Picture that!

Gustavo gondolier and his pal, Mick.

The past few months have been busy for me, painting sets on a TV show

and finishing up March on a big La-Z-Boy commercial. 

and YES, their spokesperson, Brook Shields 

still looks gorgeous!

vintage doll head, part of set decoration - The Following

This was a nice quiet weekend. I caught up on some of my own work,

tidied up my apt and got back to a CKO class. 

I did get out and enjoy the sunshine a little, too :)

I'm so happy spring is here (is that too hopeful?) The temps look

like they will stay on the mild side. I really hope so. 

This was a tough winter, although some say it was no worse than last year. 

Somehow it just seemed to go on & on & on.

Last Easter weekend, Kristine was here reading Lovey Bunny at Book Court.  

It was the 1st time I've heard Lovey read aloud :)

I have no idea why there was such a large podium 

with decorative fabric for a reading to mostly children.

For a minute I thought she was about to give a commencement speech.

Afterwards, a few of us went for lunch and did some browsing at Yesterday's News down near me.

I almost bought these little cats! but sometimes a picture is enough. I guess.

Yuko liked this Holland sign. It's pretty great, walks a thin line between cute and creepy ;D

Love this car.

I always enjoy eating at Frankies, especially with Kristine, Yuko & Melissa Zexter 

who met us later, thus taking the place of Melissa Iwai who had to go home.

 As I always say, there must be at least one Melissa in the group ;) 

Thom left us for another dinner date. 

Unfortunately, no Tom, Dick or Harry to take his spot.

I never remember the name of this Sangiovese blend, but it's a current favorite.

Sunday, we all met up for the 1st day of Smorgasburg down at Brooklyn Bridge Park.

I also learned that Melissa Iwai lives on this charming street with one of my favorite houses (above).

M. Zexter, me, M. Iwai and Yuko - photo by Kristine

Just a great doorway in Brooklyn Heights :)

I made it to MOMA this week to meet up with my college friend, Wendy 

who brought her 15 year old daughter, Lucy for her 1st visit to NYC. 

Wendy's lovely mom, Rhetta (I haven't seen in about 20 years) came, too!

This shot is about as much as we saw of the Bjork show.

The museum was packed and I don't think any of us had the patience to get through it.

Instead, we hit the Design, Photography and Painting floors.

This Gauguin is a sentimental fave! I always love seeing it.

Wendy, me & Rhetta - in front of Rock Ctr Anthro window - photo by Lucy

I think Lucy was just as happy to visit Anthropologie and Free People, despite

having the same stores down in Richmond. It's hard to understand, 

but they are terrific shops and it's fun when everything looks great on you :)

:::

The topic of stealing ideas came up in my MATS Bootcamp class this week, 

in our private Facebook group. Each month we receive an assignment and most

of us share sketches and initial ideas with each other for feedback and sometimes for

encouragement. It's a great group, but this is something to think about. I doubt anyone is intentionally, "stealing" concepts, but it opened up a conversation. 

I love renowned ad man, Paul Arden's book -

"It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be" great pieces of advice and philosophy.

and finally ... more Artwork by Allyn ...

and Lena

If you enjoy my work and have an interest in seeing sketches, progress shots and a variety 

of photos I take for inspiration and plain old fun, visit me on Instagram.

Have a great week!

xo, A

Shop Allyn Howard- Society 6

I recently added some new things to my Society 6 shop.

Above, Lotta Buns in blue on orange background, inspired by fellow scenic, Will Valentin.

Certain designs are easy to customize and sometimes come out better than the original! 

Admiring Frederick Douglass, w/bunny bag, at the NY Historical Society

Well, I like both the pink and orange and I added some bunnies on green, too :)

Browse prints, pillows, bags and more in my Shop - Society6.com/AllynHoward

Salon style animal portraits are new to my shop, too!

Most of you Blipadee followers have probably seen baby Birds, they remain a favorite of mine :)

These two were just added today - Bunny Seascape and below, Bear moves on ...

Originals painted with acrylics on unprimed wood.

Drum roll, please ...

photo courtesy Melissa Zexter, decoration by me

Come see my lovey friend, Kristine Lombardi, read her new book Lovey Bunny

at my neighborhood bookstore, Book Court - Saturday April 4th 11am

I can't wait!

and just in time for Easter! 

detail - it's almost here! Easter illustration 

Have a lovely weekend!

xo, A

Can I share my lunch with you?

