Ooh La La, Ha Ha Ha!

This picture is a continuance of the series of illustrations I am creating in collaboration with the photography by Kah Leong Poon, styling by Joshua Williams, with Maddie Williams as the model. In this particular picture little Maddie recieves a moment of inspiration, she remembers how to tell a joke in french!

This little Toucan wears a costume that is inspired by the little get ups my little brother Johnny used to wear when we sisters used to dress him as a baby 25 years ago. His costume is my favorite thing about the whole illustration, which I spent the whole day on. Today I found a photo album put together with great care chronicling those times that inspired the costume. What inspired me to put that album together I don't remember now but I am so thankful for the little things that can suck me out of this present time and remind me that this moment is not the most important thing in life.

Le Cirque

My older brother Bill spent some time living in France. When I was in college he mailed me a folded up cardboard French circus poster. All it said on it was 'Cirque' and it had the huge face of a clown. But it carried a strange and special spirit that I tried to capture when I made these illustrations.

Models: Maja and Maddie Williams, Photographer: Kah Leong Poon, Stylist: Joshua Williams.

Opening forbidden doors...

These paintings of antique keys are inspired by my love of Hugo Guiness' stark black and white woodblocks I posted the other day.

I based the images partly on a real key I found in a bead shop, partly on my imagination... I live in a hectic block right by the Lincoln Tunnel in New York City, a dingy part of town. But from my 8th floor studio window I glimpse the birds gathering on the tops of a beautiful tree in a private ladies garden across the street. When I go shopping I walk by the high brick walls and sealed doors of this special secret garden. There are cracks in the garden wall and little tongues of ivy and flowers come through to tease me. Maybe with one of these keys I could sneak inside the ladies garden on a moonlit night and climb up into the branches of that forbidden tree?

A Late Giftie for your Basket!

I'm still working on my series of illustrations for the children's shoot and thought this picture of Maja came out so cute! She looks like a little easter treasure just about to be delivered to a big blue basket... and quickly consumed!!!
I loved drawing the little chicks with their bulging eyes... I remember being so grossed out and fascinated at once by baby birds that would fall out of the nests on my driveway, seeing right through their transparent wrinkly skin. These little chicks have just opened their bulging eyes. The mom is modeled after the great white herons that would live on our lake down the hill from my house.Kah Leong and I collaborated on the concept of this image, Josh styled the clothing.

These underpants cast a spell on me...

In one of my favorite little shops on one of my favorite little lanes hangs one of my favorite little prints by one of my favorite artists. It's a woodblock print of underpants by Hugo Guinness and it's cast a spell on me! Hugo is a British artist who displays his work at John Derian. John displays a bevy of Hugo's block prints of little oddities from typewriters to trucks, dogs, trucks, and soldiers... I get the feeling that each object figures into his personal narrative. But it's the honesty of those undies that pulls at my heartstrings most!



Dad's old baggy undies.... time to throw them away!!!



Hugo's work is available in antique frames...


I love weenie dogs! Because I can call them weenie dogs!



Looks like it got left in the sandbox...



Very pretty but a breeding ground for mosquitoes!



The springs have burst through the fabric but from where the audience sits it looks like a grand velvet throne. That is the power of make believe :-)



Keep the sheets drawn tight over your feet, I'll be back with the jello soon my pretty...


Fasten your collar with this now, we mustn't show our cleavage!

Type all your feelings out on to the page. It is important that we be as honest as we can with ourselves and others. Now. Burn the paper and bury the ashes!!!!



It's a pity the party had to move inside due to rain. My dress was practically ruined.



Gather just enough for the pizza but not so much that you to kill the plant!



My crushes Timmy and Tommy must have left him when they were playing our driveway...



A dyed egg takes longer to stink, don'cha think?




From Hugo's bio I gather that he was somewhat of an Edward Gorey child- sent away to boarding school at age seven, always loved making creations from toilet paper rolls, cornflake packets, and plaster, but hardly receiving the proper attention for it... finally persuading his parents to send him to art school in London where things began to unfold from there. But I like to imagine him as he describes himself walking through the park with his nanny and his twin sister observing the dogs, the trees, the old ladies, and the pigeons...

