best presents ever

i received a couple of amazing prezies this weekend from my two ultimate bros.
the first one is from jimmy. every time i fly away somewhere he hides a card or note in my suitcase for me to find later. this year is the best one ever cuz it's a christmas card that he made (that also included a check for $5 to spend on ice cream). look at this dapper gentleman:



and the second one is the most amazing painting by christina of some adorable kittens. she got herself a paint by number kit and worked on it for weeks. she let the numbers serve as a guide but eventually went into it with her own colors, seriously taking paint by number to another level. how awesome is this???? words can't express how much i love it. thanks again buddy :) :)

heather the pirate

for her 40th birthday, jimmy and i did companion portraits of heather as a pirate. here's mine, and u can see jimmy's here!

bride's maids sashes

as the maid of honor, i told christina i would help her jazz up the bride's maids' dresses. so i made a pretty sash with a flower to go around our wastes.. jimmy and i had a little craft party at home and he helped me cut them all out. here they are in progress:





the finished flower:



this isn't the best but it's the only pic i have yet of the whole ensamble. when cp forwards the wedding photos i'll post one with all of us together. ..oh yeah and there's Christina looking all bridal.. doesn't she look beautiful?
:)

more from Eleuthera

the bride & groom:



look at this cuteness:



every sunset here has been amazing



p.s. we watched election coverage on a tiny tv in the gym here, sitting on stair-master machines and bikes. this is the second major world-changing event that has happened back home that i've been away during (911 i was on an island in greece). it's kind of upsetting not to be home celebrating with everyone. (not that i'm complaining).
go-obama.
:)

BahamaMama

sorry about the irregular posting but i'm finally in the bahamas! it is so great to be here with christina and tom. it's so quiet and warm and peaceful. the wedding is going to be so beautiful! i'll post pics here each day. here's a couple right outside the door where i'm sitting:

happy halloween from JC

after last night, i love our neighborhood even more. nothing pleases me more than seeing people go all out for halloween. and our block proved to be the spookiest one around for all the trick-or-treaters..







this is our building; through the window you can see margie the manequin who lives in the foyer:







our neighbors across the street had the goriest display for sure: notice the rat eating this poor skeleton's brains:



but i think these lovely witches, also across the street, took the prize for the most spooktacular set up:

The Met

how i love it so..
siobhan and i went to see the morandi show. this is the 3rd time i've had the opportunity to see his peaceful little still-lifes - i really love them so much:





everytime i go to the met i discover something new. like this awesome balthus painting i never knew was there:



and i finally made it to the rooftop for the first time ever, (on what happened to be the last day of the koons exhibit):

doggies

i finally finish the painting siobhan commissioned me to do for her friend gayle's wedding present. these are gayle's babies.

muscle man

this weekend i finally went to grab a few last things that were left at the old studio, including all of my écorché sculptures from school. sadly, i had to say goodbye to this fellow, b/c there's just nowhere to put all of them, and i have another one just like him but more developed. peter, my friend at the old studio adopted him. anyway here he is, and some day i'll post pics of the ones i took with me.
..looking at them really makes me want to sculpt again.

fun with camerabag

my latest iphone webapp: camerabag. it's basically fun filters that you can apply to any pics you take with your iphone, or even photos you already have. here is a shot from the canko loft opening (the big art exhibit in conjunction with the JC studio tour):



and here's infrared papi lickin his chops:


and, mysterious man in our living room wearing my favorite hat:

p.s. i found out that the little woodblock i painted went for $250 at the auction in wellfleet - very exciting!!
:)

painting for woodfleet project

this is a little painting i did for a charity auction that my friend katie organizes every year in cape cod during oysterfest. she gives out 5 1/2" inch long pieces of 2 x 6 lumber to anyone who'd like to participate, to work them in any creative way they please. in the spirit of cape cod i decided to stick with a watery theme and use another pic from our trip to newport rhode island this last summer.

Chrysler Building

happy monday from papi

2nd version

of a study i posted earlier..

papi

papi was also a big hit on the tour. so here he is - some sketches in my sketchbook from a couple years ago.

Artists Studio Tour weekend

this weekend was the Jersey City open studio tour. it was a lot of fun and a great success! we met lots of enthusiastic art lovers from both sides of the river, as well as some of our really cool neighbors in JC, and i got great feedback and interest in my work. here are some pics of the little studio all set up. :)