new plants make me happy

figure drawing!

i finally rejoined my friends at the LIC studio for drawing group last night. i've really missed it!

showing up for work

this is a TED talk that i discovered a while back - it's by elizabeth gilbert, author of eat pray love, and it's about creativity and being an artist and all the fears and anxieties that sometimes come along with it. sometimes when i feel scared of painting (kind of a lot), i watch this video. she's a great speaker and i think this way of approaching the creative process is so helpful and comforting. ..plus she relates anecdotally how tom waits is the best living example of this approach, and tom waits is one of my favorite artists of all time. enjoy!

sunday succulent terrarium stoop party

i spent mother's day with my own new babies:


aren't they precious? i particularly enjoy the tiny pots they came in:

jimmy bought me the glass bowl a few weeks ago and i've been planning to put a little tiny garden inside it. starting out was easy enough but it became pretty tricky getting my hands inside and maneuvering around the plants to put new ones in.




here it is all finished:




and here it is in our little bedroom garden, with a bonus pic of papi stalking birds at his bird feeder:

pink trees

it has been so amazing watching jersey city come to life this spring. there are so many beautifully flowering trees and plants in our neighborhood - magnolias, pussywillows, eastern redbud, dogwood (a spectacular white one in our backyard), callery pear, crabapple, linden, sweetgum and oak... and many more. but by far, my favorite are the wonderful kanzan cherry trees, which are found in abundance around here:










although the canopy of blossoms only lasts for a couple weeks at the most, the way the petals cover the ground when they fall is almost just as enjoyable. it's like having snow in springtime, only pink!! :)

Mom :)

happy mothers day to all the lovely moms out there - first and foremost this pretty lady, the sweetest & greatest one i know. love you mom! xox

white stag II

here's the larger version i did of our magical friend, the white stag. this one's 58" wide. :)

sorry sorry

hi everyone, my most humble apologies for being just the worst blogger. i am lazy and out to lunch a lot but it's no excuse for going so long with no posts. to get back into it, here's a balthus cat as promised. there are lots of weird kitties in his paintings, but this one is my fave i think. anyway hopefully soon i'll have something of my own to show you. toodles!

group show!

i have 4 paintings in this show which will be up through May 11th. come by Wednesday for the reception if you can!

sold!

i was invited again this year to be a working artist at tribeca ball, the academy's annual gala fundraiser. this is the little painting i did, which i just sold to one of the guests! below are some shots of me setting up and starting to paint. it was fun, but the downside is i was too busy painting the whole time to see such fabulous guests as justin timberlake and bill clinton. apparently jt was even standing behind me for a few minutes while i was painting. and no one told me!!!

white stag

this little study i did for the tribeca ball, which is a big gala fundraiser at the academy. it will be on view at the party and if it sells half goes to the school and half to me!
i loved painting this magical creature - and i've decided i'm going to do a larger version :)

bowl of milk

sticking with the cat theme, and in light of the current exhibition at the Met of his late interiors, i present to you another Bonnard. in this one the cat is not immediately perceptible; you have to look for him in the shadows. i love this painting - called The Bowl of Milk, circa 1919. i'm not sure if this piece is in the show, but i can't wait to get to the Met soon to see more of these weird and maniacally colorful interiors.

chat

this is a Bonnard's Le chat blanc. Bonnard has tons of cats in his paintings to keep me going here. and Balthus. don't even get me started on Balthus. you'll definitely be seeing some of his felines here soon.

sorry about the pin holes, this guy has been pinned to the last 4 studios i've inhabited.
:)

cats

i will have another little painting finished soon, but i've been thinking that even when i don't have something of mine ready to post i want to keep the blogging going. the painting of papi i just did gave me an idea: i've decided that for now i will fill in with pictures of the best cats from art history. like this guy:


isn't he ridiculous?! i love it. it's a detail from The Graham Children by Hogarth, 1742.

papi in a cartwheel ruff

i'm back! after a good weekend of lots of painting it's time for me to get the blog back up and running. i was feeling a little lazy and stuck with painting for a few weeks, but after the best pep-talk ever by someone whose name rhymes with shimmy, i am feeling super inspired and motivated. this painting was a gift for my valentine, it's bob wearing an old thyme ruffled collar. we have an awesome fancy gold frame that will fit it perfectly when it's dry. :)