4 x 4 in.

Ok then...how many days has been it been? A whole 2 days away from the blog?! :)

Actually it’s been 6 days away from daily painting, and already I’m re-inspired on my vacation ~ and a new friend emerged today. Meet Eli. He’s so cute, it hurts.

(...now back to the regularly scheduled vacation!)

(click here to buy original)

I leave you with some pretty peonies. Peony blooms are some of the most intricate and beautiful I’ve ever seen. And every year at this time, I’m delighted, because good ol' Trader Joes has them available to bring home with you.

See you soon!

This is me yesterday. Not grouchy, I promise, very excited, but the sun was in my eyes. Obviously due to my outfit, you might guess that "no" I did not attend a Hollywood awards function, and "yes", we went surfing!! We beat the heat for a couple of hours and it was so much fun ~ perfect summer surfing weather, meaning the pacific ocean water temp. was WONDERFUL. The crowds were out in full force, as if someone said, "it’s officially summer ~ now get out there and surf!". But I’m happy to report that there were plenty of waves for all of us to catch, and apparently from what I’ve been told, I managed to catch a really BIG wave and thankfully I didn’t turn around to see it as I probably would’ve been frightened and fell off my board instantly, which I did seconds later, but only after I had the thrill of catching it and getting up on two feet again. All the, what often seems like endless paddling and being smacked by waves...is SO WORTH IT for moments like that. If you’re a surfer, then you know what I mean.

And in other news, I’m heading off for vacation on Wednesday! so tomorrow is your last chance to get any must needed "orders" in, as my last day to the post office for a bit will also be Wednesday. As I spent my day today getting ready for my trip, I realized just how much in need of a break I really am. Working 6 months straight will do that to a person, I think (turns out my mini "at home vacation" in the spring ~ not so much ~ I worked anyway, maybe just not AS much ;). And I remembered that one of the reasons I wanted to be self-employed in the first place was to be in charge of my own vacation time, and funny thing is I find it harder than ever to "let go" of my work. But it’s time, as I also realized today that I’m losing some serious perspective on the big picture and it’s time to refresh, and renew and regain that perspective. With that said, I think I’ll be back before I head out, but I’m not making any promises as it might be time to officially "let go". (but then if you’ve "known me" for a while, you know that the creativity doesn’t stop on vacation for me, it gets inspired, and sometimes I do like to pop in and say hello, but again, I’m just giving myself the option to be gone if I need to.) lots of love to you out there ~ I hope you too will be vacationing soon!

6 x 6 in.

Happy first day of SUMMER! I hope you have a beautiful weekend. It’s still burning up here, so I’m keeping this post short and sweet. These 3 little birds (one of them is Olive by the way :)) are celebrating their friendship, the first day of summer among orange of course (can’t let go of my orange yet ~ you know these paintings are timely!) and the title is actually inspired by the Bob Marley song of the same name. The little birds and I are wishing you this sentiment from the song, a very fitting one to remember for the beginning of these carefree days of summer;

"Don’t worry about a thing. Because every little thing is gonna be alright."

(click here to buy original)

6 x 6 in.

It’s too hot to think and write at this moment ~ summer is definitley here and that’s so exciting, because it means that my vacation is also getting near...and that’s SUPER exciting!!
happy summer wednesday!

(click here to buy original)

6 x 6 in.

Penguin: Hi Olive, who are you going to be today?

Olive: Why a polar bear of course!

(My guess is that you already know that this one is most definitely in the book!)

(original is sold)

*Edit* later today~ I found out that my embroidered tea towel has been accepted in the mad tea towel party opening this summer at the Nicholas Gallery in Cincinatti, Ohio! It will be for sale then and if you’re interested in it you can contact Maya.

16 x 20 in.

And last I left you, to get some sleep. And sleep I did get (with the best Sunday afternoon nap), along with this project I completed! my first ever embroidered illustration that I am submitting to the tea towel show today. I can’t tell you how much FUN this was, and also how much time it took. It is all hand stitched and pieced together, one fabric swatch (several from Emily’s fabric gift!), and embroidery stitch at a time. I had an initial image in mind and then I let the overall design grow from there.

