I'm back!

Sorry I've been gone for a while...I was off happily celebrating my 3rd wedding anniversary with my husband in Sea Ranch, California. It was good to get away, have a little time to think, unplug, take wonderful walks and stare at the stars and the sea. I feel rejuvenated and am ready to take on March! Here is a few of the beautiful things I saw during my mini-break...

trees along the sea...

Succulent plants everywhere...

Playful shadows

These wonderful sheep are being used to mow the meadows...

along the shore

nested in the tide pools...

seals relaxing in the sun

more amazingly camouflaged seals...

my ode to kelp

A beautiful sea anemone

Starfish in love...

mussels and sea urchins

Pathway through the trees...

If you ever have the opportunity, I highly recommend staying at Sea Ranch. It is one of my favorite places to visit. We've gone up there about 6 times already and stayed at different houses and never be disappointed. It is a good place to clear your mind or hang out with a bunch of friends in a hot tub.

Which places in the world refresh you? 

Illustration Friday...the sweater.

Here is the first Illustration Friday post I've done in a while. It is such a fun site. I really, really should do it more. How does it work? Each week you get a new word to draw. Post it on their site and they will link back to your site. Give it a shot. Anyone can participate...This week the word was, "sweater" next week, "layer".

I am a day behind, but you won't tell will you? Here is my piece, I hope you like it.

I had a sweater just like this when I was a kid, I loved to roll myself up into a small ball...I tended to make myself very,very tiny...

Having one of those days...

It must be the rain...This sums everything up perfectly. But everything will be good soon. I'll be celebrating my 3rd anniversary next week by going to Sea Ranch with my hubby. Woo Hoo! Sometimes you need to get away to really see how things are going.

Truly,I'm fine, I just need to rearrange a few things and get back to it.  Sometimes I just can't get things done fast enough to feel like I've accomplished everything. There is so much to do and I'll be  pretty happy to get it done. I suppose I just need to turn off the TV and the Internet and focus...and get shit done. Wish me luck with all that.

I sometimes wonder how we've got to this place with of success and what we expect of ourselves. It has been a while since I started this studio and I am still learning.(about 8 months now)Where do I want to go with it? What do I want to be? Who do I want to be? I really need to figure all of that out. I need to define myself. Think of myself as a business. Start selling stuff. Get those prints going and that website up.

Yep, there is a lot to do, so many things to pin down. So many deep thoughts to be had. It's time to find out what I'm made of. Any of you know the secret to that? How do you sell yourselves? It truly is a interesting thing to figure out. I hope I can do it...

 

via rarrar press

How did you figure it out. How do you define your success?

midweek music break-Pixies

Getting to work on a bunch of new illustrations...Yay! Here is a little bit of music that keeps me happy while I draw...Isn't it amazing what a little change in sound can do to your energy levels?












The Pixies always make my mood change for the better. You can't help but be in a bouncier head space after cranking these songs up. Yes, I think it is impossible.

Can you tell I went to art school in Boston in the 1990's.

What are your favorite songs/bands that get you motivated to get work DONE?

Awww...love!

Hope you all have a wonderful and loved filled Valentine's Day!

Romantic Victorian Postcard via Riptheskull

And a little shout out to my hubby Damon, I love you! Thanks for all your love...

Fruits and Veggies for Glob Paints

I just finished some new paintings for Glob Natural Paints. I have done some work in the past for them which was geared a bit towards the kids side of things but now they are going towards more a upscale view. My friend Ashley Phelps, who invented these paints, made them because she had become sensitive to all the toxins in the regular artist paints she was using and vowed to find a better solution...and she did.

As a painter, I highly recommend using them.  You don't have to worry about headaches or getting them on your skin like regular paints. Glob paints are made of herbs, spices and flowers and come in a powdered form to mix like watercolors or (if you use less water) acrylics. They are truly non-toxic and are made with all food-grade materials, and although I will admit they smell really nice, I love the blue, they aren't really for eating. Sorry kiddos...(I say this because you couldn't imagine how many people ask us about eating these paints.)

