7 x 5 in.

Here they are all together. The last painting in this week’s series, and if you look closely you’ll see that there’s a pink hippo in this one too. One of the reason’s this series was especially fun was that all the animals were in profile. If you haven’t yet noticed, (a little hard to miss) most of my characters always face their audience straight on. ;)

You can now find all four of them available as prints in my Etsy shop. I think they are so sweet together. Wouldn’t they be so cute in a baby’s room, either for a little boy or girl?

happy creative thursday!

(click here to buy original)

7 x 5 in.

The blue bear. Love him.

(click here to buy original)

And introducing a BEAUTIFUL book, both in design and sentiment curated and designed by the lovely Samantha Hahn. Her gorgeous illustration adorns the cover.

"I asked 25 artists & writers—each with a distinct style and voice—to submit a piece inspired by their idea of love, and then I published them as a book on blurb, a print-on-demand website. The contributing artists hail from around the world. I knew that each one’s interpretation of love would be singular, but with some profound similarities.

Love is the ideal subject for artists to interpret. We all love, but everyone defines love differently in their minds and hearts. We all love differently and the same. We are connected through love and art.

Love is available through blurb for $16.95 for a softcover, $25.95 for a hardcover with a dust jacket, and $27.95 for hardcover with “image wrap.” It contains 40 pages of incredible art including a couple of pages of amazing writing." ~ Samantha

It’s always an honor to be invited in collaborations like this one. This book is truly a gift of love from Samantha and all of us who participated. Now more than ever I realize how community, especially connecting within this amazing creative community that we all share, is so important. We are the ones, together, who will keep our economy, or country, our world, moving forward regardless of what "times" we are in. It is up to us. And I couldn’t think of a better symbol of this "coming together" than a book that is LOVE.

You can get your copy here.

The artists and writers who contributed....some are friends I’ve "known" for a long time and some are brand new to me ~Now I have a whole new list of artists & blogs I can visit and LOVE. Just what I need...my blog links list is going to grow off of this blog one day :)

Hannah Stouffer, Lilly Piri, Aaron Hogg, Lisa Butterworth, Dan Funderburgh, Samantha Hahn, Erin Loechner, Jesse Breytenbach, Kate Miss, Jessica Gonacha, Kelly Lynn Jones, Yasmine Surovec, Shira Sela, Matthew and Sandy Lynn Davis (Treatzone), Maditi, Amy Sahba, Ez Pudewa, Hijiri Shepherd, Marisa Haedike (me!), Lisa Congdon, Holly Becker, Kate Neckel, Katie Sokoler & Kate Bingaman Burt

thank you Samantha ~

7 x 5 in.

In between celebrating today, Sean had to head off to work. So while he is at work, I decided to squeeze in a little daily painting . Still inspired by the vintage toys, here’s today’s creation the second in this series.
Back to celebrating it is then~ as today is such a special day for the person who is the highlight of my every day(s).

(click here to buy original)

Especially when you look 35.
And you are as WONDERFUL a person as you are.

A very happy birthday to my love.

7 x 5 in.

How’s everyone’s Monday going? been? I did manage to get some good organizing in this weekend, which allowed me some extra lingering time during my errands this morning (I tend to get inspired by a lot even at the grocery store.) I was also busy taking a care of a few "secret" things...because someone very special to me is having a BIG birthday tomorrow!!!!

My errands conveniently took me into Anthropologie, of course, and the Gap... where I found a bright orange sweater left over from holiday shopping season for $9. I love when that happens, when you just happen upon an item, you become instantly obsessed with it, it is the very last one, and it just happens to be so incredibly affordable you simply cannot pass it up.

In fact if you saw me now, wearing my new orange sweater, with remnants of blue paint on my hands (which I will proudly wear to my yoga class later), I sort of resemble this painting. (happens a lot.) Which speaking of this painting ~ I wish I could take credit for this character, but I cannot ~ this little orange elephant is completely inspired by a 1950’s vintage toy set, which was completely inspired by one of the best vintage mom and pop shops online. Three Potato Four owned by Janet and Stu, literally the mom and pop of the operation. Have you heard of them yet ~ if you haven’t, you must!

Janet and Stu decided to "leave the fun and hectic life of New York, and moved with their 2 year old daughter Holly to a little house with a big yard and beautiful garden in Northern Virginia". Shortly thereafter, Three Potato Four was born ~ and I’m thinking that they’ve already been open a year now, is that possible? All I can say is they have the BEST eye for vintage finds and not only that but they take the most beautiful, charming photographs of each piece. (If you are trying to learn how to photograph your products, and develop your unique style for your own store, Janet and Stu’s style is completely inspiring) It’s hard to decide which item you love best.

