i am currently working on a little scarlet haired beauty who i have fallen madly in love with. must be the red hair...or that's it's my ode to my favorite musical maven, the gorgeous and wickedly talented, ms. tori amos. i have MAD LOVE for this woman. always have. always will.
is it the red hair? the fellow piano player? the fact that we're both leos? it's all of the above and so much more! just adore her! *enter plug for the new cd, "unrepentant geraldines"*...http://toriamos.com/go/music/#. this wins my top spot for favorite tori cd. seriously. this replaces my beloved "scarlet's walk". but, not by much. ok, let me stop because i could go on and on and on about her and her music. speaking of....
the song, "ribbons undone" (written for her daughter and located on the 2005 release, "the beekeeper") was the inspiration for the painting on the easel this week. such a sweet song...
{p.s. and btw, you can't be a leo and NOT be awesome...and we should know ;)}
i mean, really. how could it NOT be?! and, who does not know of my undying love and devotion to this man....
it's almost football time and that means i get to see this amazing man on my screen on sundays...and some monday nights...and even some thursday nights. then, all will be perfect in nicole's world!
how freakin' CUTE are his twins?! not as cute as their daddy, but close...;)
so much love for this man (and way before we ever had those life changing neck surgeries in common). he is such an inspiration and such a class act. i mean if you DON'T love and respect the guy, well surely you're not human.
{this is the last sunday with no football! thank you God because i was starting to go a little crazy. pre-season or not, i'll take it!}
so lovely to have my 4 kokeshis featured on this wonderful new site/blog! thanks to a very sweet woman by the name of katya, who has a website devoted to what else? kokeshis! a woman after my own heart, no doubt. i have been crazy in love with all things japanese since i was a little girl. from sakura trees to the sanrio company (hello kitty) to the samurai (LOVE the movie, the last samurai) to the food....love, love, love...all things kawaii. ok, enough about me....;)
please check out her wonderful site www.kokeshishop.com which includes a link to her blog, displaying all kinds of kokeshi creations from some very talented artists.
so, every now and then i come across a story that really moves me on a ton of levels. and, when it has to do it with a child (albeit, a sick one too) well, let's just say my heart strings never recover.
i came across this story http://6abc.com/201528/ late last night while resting my painting arm (inflamed the area a bit working my little tail off) and i knew i had to do something for this sweet little boy. (i mean really? look at that FACE!) so, i rose from the couch and opened up photoshop to personalize a print of a custom painting i had done two years ago for my dear friend's little boy, shane. i had painted shane's name on the actual blocks at that time but was smart enough to scan it beforehand without the name...just in case i ever needed to personalize it for some reason.
and little danny nickerson was that "reason". i mean how perfect was it right? the blonde hair, the exact number of blocks that were vacant...just waiting for danny's name to appear on them. and there it is....more than the birthday card(s) he's so anxiously awaiting in his P.O. box. i printed it out at a nice size and even matted it. all little danny has to do is frame it and hang it in his room.
it's times like this that i realize just how amazing it is to have been given the gift that is in my right hand. after three c-spine surgeries, painting with constant nerve pain in that painting hand is not easy, that's for darn sure. but hey, the word "pain" is in "painting" right? so who am i to shy away from that? ;) i mean, yes, i always have a soft spot for young kids (16 years as a preschool teacher surely would back that up) but it's more than that. being able to create (art) work that makes a child smile and a parent even happier, well that's more than enough for me. no amount of money could put a price tag on something as priceless as that.
*if you read the above article, i encourage you to make a little boy's day and mail him out a birthday card....and just know that you've contributed to innocence and God's grace in it's purest form.*
off to get him a birthday card to widen the future smile that will surely come across his beautiful little face....:)
actually, i finished it four days ago and kind of forgot to promote it. my downfall/undoing....self-promotion. i truly am the WORST at it. and it's not because i don't believe in myself or my work, it's that feeling of not wanting to be pushy (for a lack of a better word). plus, my introverted personality doesn't do me any favors there. slowly, but surely, i will improve in that area.
ok, back to the new site (and not my undoings-as there are a few...;))....
so, i decided to go with squarespace. i was previously hosted by intuit/homestead for the past few years but i felt like it was time for a change. and what a welcome change squarespace was/is. what wonderful customer service/assistance they have (available 24/7-and for insomniacs like myself who love to work late at night, well that right there, my friends, is priceless). also, i built the whole site in less than a week. for me, that's pretty awesome, as i do not like spending more time on my Mac than i have to. easel girl, right here (hence the fact that i don't paint digitally).
i have only the best things to say about squarespace and would highly recommend them. oh, and their mobile site is another huge plus. didn't have that with intuit...and isn't everything *mobile* now?!
now that the site is DONE (yay me!) it's back to the easel. and let me tell you, i have had some serious painting withdrawal. *needed to sniff tubes of paint just to get through*. ;)
{ps and btw, in the process of adding some new shops/venues where my art can be bought. as i said, self-promo, my undoing.}
so, now the back story for this painting (because isn't there always one.)...
well, i knew i wanted something different...something to represent the new style i seem to have evolved into with the start of 2014. i also knew i didn't want an easel in the image, knowing of course that this would be the new front page of the website.
so...i had to include my stuffed elephant, maggie into the design because she is my partner in creative crime, after all. couple that with the fact that i am an insomniac and do my best work after midnight (don't all of us artists?!) and the fact that i'm obsessed with chris martin and the coldplay song "yellow" ("look at the stars, look how they shine for you....i drew a line, i drew a line for you and all the things you do, and it was all yellow") well, there it is.
a little coldplay, a little insomnia, a little nicole and a little maggie, of course...and so "moonlight mavens" was born. from my head to the sketchbook to the finished painting.
just a glimpse at the new *face* of the enchanted easel. this business is my proverbial *baby*. I've built it all by myself and have done most of the legwork after not one, not two, but THREE cervical spine surgeries in the last four years. 'cause that's just how i roll. ;)
I've had the painting done for over a week but i'm doing my best to re-build a new website hosted by squarespace...which, by the way, i HIGHLY recommend. i didn't think such wonderful and cooperative corporations existed anymore. they are fantastic. it's just a matter of getting acquainted with the new site and how it works as well as adding watermarks and shrinking images for the web....mundane stuff like that. let's just say, i would rather be painting. but then again, what else is new?!
hoping to be done by the end of this coming week. if not sooner....*fingers crossed on that one* ;)
what's that you say, mr. polar bear? you'd like to take me away with you on an ARCTIC adventure? well, yes sir. i would happily oblige you, mr. polar bear...as we seem to have a true love and appreciation for the same type of climate. :)
{it's NO secret...i loathe summer, heat and humidity. not one bone in my little august born body likes this weather...especially once the numbers hit triple digits. add in the words "oppressive" and "heat warning" and yeah, nicole is not a happy camper. so.....
AC is pumped up, Christmas music is on (after all it is Christmas in july) and i'll be dreaming of snowflakes and Christmas lights while painting at the easel. speaking of "Christmas lights"...(sorry, couldn't resist attaching the video below) which leads me to some wishful thinking...perhaps a little Chris Martin under my preverbal Christmas tree. hmmm..;)}
***ps and btw, here's a link to the painting above...FOR SALE as a PRINT***
good thing i don't like chocolate because after working with this palette of delectable browns...well let's just say i prefer my reeses pieces...and black licorice. ;)