Now that I am officially rested and back here at the blog, FIRST things FIRST!
I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who has purchased the new book so far!! Your support means the world to me and I can’t wait to get the books out to you!

I also want to wish everyone a happy father’s day! Sometimes I think that my audience here at the blog is mostly the lovely ladies, but I realize that there just may be some dads who are out there reading too and I sincerely want to honor you! All I can say is, Dad’s are the BEST!

Father’s day is always a very poignant day for me, because I’m reminded that my dad is not "here" with me. And in that very same moment I remember that he’s always here with me, and yesterday I celebrated him in the best possible way. My dad had a lifelong love of the ocean, also one of his greatest gifts he shared with me ~ one of the many reasons I enjoy surfing so much ~ and yesterday that is where we were, in the ocean.

Also my thoughts are with everyone out there mourning the loss of Tim Russert, especially of course his wife and his son. Also an only child who lost their dad suddenly during my college years, this is a circumstance I am all too familiar with, and I found myself in tears on Friday night as I watched MSNBC for hours in disbelief while I learned even more about this amazing man’s life. I also watched Tim’s son, Luke on the Today Show this morning. He certainly is his father’s son, embodying so much strength and grace and sincerity at such a delicate time. Even though we may never meet these television personalities, they feel like a part of our extended families, coming into our home almost daily as we trust them to deliver and impart their knowledge to us. And since you already know how much I value authenticity, integrity and a true joyful spirit that loves life, then it goes without saying why I respected and admired this man and journalist so very much.

Ok then, I was waiting to post about this later today but it’s 3 something in the AM PST and it seems I can’t sleep because of all the excitement. And from the emails I’ve been getting, it seems many of you aren’t sleeping either. It also seems like the birds aren’t sleeping either (when did bird’s start singing at 1:30 am?) Come to think of it, how did I think I could sleep through the release of my first children’s book? It’s not everyday you release your first children’s book. But it is today, on a very special Creative Thursday: This is the official announcement that the first Creative Thursday children’s book is now available for pre-order right here!

Yippy!!!!!!

As I wrote in my email that I sent out a few hours ago, after countless questions asking me if I ever "thought of creating a children’s book?" ~ I finally did. :) It seems like the obvious next step, doesn’t it? Considering my present style that includes all these characters just asking for their stories to be told. If you’ve been wanting to know the stories of the characters as much as I do, then here we go!

For those of you following the blog, and the daily paintings, all of these "Olive" paintings might be starting to make some sense?! If you’ve been wondering why I’ve been particularly attached to my little "Olive" character lately, now you know why. Basically you’ve been getting sneak previews to some of the book illustrations over the last few months. Since there’s only one of me here, a girl’s got to multi-task.

"Who are you going to be today Olive?" is a story about a little bird named Olive who is just learning how to be herself. As I also mentioned in my email this is pretty much my autobiography thus far.

While I was approached by a publisher last year, in keeping with the indie design spirit I’ve decided to self-publish this edition and I’m releasing the first 100 hardcover for pre-order, numbered and signed at my website. They will be ready to ship in August 2008. Needless to say this particular project is very near and dear to my heart.
You should also know that while this is a "children’s book" ~ it was important for me to write one that I would want to own, one that I would enjoy as much as the kiddos. So with all of that said, I really, truly hope you enjoy this new addition to the growing collection.

thank you, thank you, thank you already for your thoughtful emails, blog posts spreading the news!! and book orders!

wishing you a very happy creative thursday! ...I’m going to try to get some sleep now.

STILL loving this color. And just to prove it to you, not that you really need proof, but really just for fun, here I am in one of my recent outfits. This is me saying hello to you, decked out in orange from top to toe. In fact this entire outfit except for the headband is from the gap...you see why I’m campaigning to be their model :). Not that I usually wear clothes from all one store, all at the same time ~ you know it’s more fun to be eclectic with fashion by mixing it up ~ but this particular outfit just works and I highly recommend it for the summertime, especially this light and airy cotton ruffle skirt which comes in a whole variety of great colors.

Then, my favorite new bag that I had been stalking at Anthropologie for months now and finally decided that it was time to come home with me. I mean really how can you resist such creativity in a bag, down to the pretty pink flower lining inside.