I am on their weekly email list, and am excited every time I get one in my inbox because I know it will be chock full of inspiration, and things I will want to own in my home ~ A week ago, I was finally ready to make my first purchase. I became instantly smitten with a plastic nesting set of vintage toys. Sadly, I wasn’t quick enough because it sold right away. I’d been contemplating, and even started painting a tiny series with toys...and a week later I am still so in love with these toys that I asked Janet and Stu if they’d mind if included them in my painting(s) this week. They said "of course!" ~ and here’s the first of several paintings to come (since they were a nesting set, you know there’s a series coming...) very different from last week’s series.

This is officially the start to the week of birthdays in our home ~ so only FUN and celebration to be had over here for the next 10 days or more.. or forever.

see you tomorrow!

(click here to buy original)

And Valentine’s cards. And sleeping in on Saturdays (well really due to a night full of animal shenanigans that kept me up! ~ photo below is pre-shenaningans), followed by brunch with Sean at the Vienna Cafe, followed by an afternoon of being creative. That’s a pretty good day in my book.

I created some "love" cards and listed them in the shop this afternoon. A hand drawn ink illustration then digitally colored ~ I love the sweetness and the simplicity of these.

happy saturday!

5.5 x 7.5

The last one in this series ~ and probably my favorite. Even with my attempts at "mixing it up" creatively, I’m still so partial to polar bears.
I don’t know about you but with all the change this week, I have a lot of things percolating in my mind ~ and I’m sure I’ll be sharing it soon enough either in a blog post or podcast. Until then I’m going to use this time to get caught up, do some reorganizing, and prepare my work for some very exciting events ahead of me... and my blog post(s) will be brief :)  So, I’m going to go ahead and wish you a very happy weekend!

(click here to buy original)

5.5 x 7.5 in.

And the series continues...
How different is this from my usual work? Honestly sometimes my own paintings surprise me. I always begin them, but at some point the painting takes on a life all its own ~ especially if there is a personality in the image that is wanting to come through.

I had the BEST afternoon painting ceramics, and Outi and I came up with something new that I hope you might just love as much as I do...My big plan is to release all the newest ceramics in February before Valentine’s day.

(click here to buy original)

5.5 x 7.5

I’ve had these oval wood panels for months and from the moment I saw them, I had this idea of painting animals in more of a portrait style. As I’ve mentioned before on this blog, it’s always fun for me to mix things up creatively and try something new. So this is the first in a series of three...and by the title above, I’m sure you can guess what the other images will be.

Still basking in the excitement of yesterday, I’m off to paint ceramics...bowls this time!

Also before I head out, I want to say a quick thank you to some bloggers, Indie Fixx(thank you Jen for ALL your support this year!), Etsy Stalker and The Red Deer, who have included my work in some really fun Etsy groupings. With Etsy growing at the rate that it is, I love that so many people are selecting and sharing their favorite creations, so we can easily find more beautiful work! One of these days soon I’ll have to return the love and post some (because I have SO many) of my Etsy favorites. Until then, my list of thanks is endless to all the people who continue to share my work. THANK YOU!!!!

(click here to buy original)

5 x 5 in.

Sean woke up to me singing "Yes We Can" from this video.

This is one of the most, if not the most exciting days in history in my lifetime. I am glued to the television as we await our new president.

With all the excitement surrounding this time and this day, I could not resist painting my own interpretation of the saying that accompanies this past campaign and Barack Obama. You could say this is also my first official self-portrait, because this is the first painting where I have included myself as one of the characters  ~That is me in the center, with my signature yellow boots of course, :) with Olive and Eli at my side.

Today means so much for so many reasons and most of all that Together We CAN!!!!

Much more than a celebration for just our country, this is a time of change for all of us.
Have a beautiful inauguration day where ever you are in the world.

(original is sold)

also available as a print at the shop

*Edit* later today ~ It’s here. We have a new president!!! And I’ve never been so inspired ~ by a president that is.

