You spin me right round baby right round...

So I've been hitting the spinning classes like crazy for two weeks.

One thing this has done, is make me realize that I don't want to come home and paint...which means that Sunday I will be painting all day.

I have one to finish and lots to start...hope you're enjoying what I've been putting out recently.

Until Sunday...enjoy the weekend!!

I've got a nautical themed pashmina afghan...

So when I was about 5...6...my mom gave me a necklace with a "C" charm on it. Only it wasn't the letter C, it was a nautical flag C.

I loved it. I also think I lost it.

But...it brings me to this. I live in Miami, a city on a peninsula, a city that sits on the Bay and on the Ocean...so how fun would it be to paint Nautical Monograms...or letters for all the boaters out there?

I've already sketched mine... I rather like it.

The great thing is I can think of several friends who might dig a nautical monogram for their homes.

This is something that I will be playing with...but happy to take thoughts, comments...commissions... :)

Fish are Friends

Olivia loves the film, Finding Nemo. Every time she comes over, she gives me the biggest smile and squints her eyes and nearly hops as she says,
"Ceci, I want to go upstairs to your room and watch Finding Nemo and rest!"
Just like that...that's how she asks me.

On Saturday I was at her house and we were "drawing" (I draw, she scribbles over it) -- and I said to her,

"Olivia I'm going to draw fish like in Nemo" and she excitedly responded "OOooo Ok!" ...so I draw three fish and say,
"What if I draw a shark!?"
" YEAH!" she says... I honestly had never drawn a shark before. I'm not even a shark fan...shark week scares me...but there I was at her Ikea easel...drawing a shark.

That afternoon-- I came home and brought the shark to canvas life. I'm thinking I know at least one girl who likes it...so there are bound to be others joined by lots of boys perhaps.

This my friends is one of my latest paintings,

Fish are Friends, Here fishy fishy... dah-nah, dah-nah...

Let me know what you think!

Saturday afternoon storms...

So today I spent the afternoon finishing two commissions and starting on the summer painting list.
First, I tackled the secret commission...it looks awesome, but I can't show you...well because it's a surprise.



The next commission that I finished was Ginger's dogs, Bailey and Buddy. They are the two cutest little things and I think I did a nice job capturing them. They are bossy little things!
As you can see it was the normal process, sketch in pencil, then moved on to the first layer of paint- then started on the marker and then another layer of paint and the final marker touches.

The picture at the top is the finished product. I can't wait for Ginger to come home to see the boys in all their glory!

I also started on the summer painting list... I started Crab Cake and a new one which I was inspired to paint this afternoon after spending the morning with Olivia... Fish are Friends, Here Fishy Fishy, Dah-Nah Dah-Nah ...it's a shark! Tee hee.



I'll post pictures of the summer list progress as I continue working on them tomorrow.
I also have to go to Michael's tomorrow and buy canvas so I can get rolling on some other things.

So, a demain mes amis!!

40 is the new 30

This weekend I am diving deeeeep into painting, so there will be some great and exiting posts coming in the days to come.

So I am making a push to get to 40 followers.

When I get to 40 followers I will take those names and the names of people leaving comments and enter them into a new "Give Away" pool. I'll be giving away another personalized mini-letter painting.

So spread the word trusty supporters! I'm just a funny girl trying to make the world a quirkier place one painting at a time! :)

Simple Pleasures

Life is about the simple pleasures right? Like...spending time with family and friends...cooking, eating, reading, drawing, painting, listening to or making music...

If one of your simple pleasures is going to museums and cultural programs...and you live in Miami...you need to be concerned right now.

Mayor Alvarez proposed a county budget which puts several programs and institutions in danger of losing hundreds of thousands of dollars each...

It's not too late to do something. Tonight...ACT NOW...email all of the county commissioners and let them know that Arts, Culture and Historic Preservation are important to you...to our community! Tomorrow they will continue their conversation about the budget....and things may get even worse.

To look up the commissioners visit, www.miamidade.gov

The Big Apple

So the rest of my week in NYC was great. Thursday night we went to PJ Clarke's, where I was the only one to indulge in one of the greatest burgers on the face of this Earth!

Friday---cooped up all day...

Escape came at 5pm, when we left the hotel and went to Rockefeller Plaza and walked up and down 5th Avenue. Dinner was at the Sea Grill at Rockefeller (YUM!)...we sat outside until it started to rain. The rain left clouds and the clouds meant 0 visibility on the Top of the Rock...so we didn't go up. Instead we went to Times Square and mingled with thousands of other tourists.

Saturday we had breakfast at Pret a Manger (YUM!) and then made our way to MOMA. After a leisurely stroll through the galleries and gift shop, we popped into the Folk Art Museum gift shop...then cabbed it up to the Met for lunch and taking in of. The Met has a great show called Model as Muse sponsored by Marc Jacobs. It's a beautifully curated show, as most of their Fashion Exhibits are. They also have a new public storage area funded by Luce (like the one at NY Historical) after taking in some galleries we hit the gift shop and then walked over to Madison for my ritualistic romp at Eats Gifts.

After that we parted ways and I made my way across the park on foot and over to Broadway to take the 1 up to 110, my old stmping grounds. Miguel met me at Deluxe where I had the infamous BLT (YUM!) and then we went to his place in Harlem...beautiful! We kicked it old school by watching a movie, Public Enemies (very good). After all of that on Saturday I was up for more adventures so I met CB at Bar 55 for a fantastic performance by Sweet Georgia Brown, the last of the Red Hot Mamas ( a must see!!)...we got back to the hotel at 3am.

Sunday we romped through Soho via Canal Street and up West Broadway over to Spring to get to Broadway. There was a street festival going on, on Broadway...so we took in the booths, had lunch on the corner of Mercer and Spring...then made out way to the hotel for LGA.

That was it...a great trip!!