And finally, my favorite new bowl, an addition to my growing collection of these fun "latte" bowls from once again, you guessed it, Anthropologie. Yup, I eat blueberries and yogurt (and any other food that fits) out of it just about every day ~ and that navy blue, orange and white color combination, also featured in the above bag ~ let’s just say you know that color combination will probably be showing up in a painting soon.

I fully believe that it’s important to surround yourself with what inspires you most, that and it’s always fun to share some of those things with your blog readers too :). hope you’re having a good Wednesday!

More wonderful clients. This time I got to paint them! A commission I’ve been meaning to share ~ Meet Matthew, Maggie and Jennifer.

One of the best parts of doing what I do is "meeting" my customers and I put the word "meet" in quotes because sometimes we are only in contact via email and blogs in this wondrous world of the internet. How lucky we are to come in contact with people that we once would have never had the chance to know about. For me, my clients are a constant source of inspiration, from their own creative expressions, to the amazing and wonderful people they are ~ and from time to time I’m going to share them with you. Michele Michael is someone I first "met" last year. She is a prop stylist based in New York and when I visited her site, these images took my breath away, so I’m just going to let them speak for themselves. I thought they might add a little beauty to your day today, wherever you might be.

photos courtesy of Michele Michael

*Edit* June 14 ~ I just found out that Michele has a new business venture, as she recently opened a prop house in NY! You can check it out right here!

6 x 6 in.

And I DID find my way back. Things "clicked" back into place sometime on Saturday between painting and watching biographies of the gracious Leslie Caron (I used to want to dance just like her, ever since I saw the movie "An American in Paris" when I was a little girl) and the lovely Sarah Jessica Parker, which really, do I need to offer any explanation as to how much I adore that lady, which by the way I saw the "Sex and the City" movie last week and LOVED it. An avid, dedicated fan since the beginning, and now more than ever (I’m still watching reruns on syndication, even while I own the entire dvd set)~ I was not disappointed. This is a series that felt genuine and honest from day one. And the crazy, gorgeous, wonderful, feast for your creative eyes fashion aside, somehow they’ve managed to be extravagant, authentic and completely heartfelt all at the same time, and they pulled it off again in this movie.

In fact it was seeing that movie to some degree, that I think started my whole "off" feeling of the past week. Something about how the events in that series, some not all :), often mirrored and continues to mirror what is happening in my own life, just stirs it up for me. That show went off the air at the exact time my own life took many profound turns all at the same time. Let’s just say the last 4 years have not lacked in eventfulness. I’m thinking that all this reflecting due to the release of this movie, inspired my own reflecting of the past 4 years. And as I mentioned in the last post, I am presently feeling like it’s the beginning of a new phase of my life, also a theme in that movie, and let’s face it a continuous theme in pretty much everyone’s life. When you break it all down, life seems to be a series of "new phases" all strung together.

Something about watching biographies when I’m feeling "off" always puts me back on track. I think it’s comforting listening to another person share their story, of their own series of "new phases". It reminds me that I’m not alone, and that all really is always well. Also a reason why I shared how I was feeling on the blog ~ probably for me not to feel alone in the oddness as well, and while I do reserve and preserve this blog for the best parts of my life ~ I think the reason we all love checking in on people’s blogs is to feel connected somehow and I think it’s helpful that you as my readers honestly know that with all the joy I feel in my present life, which after all my reflecting I have to say I love more than ever ~ I still have days when I’m off and that’s just how it sometimes is. The "offness" is and has once again opened the door for new inspiration, and that’s when I’m also reminded that the uncertainty of life, and the sometimes awkward feelings that go along with it are always worth it.

And then there’s also something about paddling "for your life" in the ocean that can certainly put things in perspective. We took a mini vacation yesterday, meaning a full day away from home and as Sean calls them the "internets", which began with a somewhat challenging but exciting surfing adventure in Ventura, followed by a blueberry pancake breakfast and lots of coffee with Mark and John, then a visit with another wonderful Jon in the relaxing Carpinteria, a small town up the California coast, that I love so much. It was SUCH a good day.