Here is what I came up with...

Hope you like them...they make me hungry.

Genuine & Authentic (continued...)

Here are a few more pieces from the New Bohemia Signs art show that opened on Thursday....

Made with Real by Damon Styer

Bonafided signs by Aaron Cruse

Emulate A More Vernacular Feel by Damon Styer

Emulate Sign (detail) by Damon Styer

Genuine Authentic Sign by Jeff Canham

Genuine Authentic by Jeff Canham

It is a wonderful show. Come on and see all the hand painted signs at the Peak Gallery at Summit San Francisco,(780 Valencia Street @19th) if you can. The show is up till March 24th.  The signs are lovely...

Hope you can stop by...

Genuine & Authentic

Here are a few pictures I took for my husbands art show(New Bohemia Signs) last night. It was wonderful. It is amazing how many people packed into the gallery(Peek Gallery in the Summit Cafe). The work was beautiful as always and I am proud of all of these very talented artists. Here is some of their work...

by Caitlyn Galloway

by Candice Obayashi

by Josh Luke

Show logo hand painted right on the wall...

This is my Damon one of his signs

by Ken Davis

A very packed gallery...

My friend Chaim, enjoying the show...

Greg being very true...

Josh Luke with his Florescent signs

My friend Rani, living the real life...

Look up, Genuine Ransom note...Designed by Damon Styer

The New Bohemia Signs Crew

 New Bohemia Signs(pictured above) is back row: Jeff Canham, Heather Hardison, Josh Luke, Scott Theisen,
front row: Damon Styer, Caitlyn Galloway, Corinne Matesich, Ken Davis, Aaron Cruse and Candice Obayashi.

I'll be adding a few more here soon...

New Bohemia Signs Art Show....

Hey Everybody...I just wanted to tell you about an amazing happening this Thursday in San Francisco. My husband's sign shop, New Bohemia Signs, is having an art show! If you can't make it, I promise to take lots of pictures and post them here ASAP!

Here is the postcard for the show...

Hope to see you there!

Getting in the mood...

For Valentine's Day, of course! I just wanted to share something with you all. Here are a couple of romantic postcards I found when I was in Paris a few years ago. I wish I bought more, but I suppose that always gives me an excuse to go back...someday.

Love the little angel & set...

Love the Eddie Munster hair.

Does anyone speak French out there? I would love to know the translation of these...

Here are a few more that I found via Flicker...

Cute Cupid via Chicks57

What a cutie! via Chicks57

Lovely Goddess via Vintage Lulu

A rather strange one here...looks like someone got carried away with hand painting the photo...via MrsInman

Love this guy!...via Citrus Faire

You gotta love a good postcard. These are all so wonderful. Wouldn't you love to receive any of these? 

Happy Week before Valentines Day.  I hope love is in the air for you all, too.

New Work...The Seven Ravens

Here are the illustrations for the mini-book "The Seven Raven's" by the Brothers Grimm I've been working on. I still have some work to do with the text but the illustrations are pretty much finished.Here is a tiny synopsis of the story...

 The story beings with a very sick little baby girl. The family thinks she is going to die.Through desperation, her father sends her brothers off to gather holy water to help save the soul their sister. When the boys fail, the father curses the sky and the boys are all transformed into ravens and fly away. Surprisingly, the girl survives and only years later hears about her doomed brothers. She is filled with tremendous guilt and decides to see is she can save them. Her journey forces her to face her fears and beg for help from the sun, the moon and the stars. This was not easy and only the star helps.  It gives her a secret key to help her enter the cave of her brothers. She continues her long and frightening  journey and she finally finds her family but loses her special key. In order to open the door she has to cut the tip of her finger and use her true skeleton key to open the door. It works.  Her bravery has broken the curse and her brothers return to their human form and they all live happily ever after.


So here you have it...I hope you like the paintings.

The cover illustration for The Seven Ravens...

The scene where the father curses his sons into turning into ravens.

The daughter on a journey to save her brothers.

The sister on the search to save her brothers...

What do you think? Would you like to see the finished mini-book?