Friday inspiration

This Manhattan loft satisfies, for me, the quintessential urban space with huge windows and an eclectic mix of art, furnishings and architectural detail.

I just want to breathe it in!

Is this positively dreamy to you too?

When I was a kid...

This a post about sources of inspiration. Its a winding path I am taking here but bear with me.

Detail of forsythia painting when I was 4 or 5

I had been searching for this "Forsythia" painting that I did as a very young child for quite some time, even emailing my mother to see if she had it. Turns out it was right under my nose, badly creased in a book that was one of those "All about me" books that kids can fill in.

Please ignore that bit about being a hairdresser or movie star

I know I was very young when I filled in this book based on the items that my mother filled in and my address. I am positively giddy when I see this and wish that I could tell my 5 year old self to just be patient.

It was in this book that I found the lost painting that I wanted.

I was looking for it because I always loved the simplicity of the floral abstract. I remember painting this and knowing that forsythia do not actually look like this but that what I was doing was unmistakeably floral and I was happy with that.

I think that is why I gravitate towards floral themes in my art.

I ordered The paintings of Joan Mitchell and have been devouring it.

 I was pleasantly surprised to see a childhood painting and several examples of her work as a student.

I love almost every painting in large color plates in the book and seeing the progression of her style.

Begonia-Joan Mitchell

The obviously floral abstracts are among my favorite but the the abstracts with a harder feel really speak to me too.

Some of the Joan Mitchell paintings were described as "happy and floral" by the writer who was puzzled by Joan's description of a "violent" painting.

I wondered about the line between pretty/floral and violent. Could they coexist on the same canvas?

Here is my first stab at that.

"What if God wears boots?" oil and gouache on canvas By Kerry Steele

This is a small (18 x 24) painting and I need to make these larger. There is a bit of texture that I like.

I have been experimenting with oils lately and think I am hooked. I always let the dry time deter me from trying them and thought they would operate the same as acrylics but take a week to dry. The experience with oils is wholly different.

The inspiration was Joan Mitchell paintings and I want to continue to explore this way of painting both in style and materials.

FYI, Mr Design du Monde hates, hates, hates this painting and you might not dig it either but that is OK.

Go ahead be honest.

 and one other, as yet untitled, late night foray into the joy of oils.
One last little thing, as everyone here was rushing out to grocery stores ahead of the impeding storm, I was rushing to the art supply store for some large canvases. My odd priorities were not lost on me.

Do tell, do you like this moodier style?

6 ways to pretty up your technology

1/2/3/4/5/6

It is so nice to be able to find chic accessories for technology. I have finally joined most of you and bought a smartphone. The Pink Pagoda's iphone case has been on my wishlist for a longtime and I just designed one with one of my paintings. I think I need both so that I can switch around cases on a whim.
That crayon shaped stylus is also on my list. Sometimes you just can't use your finger but if you need to, those gloves have the tips to help.
The speaker in #5 is similar to the non-pink version my son requested for his birthday and it really beats cords all over the place.
What about you? Any new cute tech finds? 

4 new paintings and an event

"Cooper money kiss"

I just finished this 24 x 24 canvas. I am pleased with the floral feel. The title is "Cooper money kiss" It kind of sat on my easel all week getting tiny additions of color and then Bam! I knew I wanted to add the red. Two other paintings followed suit.

"Luck in bougainvillea"

"My book starts here"

This last painting "My book starts here" was posted on Facebook a few weeks ago but I really did not feel like it was finished. I picked it up and without changing the colors much, changed the brushstrokes.

"Laughter, old blue suits & Easter gowns"

This week I also completed "Laughter, old blue suits, and Easter gowns", a 24 x 36 canvas for the Cheers to art benefit for the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens in Richmond, Virginia on March 21. You can see the other works in the fabulous silent auction on their Facebook page.

Of course if you are in the area...you should go.
 I probably will.

Ugly light help

This hideous fixture in all its cirlique light blub glory sits above my kitchen table...still!

Actually, I insisted that my husband rotate the arms upward so that the bulbs were not visible and so it looks less like a spider. I have lived here for over two years now and have not solved this conundrum.

Last Fall I bought this light from Ikea.

It looked really wonderful (more than you would guess) but its one bulb just did not cut it in terms of light.

That is the big problem.

I don't understand why anyone would manufacture a large light fixture that houses only one bulb.

The other issue is budget. I can't blow a thousand bucks on the light when there is so much to do in here.

I do have a general wishlist.

I am hoping for a modern drum pendant like this one from CB2.

I would rather have a black or gray shade.

It must hide the bulbs since Mr. Design du Monde has to have those damn CFL bulbs.

Here are a few more favorites from my Pinterest board "Lighting I like"

Got any ideas to light up my life for under $300?

Planning ahead

I am going to let you in on a little guilty secret. My son leaves for college in August and my brain has already taken on the glorious task of washing away teenaged cooties and redecorating his room. 

I feel a little guilty about this but not so guilty that I can't let you in on the plan.

Let's talk about what I have...

OK, none of this is actually what is in his room but I am not going to show you that! Add a pile of clothes, a pile of papers and far too many amps and guitars.

His walls are white and may stay that way, I don't know, talk to me in September.

He has that Ikea bed that was a solution in our last house and is just a "use what we have" choice here.

The comforter is orange and it is moving on to higher learning. I am not going to buy a new comforter for him to throw up on. Am I right?

The only cool thing that is staying is a mid century dresser much like this.

In the board I have designed, I am keeping the palette neutral. I added walls in Ben Moore Marine blue and kept everything else white and greige. He will be returning for breaks and it would be too mean to make it super girly.

The room is small with strange angles and having less furniture (and dirty laundry) in it will go a long way in making it a more pleasing space.

Tuesday tidbits

Good morning, or whatever time it is.

Just a few random things today, each of which would not make a post on its own.

My Valentine's day gift arrived !
 I just need to figure out how many pillows I want and its off to the workroom.

 The rug I posted about yesterday arrived and was smaller than I anticipated so it won't work for my kitchen.

 I have been too exhausted to figure out another spot. On Saturday, got up at 4 am to drive across the state for my son's college audition. Their lack of organization was rather frustrating but we have decided that his second choice college is out of the question and his third and fourth do not have on campus housing so I nixed them. So frustrating U. it is.

The up side of the tiring day in the car was a quick meet up and lunch with my cousin. We talked about his desire to build a house but not just any house. He used the words modern, rustic and shipping container. That's right. He wants a shipping container house.

He found a lot that is basically a hillside and therefore cheap and is looking into the other particulars to build a house out of shipping containers cantilevered  into a hillside.

He mentioned clean lines, rough natural surfaces and art filled spaces.

He is an engineer so I was surprised at his desire for style.

I did muster the energy for a bit of a gallery wall in the upstairs hall.

I have been meaning to showcase a bit of my little peanut's art work but procrastination won until I decided to stop offering these frames on Etsy. Too many quality issues but they were fine for this semi-permanent gallery.

I grouped them near her hilariously serious school picture.

I added a fourth at the last minute.

This one makes me smile,

My father and I on the left and my oldest son with his guitar

 This is the opposite wall and has taken me forever to get these two pictures up.

Yes, I have five kids and yes only two of them are on the wall. We are a picture challenged family as in getting them taken not in just me displaying them.

 I know that not all of you are into food and/or meat but Monday's lunch was this luscious prime beef tenderloin. There are perks for being the butcher's wife!