I see the NIGHTLIGHTS!!! If you are on my email mailing list, or if you’ve been over to my house in the last month then you already know about the NEW nightlights that have been added to the ever expanding Creative Thursday collection! As of today, they are available for pre-order at the shop. (these aren’t the big plans I was referring to yesterday... so there’s more to come, but these are the bright new creations I mentioned. I think I’ve used every light pun and reference possible today in all my announcements ;)

A collaboration with one of my licensing companies, I wasn’t entirely sure how my images would work as nightlights ~ and then they arrived in the mail, and then Sean and I plugged them in all over the house and they haven’t been turned off since. I am just so HAPPY with them. I already said this in my email but these are honestly some of the cutest nightlights I’ve seen...and yes I’m heavily biased :)

Below is a photo of where we have one in our kitchen right below Cathy’s gorgeous painting.

You already know how much I love ambient soft lighting. So I’ve now decided that I would be perfectly content with my home being lit solely by twinkly lights, IKEA star lights, and my nightlights. I only hope the photographs can convey how pretty the light is when they are turned on, even in the daytime.

Alrighty then. It’s been a very busy and exciting Creative Thursday over here. I was clearly in "back at work mode" today. As you can see below, I also released a new podcast! So right about now it’s time for me to put the computer away and say good night. If I’m not back tomorrow ~ I think I’ve left you enough food for thought both visual and intellectual for the next few days. I wish you a very happy weekend...and next week is inauguration week...I’m already looking forward to Tuesday. In some ways it feels like Tuesday the 20th is when the new year will really begin!

Another new podcast for you! I won’t go into a lengthy intro to this one. I will just say that if you don’t yet know Helen ~ I’m certain that her humor, honesty and life philosophies will inspire you, and you might just end up adoring her as much as I do after you listen to this. Before this podcast I only "knew" Helen through her blog and now I consider her another friend  that I am so happy to have "met".
Not only is she an amazing illustrator, but she has so much wisdom and insight to share not only about the creative world, but about life and especially parenting, as she is also a mother to 3 little girls ~ (and yes, she still manages to be an incredibly prolific creator)...She does reveal the "secret" as to how she does it all in the podcast ;)

It’s a long one about 53 minutes, and there’s great advice all the way to the very last minute...
Enjoy!!
and many thanks again Helen!!

click above to listen now

click here to download MP3
Download Instructions
Mac Users option click and Windows users right click on link above to download the file.

Below are the links where you can find Helen

Helen’s Blog

Helen’s Website

Lila Rogers Studio

Monkeypowered

And it’s worth repeating the amazing new website where you can design your own fabric!
Spoonflower

It goes without saying that the usual "resolution making", goal setting and reflection that accompanies the beginning of a new year, might create a restlessness and with it a wanting and a call to move forward. And with that...for me anyway an impatience (my signature response :)) to get it all going...NOW!

But I’ve been experimenting. In fact I would have to say that 2008 became an entire year of experimenting with different ways of being in this world, both personally and professionally. And with all the practice living in "new territories" so to speak ~ some of what I’ve learned is beginning to take hold...and this is very exciting for me.

One of the things I’ve learned is to trust the times where it seems like nothing is happening or moving forward ~ because truthfully that is the exact time when the seeds are being planted for the great "things" that are about to happen.

And it’s trusting that process that allows you to see the the seedlings when they start to break ground. I know it’s a little early for spring analogies but I can’t help it because it’s simply the best visual to try and explain what I’m talking about.

And I’m still not entirely sure if I’m making any sense with this post, but while blog surfing and catching up on emails that have come my way lately, I sense a restlessness out there, especially in the creative world ~ along with a very strong push to move forward, accompanied by a "now what" sort of fear and hesitation. And to be honest I can completely relate. The call to expand and evolve never stops, and with the expansion there is always  uncertainty about how and when things are going to happen.

The trick is to know how and when to calmly listen.
And when the answer is clear, then you move forward. Or another way of saying it is when the inspiration has a direction, that’s when you take the next step.

To make my long blog post short, over the last several weeks, I’ve felt completely compelled to have long visits with friends, to linger over good meals, coffee, tea and glasses of wine. And the lucky person that I am I have some of the best friends to visit with ~ they inspire me so much.  Even so, I’ve been questioning my choices, feeling like I should be working more, creating more ~ and yet that’s exactly what I’ve been doing. My work and creating has just taken on a different form over the last few weeks. And today after yet another fantastic visit with a friend (minus any earthquakes like our last visit), some things got very clear about what might be next for me. I could finally see that "what’s next" has been in the works for quite a while (as is often the case in life).  And I share this with you, because I’m super excited ~ mostly because I think that my "big plans" will be a chance to help you, a chance to help each other, in the way I was hoping for, especially after reading all of your wishes in my calendar giveaway last month.

