mother and child, raising the status of domesticity at a time when landscapes and still lives were the fashion.

There is no love in this world that can compare to the unique bond of a Mother and child.  My very own Mother is an inspiration to me.  I never quite understood this, until I became a Mother.  The status of Mothers all over the world was elevated that day.  I feel this love from the paintings of Mary Cassatt.  One can feel the special touch of a mother in her work.

Several years ago, I found this lovely book for my Mother, a journal of memories.  It is a journal where you fill in the blanks with words and photos.  I gave this to her and she replied, "I never knew you loved me this much."  I think it was the best gift that I ever gave her.

Here is a photo of my Mother and I as she ties my shoe lace, pregnant with my little brother, number six.  I am the fifth child of seven.   Having three of my own, I can only imagine and shake my head as to how she managed to raise seven.  A huge job.

My mother was born in a time of what I would like to think as "glamourous" - when Hollywood was elegant and people dressed up daily, not just for special occasions.  One never left the house without earrings and lipstick.  This photo was take of her as a young lady and I always thought my mother could have fit right in, in Hollywood.   Gorgeous, right!  A domestic Goddess.

Today, I honor my very own friend, creator and Mother.

Happy Birthday Mom.

This August, my Mother and Father will celebrate Sixty years of Marriage.  They make it all look so simple.

Cheers to my Mother, from child number five.  

matter of taste

The Balvenie guy always makes me smile. What a guy. My kind of guy, because he is illustrated, I adore his philosophy and educated air, the cut of his suit, the chic bow tie, glasses and his stance. He's the sort of guy that I would like to have a scotch with, Balvenie Scotch. There is also something appealing about him appearing in the Wall Street Journal. He has what I call business acumen. Plus he has great little quips that make him unique. Just in case you cannot read what he is saying, I have typed it here for you to read. "It may simply be a matter of taste but I find illustration to be much more sophisticated than photography, don't you?"

As an artist, I do love a great black and white photo, however, I see in "illustration" and in "story" and I do agree that illustration gives an air of sophistication. It is a matter of taste.

Would you like an illustration of you? Slimmer, richer, taller, smarter - it can easily be done in an illustration! After all photos add weight and never lie while an illustration can simply add sophistication and wit. Humor me.

unfussy

The past few days have been "fussy" as my youngest child was home from school with a fever.

She was not even the least bit fussy nor difficult. She was rather unfussy and mostly slept and had bits of medicine, fluids, and ice pops or whatever she could keep down. I, her Mother on the other hand was extremely fussy for having my life interrupted. We all plan to build and complete so many projects that I was once again reminded that no job is as important as that of being a Mother.

We provide water, nourishment, cheer, and a watchful eye to those we deliver into this world. When my patience is being tested or I am run off course, I think that these days are merely a sign to slow me down and to focus on the little things. Despite the glamourous appearance of this arrangement that I painted, lilies and hydrangeas are mostly very unfussy.

Unfussy, easy, modern and graceful. Today, I gave my sweet thing a kiss as she hopped off to school. I wish she were still home. Call me fussy.

boys toys

Why is it that traditionally, boys have all the biggest and best toys.  Then when they grow up, the toys just keep on getting bigger and better.  Lately, I have been getting quite a few commissions for custom artwork for boys and their toys.  Some men have bikes, boats, cars, thrill sleds and even planes to play with.  What a unique gift of art.  Perhaps someone you know and love, the sort of person that has everything, needs a special work of art.  Girls are allowed to have fun too so please share your favorite toy with me. 

For me,  my paint box still rules number one.  Of course, I still like making sand castles at the beach too.

miracles

Today is a special day, it is my "little" brothers birthday.  Here we are dressed in our finery, he in his nautical sailor outfit and I am in my fancy green floral dress with sage velvet piping.  I wonder what the photographer was saying to us or dangling in front of us, as we both managed to smile, the smiles that miracles are made from.   Little toe heads we were!

As Albert Einstein said, "There are only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as though everything is a miracle."

To my little brother, may you continue to live your life full of miracles.  I wish you a Happy Birthday full of happiness and blessings. This is the painting that I am sending to you to hang in a spot for you to enjoy.  Happy Birthday to my little brother.  You are special to me!

It's your birthday, now go have some fun, some cake and I wish I were near to help you blow out all those candles!

master mind

I recently went back to practicing yoga and I was amazed at how our mind is our master. Certain poses really require one to let go, to live in that moment and if any fear takes over, the pose is suddenly off balance. The illustration above was done for a lovely woman (below) who is the master mind of Bhati Beads, inspired by her yoga as well as some beads, prayer boxes and love for jewels.

As artists, we need to feed our soul in order to master our mind. May each of you be inspired
to create or perhaps master a pose.

master lemon

I have long been fascinated with the Old Masters and the vision that they possessed long before the actual execution.  More often than not, before I begin, I see the painting or the illustration in my head.  Old Masters worked towards a purpose often painting the same object or subject many times before they were considered completely final, before it matched what they saw in their head.  It is all in starting to see the ending.  I felt this while painting this lemon which to me has a nod to the old masters.  

The first few brushstrokes to the blank canvas ultimately have a purpose from start to finish. Finding the light, the shadow and suddenly realizing the shape and mastering it all requires chance.  The chance for uncertainty is the prerequisite of succeeding.   Mastering this lemon required seeing the ending, feeling the shape, seeing the light and having the ability to take a chance and purely paint what I saw that day, in my head.   Fascinated to master the lemon with paint and canvas and to see what I saw in my head was as easy as mastering a pitcher of lemonade.  Would you care for a tall glass of master lemonade or perhaps a master painting class?

a state of grace

Life requires self examination in order to lead us to our path.   If I allow myself to become overwhelmed with allowing any thing to become too difficult, then it suddenly feels as if I am trying too hard. Trying too hard to prove something.  I find it becomes forced, but by giving up and not trying hard enough - then the difficulty of being in that moment finds me with with despair.  The trick or the true key is to try to stay in the middle of those two extremes, to be just relaxed enough to stay in a state of.... "grace."

Weekends allow for a time of reflection, be they spiritual or worldly.  The above interior is a space that I picture to be a perfect state of grace.  A neutral dwelling space to sit, to reflect, to read, to live in the moment.

I would love to wake up from this four poster bed, white linens and soothing gray provide an ordered calm.  Ah, an adult nursery, fresh flowers, a candle, a spot of tea, soft pillows, some books to take me away and a throw to surrender me back to sleep.  I picture some loosely painted nudes above the bed mingled with some asian inspired artwork.

How do you seek to bring a state of grace to your world?  Do you have a place, a photo, a book an exercise or a person or thing that brings a sense of the middle ground to your life.  Please feel free to share with me in your words or a picture.