Heaven Sent Commission

Things have been busy lately. I'm pleased to report that my company commissioned three pieces of art from me... Although they did not ask for my original art or something from my portfolio I was still happy to be working. The project was for three large format canvasses with enlarged images based on sketches from a famous Italian furniture designer. We dug through his sketch book to find appropriate inspiration for our triptych. This is a photo of one of the three completed canvasses in my home. (Please note the original sketch taped beside the final art.)

Currently the book on my bedside table is titled "The Rape of Europa" by Lynn H. Nicholas. She writes a very interesting (though slightly dry) book on what happened to all of the greatest artistic masterpieces in Europe during World War II. The cover of the book has a photograph of the great hall of the Louvre totally empty except for picture frames. At the time of this commission I just happened across an image in my book of the Winged Victory being evacuated from the Louvre. If this statue could talk imagine the stories she would tell!

Once the presentation space is photographed professionally I will post additional images of the art in the finished space. Hope everyone is well, and thanks for reading!

Things I am thankful for

I have attached an image of a Thanksgiving card I am preparing to send out to friends and family. Everyone who reads my blog (all five of you) will be receiving a card from me. If anyone else is reading this and would like to receive a card please just send me a comment with your name and home address!

This is an image I have wanted to create into a card for several years. Over the years I have filled several sketch books with doodles in which I planned out this card. The sketches have never worked to my satisfaction and I always question myself and ask, "Does anyone actually send out Thanksgiving cards?" Each year Thanksgiving has passed me by making all of this moot. Happily, this year I managed to find one day to get all of the drawing done. Now I just need a few evenings to paint the white details.

The Thanksgiving Parade in New York was one of those things that I LONGED to attend when I lived in Chicago. Now as a New Yorker I just try to keep it in mind and avoid Times Square and Broadway on Thanksgiving. Often it is very cold and the street is always packed like a sardine can. One has to admire the Radio City Rockettes. Rain or shine they show up every year wrapped in short little fur coats and hats, but only wearing nylons and tap shoes. I'd have thought they'd have learned from the previous years and said, "Hey ladies, how about we wear pants this year?"

The card above is a scratch board illustration of the Dakota on Central Park West and 72nd in New York. This is the famous building where John Lennon and Yoko lived and where Mia Farrow as Rosemary cried out, "His eyes! What have you done to his eyes!?"

The large balloons in front of the building are stand-ins for the cartoon characters who float down the parade each year. I expected to run into legal trouble from The Networks if I put in Sponge Bob or Kermit so here is Nicky the Simple Squirrel, Georgie the Over-Indulgent Turkey, and Wilhelm the Aggressive Penguin. (All the names come from a non-fiction book I'm reading on the lead up to World War I.)

Later this week I will be posting some of these cards onto my Etsy site. Please check them out there along with some of my other work. I am thankful and proud to say that I have sold two items off of Etsy. The two images of the vegetables below were sold and will soon be hanging in someone else's kitchen.

This Little Piggy...

As the summer is getting under way I have found myself drawing fewer city scenes and working with one of my best friends on a small business she has started. My friend, Jennifer, has started Grow Baby, a line of organic baby items. As a recent Mom she has an in-house fashion model and a need for lots of fun and fashionable children's clothes.

(Her son, Wyatt, was born on January 10th! I'm trying very hard to be impartial when I say that he is very possibly one of the cutest babies EVER!)

Jen and I spend long nights playing Scrabble or making dinner saying things like, "What about an owl on a baby onesie?"
"An owl? Isn't everyone doing owls?"
"What about a elephant?"
"Won't that make your baby look like a little Republican?"
"Polar Bear? Too trendy?"

Last week I spent one of my very precious days off in front of my computer, listening to a book on tape, and drawing animal after animal. Most of them were either oddly shaped or looked sad (or angry or manic). ...Not baby appropriate! This little piggy seems to have successfully made it off of the drawing board, leaving behind him thirty-five or forty other animal sketches. I will see if I can get a photo of Wyatt wearing one of the Grow Baby Onesies. If you have a moment check out Grow Baby on Etsy.com!

A Walk Through Central Park

Today I was scheduled to work at my company's store which is located on Madison Ave. The commute to Madison Ave on the Upper East Side adds an additional twenty minutes to my morning but it really reinforced how rarely I get out of my usual 'groove'. (My day is usually some variation of the following; apartment, subway, coffee shop, work, coffee again, more work, lunch place, work, coffee again, subway, home.)

But today was different! I emerged from the subway at Carnegie Hall and I had less than one hour to dart through Central Park on a diagonal to the Upper East Side. Today was sunny and cool and Central Park was buzzing with families, tourists, joggers, bikers, horses, and trees that were just beginning to bloom. In the little time I had I took several photographs and put down this simple sketch of the boat house. Tomorrow I am off of work and with luck I plan to begin a more detailed illustration of this and several other Central Park locations. Please check back soon for updates!