And I also share this with you to say that if you are feeling a restlessness with a bit of a lost sense of direction ~ don’t fret. You’re definitely not alone, and it’s probably nothing more than the time of year combined with the heightened level of change that is happening in the world right now. And let’s face there is a lot happening at the moment. If you can, try to use this time as a gift, a time to relax and listen, because the restlessness might soon reveal itself as the plan that you were looking and hoping for.

I know I’m not necessarily sharing any groundbreaking, new concepts here. I know I’ve heard it said before that there is always a time to be still and "go inward", to replenish, to refill the wells, plant the seeds ~ right I mean how many analogies are there? But it is still nice to be reminded, much like my post last week ~ because many times we hear things over and over, and then there are the moments when we come to know them for ourselves ~and sometimes that happens when we are reminded of them. And it’s possible that my words or interpretation might present a new take on these concepts? I hadn’t planned on writing such a lengthy post tonight...but I felt inspired and compelled to share. Just some food for thought :) and an announcement that some exciting things are in the works over here and until then I hope to be back with a "bright" new creation, maybe even as soon as tomorrow.

5 x 5 in.

Continuing on with the theme from yesterday’s post, this painting is inspired by Garbo and Riley, the cats who share our home. And the title is a bit of an inside joke in our family. Riley seems to love Garbo, and of course in true cat fashion, she seems to want nothing to do with him...but we think she’s just playing coy.

Secretly she loves him.

(click here to buy original)

After my somewhat thoughtful post I last left you with, I decided that a little humor was in order for today. Besides, I’ve decided that I don’t nearly use the cuteness of my small menagerie of animals to my advantage on this blog. Well probably because my paintings are already a cute menagerie of animals.

This one in the bag, we like to call her Garbo, is one of the real ones that inspires the painted ones. And from the time she was a kitten, if there’s an open bag anywhere in the area, Garbo will find it. On this occasion, Sean and I were visiting in the living room when we heard a lot of "rustling about". We searched to discover Garbo had taken residence in my Urban Outfitters shopping bag. By the way Urban’s has some GREAT home design items right now. It was all I could do not to bring everything home with me, dishes, tablecloths, pillows, tables....

I had some work away from my studio today, including a super fun visit with my friend Chanin in her new Venice pad; but I’ll be back tomorrow with a new painting. I hope everyone had a good weekend, and I was happy to hear that my last painting/message was just what some of you needed.

6 x 6 in.

Over our usual coffee time this morning, Sean and I were talking about what people might need to hear right now and this saying came to mind, "everything is going to be alright". And since Sean has been my muse of late, the saying became a painting. I decided to add the "always". Because I think it’s true. Hard to see sometimes, but always true when I look back over my life. In fact no matter what is going on in each of our lives this is such a nice and soothing sentiment to keep in mind.

So this painting is symbolic of all of those beautiful things happening around each one of us to support us in the knowing that everything is going to be alright. And the rabbit of course is peacefully admiring it all. (this particular rabbit has the "peaceful thing" all figured out)

I realize that these blog posts and daily painting emails are more than just a way to sell an original painting ~ although that is always so nice! but many of you have written to me telling me that you await these images every day because they bring you so much joy. And as I’ve mentioned so many times before, painting these gives me so much joy. And I think of you when I paint, and I think of me and what we might be feeling or needing on a particular day and it goes into every painting. Today I need to be reminded of this sentiment just as much as many of you might need it. That and I’m loving soft pinks and greens with tiny white rabbits.

I also want to say thank you to those of you who have been leaving comments saying that my creative journey that I share here with you, inspires you to keep going on yours. You should know that the feeling is mutual because your support and enthusiasm is what keeps me going....and all of YOU who are taking the journey, no matter where you are on it, inspire me.

happy creative thursday!

(click here to buy original)

7 x 5 in.

It’s one thing to love someone but to truly give them your heart is something entirely different.

(original is sold)  it is now available as a print over at the shop

Yup!! This is truly exciting!! In the works for the last couple of months, I can finally announce (you know how it’s hard for me to keep a secret) that I will be teaching two classes at Squam Art Workshops in New Hampshire this summer, June 3-7. It’s an honor to be invited to teach (thank you so much Elizabeth!) and it will be an honor to have you join me for some daily painting and sewing. And as I’m sure you can guess these classes will be more than just painting and sewing...they will be about creating and how it applies to all areas of your life.
Did I mention how excited I am?!!

4 x 4 in.

The first painting of the new year. I hope all is happy and well in your world in 2009 so far.
It’s time to get back to creating and painting in my world :)

(click here to buy original) also available as a print at the shop