August, you're pretty

"Do what we can, summer will have it's flies." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

:::

On the East Coast, August has been surprisingly dreamy with it's sunny skies and mild temperatures. 

I created these promotional pieces for the CBIG (Children's Book Illustration Group)

digital directory. It's the 1st step in preparing for fall and making another go of it

in the worlds of publishing and art licensing.

The "flies" in my summer tend to be work related, not the cute animals and scenes I choose to

paint, but the interruptions to that, let's just call - my job ;)

:::

These photos were taken at Grumman Studios on LI, where the 

Apollo Lunar Modules were created. Grumman is currently referred to as 

"Hollywood of the East". Fortunately, I never heard anyone actually call it that. 

We were there to work on a pretty ambitious and creative commercial. 

Our work doesn't compare to putting a man on the moon, but it pays the bills. 

I can share the commercial, once it comes out.

I mostly took pictures of the building, my friends and the floor. 

Below, dusty shoe prints on rubber mat covering cables.

A clever production assistant put a hammock up in his cube truck once it was empty. 

Above, scenic artist, Gennadi Barbush relaxes in it.

Scenics take a coffee break in the lot, while I rest in hammock :)

Hard to resist taking a pic of rust this good!

Damage the sun does to paint is often the most beautiful to me. Faded reds, pinks, blues ...

always get me.

Great shape and yellow, not sure how it functions, maybe for fire fighters?

We passed this building on the way home every night. I love it. 

Thought I took a pic with the lighted sign, but now I can't locate it.

Below, detail shots of two of my paintings that sit on either side of my bed, 

in my tiny bedroom. Sadly, they're a bit too large to hang in my apt.

I think they relate to the other photos, but I might just be tired.

Great skies to and from the job. My favorite part of the day - catching sight of New York City.

It will always excite me.

 hand-me-down, carpenter's union tee, don't have 829's, do we have one?

Fellow scenic, Michael Taranov took this photo of me "fighting the good fight".

:::

This particular job was quite a beast, in terms of hours, number of set

changes and variety of fumes inhaled. I want to end my post with a

big Thanks to Bryon Finn, who I work with a lot.

He handled everything with grace and as always,

worked his ass off. 

Ok, I have lunch, I mean work to do!

:

ps- if you like my photos, then follow me on Instagram

I share much more there :)

Have a great week!

xo, A

It's a Capybara world after all

or is it?

Some would say it's a Dog Eat Dog world, but I wouldn't worry about these guys.

Speaking of dogs,

Doggy Bag and most products & prints in my Society6 Shop are shipped FREE this week!

Lotta Buns, Gingham Bear, Hello Love and Doggy bags, available in several sizes

Hello Love pillows and covers, available in several sizes 

Little Darlings is available as a print, bag or pillow, comes in several sizes

Nice catch, Cat! art print available in several sizes - Venice Gustavo gondolier series

One of the loveliest girls I know turns 11 tomorrow, her party was Saturday. 

Zex and baby Mirabelle

Time sure flies!

In Venice last month with her mom

*Happy* *Birthday* *Mirabelle*

May you experience many wonderful adventures in life! Travel is a great start :) 

It's Monday. There's no telling how the week will unfold.

I hope there are some nice surprises in store for us all!

:::

See more illustration work, browse some products or see more pics on Instagram

why not?

xo, A

Birds, Acorns & Fluffy Tails

Some days don't start out so well, but who knows how they'll end up.

This is a little study of a bird who appears in my work again and again.

 Little yellow birds play the part of best friends in my series,

Animals at Work and Play!

More in bird news....

and sketching. 

I love sketching, whether in pencil, pen or charcoal.

It's tough to create a finished piece with that same energy, looseness

and humor that a sketch may have. 

woof

Below are sketches I made for a CBIG event, Illustrator Day, which was held yesterday.

The assignment was to pick a time tested story and recreate a spread from the book.

I chose the classic "Miss Suzy" written by Miriam Young in 1964, 

illustrated beautifully by the great, Arnold Lobel. 

It's about a sweet grey squirrel who is chased out of her lovely house atop an oak tree. 

She finds a place to live and makes new friends, but longs to return home. 

With some help, she does just that!

I chose Semadar Megged, art director at Philomel, Penguin Group 

to critique my piece. 

I received constructive feedback from her about my sketches and she suggested I

work up the one below for my final.

Unfortunately, I did not complete my final piece, but for some reason I wanted to share.

I'm disappointed that I've let Miss Suzy and myself down.

My jobs in the film business, on commercials, can be unpredictable, 

sometimes hectic, sometimes long hours. Last week was a busy one for me. 

That's not an excuse, because had I simply started sooner I would have had work to share.

I will continue to work on Miss Suzy.

She's one of the kindest characters, down on her luck and in need of a hand,

one that she deservedly gets :)

Everyone can relate to that.

:::

Hope your week is off to a strong start!

xo, A

Change - good and bad

If I Were a Toy store has closed.

This is a picture of me last June after I painted their door for the summer season.

I will miss painting this door. I've been doing it, almost monthly, for close to 4 years.

This was my 1st little sketch for the St Patrick's door. 

I'm always looking for that pot of gold :)

Here's a link- Lucky Days, to that door & post from March 2010 

It includes some of the murals 

I had painted inside the shop and hair cutting space.

I also sold a few baby tees there

like Space Mouse

and the ever popular, Scooter Dog.

I'm happy for Joanna and Virginia, the owners of the shop,

as they pursue other avenues and dreams.

I know it's silly to get sentimental, but I'll miss chatting 

with them as I painted and talking to some of the 

kids who were curious. They usually came in for the 

gum balls or to get coins for the rides outside,

but many showed real interest and shared their opinions.

It lead to some fun custom work for me and I guess I

just liked knowing it was there, little friends at the entrance.

I painted my last door in February this year, Valentines, of course :)

My friend, Melissa Zexter took this photo of me painting the 1st Valentine's 

day door. She's also taken quite a few of Mirabelle and Odille after

picking them up from school. This holiday door is from Dec 2011.

Below, a rather large mouse posed with pirate bear last summer.

I think my best ones might be the Halloween doors, which is

odd since I'm not a big fan of halloween, though I do love candy.

This one pays homage to "Where the Wild Things Are", in costume, at least.

Below, was a continuation of the previous year's door.

The kids enter a haunted house.

This year's 2013 was a favorite of mine. I would go to this party ;)

Venice Valentine from 2012 is another favorite and lead to a series of

illustrations for a children's book idea.

Finally, I really like these funky NYC buildings and the fireworks.

If you'd like to see more of my faves, I have a Pinterest board

with a bunch titled - My Glass Paintings

You can also see more and additional custom work on 

my site here

! knock yourself out !

Alas, I knew the day was near, when George's store would 

officially close :(

This was my landlord's shop. George passed away in 2010.

I painted this sign when he and his wife moved the shop to a less

populated area of Court Street.

I'm not known for my sign painting, but I was happy

to hear that more than a few people wanted it.

I just didn't want it to go in the trash.

I'm happy that it is safe and sound with the fabulous guys

at Court Street Grocers.

I think Eric and Matt might be as sentimental as I am.

:::

I still miss George.

:::

As always, thanks for taking a look.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

xo, A