new & noteworthy

Happy Saturday! 

It snowed here in NYC last night :)

I spent time finishing up my journal cover for Lilla Rogers Bootcamp 2015

I got a late start on sketching, but I really enjoyed this one.

Our mini assignment was to sketch Edwardian brooches.

I got a little off track when I spotted a baby bear and tree on Pinterest, 

while looking at images.

For those of you who don't know, Lilla is a licensing agent who has paired up with

Beth Kempton, Do What You Love, in the UK to offer online classes 

that help hone your skills and gain a better understanding of the business.

I took her intensive 5 week class, Make Art That Sells 3A last spring. 

I learned a lot and gained more confidence.

Melissa Iwai convinced me that Bootcamp was just as helpful, with deadlines

end of each month rather than weekly, encompassing 5 months and for less $

The only drawback is that you don't have a chance to have your work reviewed 

by Lilla, herself, but finished pieces are displayed in the Bootcamp Galleries. 

You can view last year's projects here.

Our final assignment was to create a journal cover. You could incorporate your sketches

and reference in any way you like. I'm not the only artist who chose to frame animals

and I almost resisted the urge, but I take do what you love pretty seriously! 

It's funny, because I often sketch frames and animals in frames, "hanging" salon style.

Some of mine took on more of a Mexican folk look, with the bright color and flowers, 

but I'm happy with the mix. Lilla stresses to make what you would buy for yourself.

So I try! and hope that others share my taste in art and products :)

:::

Thanks for stopping by!

Lena is taking a snow day ... Zzzzzz

xo, A

Ollie owlet sketches

Ollie will stay here a little while longer ...

:: enjoy your weekend ::

xo, A

My studio, my dad, a Christmas painting and gifts on Etsy

Hi! Today I'm sharing a few things I wanted to share, so I am. 

I'm sharing :)

Above, a sketch - Birds, suitable for framing.

My dad turned 73 on Tuesday Dec 2nd - hard for me to believe. Happy Birthday dad!

He likes waving to me once I'm on the train at the Amtrak station in Richmond. 

Always makes me happy.

Lately, I've been attempting to declutter my space where I live and work.

It's not easy for me. I hang onto things, but it feels nice to let go. I feel lighter. I think.

I moved a couple of paintings. Cata Caquinho, above, now hangs in my living room. 

This is Cattie, a cute Steiff cat from childhood. No, I would never give her up.

This is a corner of my studio/kitchen area. It probably still looks cluttered to many of you, 

but for me, it's good. And, I've moved a bit more since this, too!

Crash Bunnies is now above my drawing table, along with dogs, Ruben & Cooper

Pirate bird and others...

I painted this little winter scene last week.

It's bun's 1st Christmas.

I recently had to get a crown after cracking my back tooth on a pistachio :/

My new dentist is Pasha on 5th Ave and 17th St, Brooklyn.

I think he did a fine job, although my temp popped out eating a breakfast burrito!

Time will tell.

This photo was taken along 4th Ave and you can see, the light was fantastic that day. 

Above, is the lovely, talented Yuko Katakawa at this year's CBIG portfolio review.

It's held each year at a public school on the Upper east Side.

I just love this little cape-coat! 

I thoroughly enjoyed my meetings with Beth Terrill, editor North South Books

and Patti Ann Harris, now at Scholastic. It was a great experience. 

CBIG does a good job of organizing it all. I'm really happy to be a part of this group.

Now, onto gifts! I gave this to my friend, Margaret as a little house warming present. 

She likes whales and this one from Clayopera on Etsy couldn't be sweeter! 

Take a look at her other ceramic pieces, all fun and whimsical.

My sticker :)

If you're shopping for charming toys this year, Hazel Village makes super cute animals,

like these two. I found them at the Union Square Holiday Market last winter.

little tree

My Christmas and holiday cards are available in my Etsy shop, Blip Blop Shop 

take a peek :)

An inkling of an idea - overindulgent animals...

You know who you are!

:::

It's almost the weekend. Have a fun one!

xo, A

What's New

Poodle Portrait by Art, the dog.

I made this little drawing a few years ago for a Read Your Dog contest on Facebook.

Yea, it won a prize ;) This week I decided to make it a painting. 

Red Studio by Matisse is a favorite of mine, so I gave Art a red space from which to work.

The timing seems right, since Matisse's Cut-Outs exhibit just opened 

at MOMA this week. I look forward to seeing it!