Happy Friday! Hello fall. 

It's been blissfully mild so far and the trees look beautiful with their multi colored leaves.

I hope it remains a friendly season :)

:::

Here's a gift for you 

It's true, the holidays are around the corner. 

I'll add some Christmas & holiday cards to my Etsy shop next week, 

but for the next few days (thru Sun Nov 9th) 

Receive $5 OFF ALL of my products in my Society6 Shop, pillows, bags, art prints, 

everything ... plus Free Delivery. Just click - AllynHoward to grab your deal

* This is a small sampling of what's in my shop *

It's probably obvious that much of my work is inspired by springtime, 

the colors, flowers blossoming, birds singing 

... that kind of thing. 

However, I do love fall and even wintertime (sometimes). 

New York City is especially magical during the holiday season.

 I'm happy, just as long as I have on enough layers to stay warm.

bags

mugs, rather mug (double sided- see who's on the other side)

clocks

art prints 

cards and more, yes more :)

Thanks for stopping by!

I really appreciate you guys visiting Blipadee to read my posts 

and those of you who just take a peek to see what I'm up to each week.

It means a lot to me. Enjoy your weekend.

xo, A

My NEW Website is up!

I have a NEW website - YAY!

:::

I decided to use Squarespace after hearing positive things from other artists, 

plus reading a few build-your-own site comparisons. 

I took advantage of their 2 week free trial to set it up 

and it took about 3 days, working on & off. 

I'm sure it takes less time if you have less images to add. 

Scanning new work and locating older images, slowed me down a bit.

:::

I was drawn to the clean style of their templates and I really wanted

a grid layout, so the viewer can see images clearly at one shot, 

then click to enlarge if interested in seeing it in more detail. 

I had to customize slightly to get that, but it was fairly simple 

once the support team helped me out. I'm currently using Avenue.

A big thank you to Carmen of Carmen Mok Studio also.

We're in an art group on Facebook that was organized after 

taking Lilla Rogers' Mats3A class last spring. It's a great group and 

provides a nice way to ask for advice and share resources with each other.

I like her work and the ease of her site. She answered 

some of my initial questions and I really appreciate it!

:::

Once I heard Marc Maron give a 10% promo code on his Monday wtf podcast,

 I knew it was meant to be, so I went for it :)

My only setback is that the company where my domain is registered 

has not gotten back to me about "mapping/forwarding"

my domain - AllynHoward to squarespace, so for now my site is

www.allyn-howard.squarespace.com 

It's a temporary issue, but one I must resolve before mailing out 

new promotional cards, obviously.

A refreshed Ruben & Cooper are real happy with their new home.

I wanted to go ahead and share my site with you guys, my friends, 1st anyway!

When you have the time, please take a look. I would love to hear your feedback.

I assume it will all be constructive.

I have a lot of images on there, but I think it's well organized.

There are 7 Gallery pages listed across the top and a link page that brings 

you here, to my blog.

It's pretty easy to navigate.

Melissa Iwai, I entered your name when answering a survey that asked 

who recommended the site. 

I think you were the first to mention Squarespace to me. 

Regardless, I hope you get some kind of credit or prize!! :D

Thanks for stopping by!

Enjoy the rest of your week.

xo, A

To all the Beach Bunnies

These bags are for YOU! 

Bun Bunnies is available in several sizes as a bag,  pillow & art print in my Society 6 shop.

It would have been nice to have these guys ready for Easter, but there's no time like the present.

May is very possibly my favorite month and these buns agree :)

One is a little grumpy as he goes off to work, but otherwise this is a gleeful bunch!

I love this little bun. She started as a tiny sketch -

 with a few embellishments

I like the pencil lines, but for my products I went for the more painterly look.

She makes a sweet friend and would look quite lovely in a nursery or a young child's room.

She's available as a print.

as stationery

and also iphone skins and cases.

I have a dozen bags from which to choose in my shop.

They really do work well at the beach :)

See my illustrations and custom paintings & murals @ AllynHoward dot com

:: It's almost the weekend ::

Have a great one! 

xo, A