The series of woodblock prints currently on display at John Derian fascinates me because of it's restraint. Each is simply black on creme paper and looks like it could have been executed quickly, although the concepts are treasures that are the product of a lifetime of thought! They make me want to go out and get some wood to make me make my own woodblock prints. Isn't that is the sign of great art, when it inspires you to want to make your own! Hugo's work is artfully sprinkled throughout the store, like sprinkles on a cupcake, keeping me delighted as I browse among the other oddities. Hooray for Hugo!

Childhood Guardian

When I was little my Dad loved to fill the house with treasures from his business trips around the world. We had a grandfather clock that would softly chime to us while we lay in our beds at night, a stately Japanese screen with representations of our family walking on clouds and carrying lotus buns, and a huge glazed oriental vase taller than I was into which we could toss our homework. But one of our family's dearest beloved treasures was a humble creature we called 'Snipe'. He was a tall black statue of a greyhound sitting at attention that lived in the front hallway under the grand curving staircase. I think my dad named him that as a joke and it just stuck. We all loved to give Snipe little love pats and caresses. He had sad eyes and drooping cheeks. When we got him he was almost taller than I was. Over the years as I grew up Snipe suffered many tumbles and spills and Dad mended his collar, nose, and neck many times with paint and wood putty. Finally I think Snipe had his ultimate spill and moved on to doggie heaven but the name will forever have a power over the heart of every 'child' in my family! This painting is in honor of our dear little hound... xoxo Snipe!

p.s. when my mom read this post she actually located poor little snipey and gave him a fresh coat of spray paint, posting an online gallery for you to see him. Click HERE to see...

Get Busy Ladies!

The other day I caught a snippet of one of my favorite movies, Little Women, on T.V.
I love the way girls of this era spent their time constructing creative activities for themselves: Creating clever crafts out of what scarce supplies were available, knitting, sewing, inventing costumes and putting on plays, and of course, playing outside! When I think of these industrious wholesome ladies I like to think of my mom and my sisters... my mom was sure to teach us all how to embroider, to quilt, and to sew. I'm not sure what purpose any of these skills will serve me but it does make me feel like a 'refined lady'! Around the time I saw this old movie I was inspired to take up an old pass time that I never quite got the hang of, watercolor! I am quite certain that Louisa Alcott would have fully approved of my replacing late night T.V. time with watercolor time! I've developed a secret habit...of ducking back into my office late at night to make one watercolor in my lined sketchbook before bed. It only takes a moment but I feel in those minutes like I've got a passport to another time and place! I just think of a theme and let my inspiration take me there. Some of my watercolors look like they belong under a magnet on Grandma's refrigerator but each little painting seems to get a little better than the last.
Previously I was focusing on birds inspired by the antique bird sculptures at Anthropologie. Right now the whole world seems to be a little bird crazy! Here's an owl that I think came out particularly well.



Lately I've been visually exploring the Galapagos islands and have gotten to know the seals, tortoises, penguins and blue-footed boobies... I've been looking at travel magazines and wishing I could go there and see the magnificent docile beasts that Charles Darwin encountered. The following are all animals found on the Galapagos islands...



Kah Leong thinks the boobie in this picture looks like it's wearing a snorkel mask and just needs a breathing tube to make the picture complete...



I loved painting the shimmering fur on this 'fur seal'.



This amazing 'Marine Iguana' is the only lizard that spends part of its time under the ocean- it forages for algae growing on the underwater rocks!


The ocean behind this group of penguins was dark blue with a green reflection but I let it become a pattern of abstract stripes without realizing it. I think David Hockney would approve :-)


The last penguin in the line had a little accident of some kind, as you can see his tail bled a little, he is also in some sort of a big hurry! Maybe he is embarassed because of it? Anyway, the combination is sort of comical to me...


The colors on this giant Galapagos tortoise painting are so muted and old school, like something from the 70's, it reminds me of something I would look at in a picture book in my parent's basement when I was a little girl. I can imagine the corners of the pages would be mildewed...


That's the end of my art show! Come again! All paintings can be purchased on my Etsy!