Monday, I picked up my new glasses by Soda Monster at Community Optical :)

I love them. They're navy with orange on the inside and most importantly, light weight.

I had the best experience going to Alex Musayev at Community Optical. 

I even ended up choosing the very glasses he was wearing!

I tried on a lot, when I finally narrowed it down to two (see below)

it still took me a while to decide. These are a nice looking CK design, 

but  in the end, I wasn't sure I could pull off the neon yellow sides.

This is such a comfortable neighborhood spot, I can't say enough about it.

Dr Jade R Gormady is great, customers are friendly 

and Alex couldn't be nicer or more helpful. 

My NEW cards arrived! I love the quality and have found a pen that writes on the glossy backs.

However, I still need to call Moo bc the consensus is that they printed the address field 

on the wrong side. 

My 1st trip to the New York Historical Society was to see the Ludwig Bemelmans exhibit.

It's hard to believe I've lived here for over 20 years and never visited. It's a wonderful place!

Above, Kristine Lombardi, Melissa Iwai and Yuko Katakawa pose with the Madeline wall decal.

I wish I could have taken some photos inside the show. Bemelmans' paintings are much more

interesting and rich in person. I've always been a fan of his loose painterly style 

and as charming as the Madeline books are, they don't do justice to the real thing. 

The original oil painted cover for Madeline and the Bad Hat was on view.

Below, was one of my favorites in person, but in the actual book

elements were cleaned up, some of the looser lines "fixed", taking away some of

the charm and inventiveness, in my opinion.

Melissa also noticed where the image was cropped and that a man on bridge 

had been deleted, which probably made sense, but note to self -

buy original work when you can, if you can!

It was fun to read personal letters to and from the likes of Jacqueline Kennedy and 

to see images of large panel murals he painted for restaurants and

for Christina Onasis' playroom, on her dad's yacht, no less! 

WNYC did a nice piece on Madeline turning 75 this summer.

And there's more if you're interested, 

Bemelmans' grandson, John Bemelmans Marciano wrote 

a terrific book years ago, Bemelmans - The Life and Art of Madeline's Creator

Overnight New York blog wrote an interesting piece here-

Madeline and the Ritz - How Hotels Influenced the Life and Art of Ludwig Bemelmans

His series of casual drawings on graph paper were totally new to me. 

Above is called Adieu to the Old Ritz

I have had the opportunity to go to Bemelmans Bar a couple of times. 

It's worth going for the cocktails and live music, but mostly I went for the art :)

I took a chance and bought a new to me, "beloved" sofa on Craigslist.

I got lucky with the price and location. I purchased this CB2 piece from a very 

nice couple who live only about 3 blocks from me. 

It seemed a bit further when Michael Thibodeau, Leslie Wolf and I walked it to my apt.

Most importantly, it fit through my doorway and Lena the cat seems to like it.

I can't thank these guys enough for helping me out! 

As for this fine piece by Earl R Smith they gave me, I really don't know what to say.

 I can thank Leslie for the ticket to Tuesday night's screening of Listen Up, Phillip at BAM.

Jason Schwartzman and director, Alex Ross Perry did a Q&A afterwards. 

 Jason is as cute and charismatic in person as you might expect :)

He plays a self absorbed, malcontented, though successful writer beautifully in the movie. 

I think he's one of the few actors who can pull off such a tricky role. 

I appreciate a story that doesn't give you what you're expecting and it's very funny 

in parts, but loses some steam about midway, for me, at least. 

Still, I enjoy screenings and love Q&A 

even though audience questions tend to be terrible and I can never 

come up with anything much better, myself. 

Luna lighting at Broadway Stages, not an accurate representation of LiteSource 

There's a NEW Awesome lighting app in town! LiteSource - dreamed up

by clever lady, Margaret Heidenry and built by genius, Mark Smith! 

It requires iOS8 or later, so I need to upgrade to try it myself. 

If you're like me, you've often felt frustrated by the inability to take a 

great night shot with your phone, whether of your friends, a beautiful building, 

romantic scene, nocturnal creature ... 

Well, now you can! I really can't believe this hadn't come about sooner.

 Check it out here.

and finally, I am behind in my pen sketches for #inktober and the 

#drawlloween topics I was drawing and posting on Instagram. 

These are a few from my sketchbook. Feel free to follow along,

join in and do your own or just see if I get back on track here.

ahhh beginnings...

Frederick Douglass statue at NYHS - photo courtesy Melissa Iwai

Til We Meet Again

xo, A