So thank you for all your heartfelt comments ~ It’s so nice to hear from you and here’s hoping this is a more "on" week for all of us :). I’ve scheduled a nice "wide open" week for me to peacefully finish a special project I’ve been working on, so I’m already happy, just knowing I have time. Through the veil of "myselfness" once again, happy monday!
And also before I go, some thank yous are in order!! A special thank you to Patricia for posting this recent interview of me at her wonderful blog, craft synergy, which is solely a blog of interviews of fellow artisans, so worth visiting if you haven’t yet ~ and to the super talented Sarah Jane (if you haven’t yet seen her illustrations, you must, right this very minute, as you’ll LOVE them instantly), for sharing this very touching post on her beautiful blog. And last but not least I can’t neglect to mention this cuteness that totally made my day!

(original is sold)

6 x 6 in.

ummm, I’m feeling a bit grouchy this morning so I’m not saying anything because I don’t have anything nice to say :) but I do LOVE this sweet giraffe! In fact I’ll just come right out and say that I have not felt myself most of this entire week. I’ve found among some of my friends that I’m not alone in this sentiment this particular week, so sometimes I wonder if there is just some "universal" oddness that happens from time to time that can make people feel "off". I find that this happens to me periodically and I interpret it as: I’m in the process of making some sort of shift, change, energetic expansion, or whatever you want to call it, in who I am and where I am headed and that because it’s momentarily new territory, it makes me feel less like myself, because "myself" is changing. And that sensation of change has a tendency to make me feel uncomfortable = grouchy. It also makes me nostalgic for my past for some reason, probably because that’s familiar. I dont' know if this makes any sense to you, but I’m throwing it out there just in case you might be feeling similarly this week or any other week for that matter. And the important thing to remember (as I write this as a reminder to me) is not to question the fact that you feel off or assume something is wrong because you feel "off", or as in my case, let it make you grouchy, because in my understanding these feelings are just part of inviting the next bit of newness in, and that is always a good thing. So until the newness settles in, I’m finding ways to distract myself into a better mood, like taking a walk on this gorgeous day right now. (Oh and part of me is probably also slightly aware that I am indeed due for a much needed vacation, which is thankfully happening in just a few weeks!) Through the veil of "not myselfness" I’m still wishing you a happy friday.

(click here to buy original)

3 x 2 in.

In honor of the season and trips to the ocean and the beach, I released some tiny sea creatures over at Etsy today. Enjoy and happy creative thursday! and happy summertime!

And a special thank you to Jill for her suggestion to make this tiny series!

6 x 6 in.

Simone: "hi olive! who are you going to be today?"

Olive: "why a lion of course!" ....or a dandelion ;)

(click here to buy original)

6 x 8 in.

Ok now don’t get any funny ideas about this one :) Illustration Friday’s topic this week is "baby" and you know I can’t resist such sweetness. That and I happen to have several close friends who are expecting or just had their baby and this is for them. And I also have so many customers who are expecting their babies and this is for them too!

And then, in it’s most meaningful symbolism this is for all of us who have hope. Hope and expectations of an endless stream of goodness in our lives. We were all tiny babies once filled with hopes and dreams and happy expectations of what was and is still to come. This is just a little a reminder to keep expecting the goodness. I chose the baby to be orange, because you know I’m presently obsessed with that color, but also because it’s symbolic for a boy or a girl and the best part ~ is that I looked up what orange symbolizes and among many definitions, the one I found that I loved is "happiness energy" ~ seemed appropriate for this little baby in particular.

(original is sold)

My bear. My latest adventure in sewing and embroidery. You see this piece was inspired by yet another fun show that I was invited to submit my work to, as well as share with you again too! You can get all the details here.

Once again perfect timing considering my latest "needle & thread" obsession.

This bear was hand embroidered on one of the tea towels I ordered. Then I embroidered a piece of vintage fabric on his belly, cut him out and stitched him on my favorite blue velvet. Then he was stuffed so you can give him a good squeeze. Since all of my other bears are gone, this one I’m keeping. Not to mention he was a labor of love that I am not ready to part with. But I really like the effect of embroidering a "drawing". Honestly it feels like I’m wanting to push open a new direction in my creative world, and this is how it’s happening. Little by little, just trying something new. I wonder what will be next?!

Oh and I almost forgot ~ I’m officially on the search for a new sewing machine, just a basic, simple, straightforward one is best. If you have any recommendations, I’d really appreciate it!