alphabet

yay!  I got a job illustrating the alphabet...25 to go.

naive

I just got this book yesterday and ohhh boy, it's great.  lots of work by some of my favorite artists...helen dardik...matte stephens...nate williams...rulo...just another humbling day here in the studio.  I ordered 2 copies hoping to give one to my brother nate, but he's downsizing so...........

stephanie

stephanie's tattoos are spectacular...(she works at the grey colt, of course).  how do tattoo artists do that?  I'm still trying to get this design to work...

shark!

no kidding...last day at the beach this big old hammerhead shark swam right up to shore and nate was petting it.  oh. he's so brave.  

made in the 216

friday nite "room service" created this very fun + festive event ... made in the 216 ... the ceiling was adorned with these beautiful tissue paper flowers. the whole event had such a good vibe ... great music, wine, local talent and the weather was perfectly hot + sunny.

veggies

I'm supposed to be designing easter cards, but then this happened...I'm not too focused today...or ever.

baking cupcakes

I spent saturday baking cupcakes for the "grey colt" 50th anniversary celebration...it was SO much fun ... big thanks to kathy for the baking advice and accoutrements. 

red

can anyone tell me why red based colors look so weird on a blog?  am I not saving the image correctly? reds always look like they were painted with a bad gouache technique...

vegetarian

try going vegetarian...just for a day...or two...or a few weeks...or a couple of months...or forever!!!

back from vacation

no more being lazy under the perfect sky...no more l o n g walks under the perfect canopy of trees ... 

Meandering

Just moving color around

Finally

Water

Who can paint when the water is so warm...

Thinking about painting

I hauled this stuff on the ferry so i'd better use
it...sometime...later...

On vacation!!!

...on an island...Nate & David headed out to sea...

lemon mint granita

while linking around I found this recipe...with a splash of limoncello it will be heavenly...click here for the full recipe.

Still testing iPhone

...should be cleaning my studio...boring.

My favorite treasure

...testing my iPhone!

thanks everyone!!!

wow.  so lots of you actually follow this blog???!!!  that delights me so much...really, you have no idea.  cuz it is really fun for me.  i have some cool things lined up to post over the next few weeks so definitely keep checking.  some new recipes, an interactive idea, a great new beverage....on + on + on... big thanks to all of you that visit this site. you're all my new best friends.

brazilian guitar

I'm in search of brazilian guitar music...not a jazz sound...not contrived, but authentic. if you've got any suggestions please leave 'em...

almost vacation

a  l  m  o  s  t    vacation time!!!  trying to get ready to leave ... must learn how to post from my iphone, which I don't know how to use at all.  and no, I don't drink beverages with umbrellas in them but it was fun to draw...and my hat doesn't have a flower on it either.

triple sss word of the day

ugh. definitely the right word for today.  lots to do and a sick kitty here at home.  deep breath, relax, one thing at a time...

1982

my first job out of college was as a fashion illustrator...they would give me the clothes, I would put them on, have someone take an instant polaroid then render and design the layout. typesetting was hard back then!  straight lines were (and still are) impossible for me.  how very early 80's. and messy charcoal!

lots-a-coffee

there are a million other things I should be doing at the moment, but I'm here playing with color palettes for no real good reason...time to move on.

public service announcement

how many times do I need to learn this lesson???  if you work digitally..."command s"...OFTEN.  I lost over an hours worth of point pulling + color fussing because I wasn't remembering to command s.  dang. so here is a handy dandy image you can print out and sit on your desk so this doesn't happen to you! wah.   

favorite color

it's pretty obvious by now that this is my favorite color...

sss words

I'm starting a visual dictionary of words with the triple sss (thanks to a few of you who have been pointing them out to me!) ... and what better word to start with for me. obsess. how very appropriate.

darren waterston

darren waterston.  I had never known of his work til I came across this book of his.  it took me awhile to realize that these were paintings...big paintings.  quite unbelievable.  I bought the book and am very glad that I selfishly kept if for myself rather than sending it off to a friend.  

corner of my studio

a favorite little corner in my studio.  that cool looking guy wearing the hat? my dad. (um, not the pope)

bravo J.V.

congrats to J.V. on receiving his PhD in art history...and for creating a buzz in columbus with The Bureau for Open Culture....

flowers

sometimes I just need to doodle something simple + sweet...

starburst

this blog has been very therapeutic for me in many ways and here is a grand example.  I was having the time of my life eating starburst candies today til I saw the pile of wrappers I was leaving..uh-oh.  so I decided to just sit down and settle myself into reinterpreting those yummy colors.  yes, at times I am very transparent.

cake

I guess I'm not over kraft paper OR the drop shadow OR cake...

peonies

every few days katie changes the bouquet at the "grey colt" (which by now everyone knows is my favorite store, right?).  I decided to take a quick pic and then do a quick doodle interpretation....very relaxing for me, I must say.

thanks for dinner

special thanks to the friends that hosted an incredibly fun + delicious dinner party last nite. everything was perfect. especially all of the beverages...and it was fun meeting such interesting new people.

shoes

shoe doodles...my 15 minute break from the other work stuff...I do love my silver gladiator flats from the Grey Colt...

pet hair

oh sure...you're laughing now, but wait til you try this thing. it's a gadget that ACTUALLY works.  with five cats I think my opinion counts.  that's what this blog is about...sharing great stuff. and this is great. pledge fabric sweeper for pet hair.

print & pattern

I am a BIG fan of the print & pattern blogsite.  I ooohhh + aaahhh over it everyday.  I was so very happy to wake up today and see that see has featured "studio sss" on her blog...and that she posted my favorite recent design (which is available... I am shameless, I know).  THANKS print & pattern.

color palettes

I was out looking around a few of my favorite stores today + tried to capture some of the really pretty color palettes I saw...why didn't I just take photos???