Mai Autumn

favorites

via

as september comes to a close, i'm realizing time seems to be speeding up and slowing down at the same time. i came across an article that made me feel quite nostalgic, and i thought i'd pop in to share.

a short little article was posted over on zatista a few weeks ago about back to school art supplies. all the talk about crayons got me to remembering that my absolute favorite crayon was always cerulean. i loved it so much that i would use up the whole crayon before any of the others, (and i have to admit, i think i might have stolen a few replacement cerulean crayons in times of need!)

upon realizing this, it dawned on me that quite a bit of my work as an adult centers around shades of this exotic color! it's funny when you notice your favorites still ring true, even through all the chaos of growing up and entering "the real world".

so, in honor of remembering my favorite childhood hue, here are some lovely cerulean sights :)

via

via

 

via

via

via

via

via

 

 

happy birthday to me!

via

my birthday is on sunday!! since i'll be sharing my day with my momma, i started celebrating a little early (who wouldn't want to space their birthday out gradually over the course of a week? lol)

over the past few days, i've been daydreaming about all the things i hope to accomplish this year, as well as counting my blessings for all the fantastic things that have happened to me thus far on my little journey. i feel like a birthday is the perfect time to reflect on life a bit - it's my own personal "stop and smell the roses"  kind of day. so, i've put together a few of the things that are inspiring me and making me smile lately.

(Oh! also! in case you haven't been over to the etsy shop in a while, i'm having my annual birthday sale - 30% off everything (including original paintings!) for a limited time.)

now, onto the pretty!

via

via (mint is one of my favorite things about summer!)

via

the new hbo show, girls - so far i am absolutely in love! and! lena dunham has the same birthday as me! how coincidental! - via

via

the elegant ms. anne bancroft - via

 

and now, if you'll please excuse me, i'm off to continue my own little party over here ^_^

 

via

new iphone cases and more

i'm so pleased to announce that some new illustrations of mine are available as iphone cases and skins on society6! you can also pick up prints, canvas prints and stationery with these fun new designs. i have a few of my other designs available on the site, as well, with more to come very soon. it's pretty neat seeing my work in such a functional way :)

lovely bits from the interwebs

i've become somewhat like one of santa's elves overe here, what with packing all these orders and such, (thank you! to everyone who is shopping!) and in my in between time, i've been wandering around the internet finding pretty things like it's nobody's business. i guess this is kind of like a little wishlist, although some of these wishes are a bit unrealistic (ahem, a new living room and designer sofa..) here are some of my discoveries over the past few days...

 pretty gift packaging via pinterest

spanish wine glasses at spartan (via daily candy)

beautiful greens via conspicuous style

wall stencil via royal design stencils

earrings via seed and sky

wool sweater via andy ve eirn

original illustration via betsy walton

silk ikat clutch via eclu

 

ok, no more daydreaming about all these lovely goodies :) it's back to work for me!

happy friday - feeling nostalgic

i came across this adorable little rock and mineral collection from regansbrain this afternoon, and i was instantly brought back to the day that i got my very own rock collecting kit - i think from a museum gift shop. mine was a small cardboard box about 9"x12", with squares such as these printed inside, where i could place my findings. i believe it came with a few stones to start me out and i was meant to go find the rest - archaeologist style. the kit made me feel like the world was capable of creating such beautiful things out of basically nothing. it was amazing.

finding this also made me realize how cool it is that, lately, this nostalgic little community has been forming around simple memories such as these. being a part of etsy, and sites like tumblr and pinterest, makes me feel oh so connected to the kindred spirits that are out there, reminiscing about their own precious rock collections, leaf pressings, spring seedlings, and many more simple pleasures that i also loved as a child.

(in case you're curious, i've started to pay more attention to my tumblr lately and you can check that out here)(oh, and my pinterest is here)

hope you all have a super amazing weekend! i'm going to be toiling away at some new creations that i am so excited to share soon!

toodooloo for now! :)

styles

over the past few days/weeks (and if you kind of add it all together, the past few months), i've been trying to refine my artistic voice a little in an attempt to figure out where i should take my new work. i've still been trying to keep myself busy making new paintings and illustrations with whatever is inspiring me during the course of this searching, so i have a lot of (somewhat random) new pieces to share with you soon.

the main thought behind this post today is to make note of the "styles" i've noticed that i'm both drawn to in other artists' work, and when creating my own new pieces. i'm hoping this discovery is leading me in the direction toward more sense in my work soon! so, here are the styles:

botanical illustrations/studies:

(image via little byrd vintage)

basically anything that looks like it could be a plate in a dictionary or reference book. there's something so clean and fresh about an object in the center of the page, not complicated with any other elements.

 

folk art and decorative patterns:

(image via britt herman)

(image via kelim pottery)

folk art has been around me from when i was a wee girl - both in my parents' house and in my grandparents' house. so i'm probably drawn to it because it brings me back to being a kid :)

 

color fields and abstracts:

(image via blin gallery)

one of my favorite artists has always been mark rothko, and you can probably see a little bit of this style in my landscape watercolors.

conceptual illustration:

(image via holli)

i love the juxtaposition of different elements, and the linear quality some illustrations possess. it's a little whimsical, don't you think?

realism/still life:

(image via cathy hillegas)

now, obviously this is one of the most literal styles in the art world. you set up a still life, you get yourself a model, or you sit yourself down in nature and depict things as they really are. sometimes a thing or place is just so beautiful, that it doesn't need any other bells or whistles to be inspiring all on its own.

 

since figuring all this out, i'm starting to conjure up ways to incorporate these styles more cohesively into my work. i'm looking at it like a recipe - i have these ingredients in my cupboard, now how do i put them together to make a delicious meal? i think i'm headed in the right direction though. what do you think?

dreaming the week away...

i have been in my own little world this week. painting and dreaming and planning. here are some things that have been inspiring my wandering mind..

felicia antanasui

halima washington-dixon

bernadette pascua via a blonde's guide to world domination

tina heiska

jenny belin

i wish i could stay in this very fashionable and feminine dream world forever :)

 

 

night dancing

i've been meandering around the internet for the past hour - at first i thought i was just distracted, and then when i came across these photos, i realized there was a higher purpose to this wandering mood i'm in..

aren't they stunning?! i stumbled upon these photos of night dancing on the talk 2 the trees blog and it made me remember what was inspiring me a few weeks ago - darkness. there's something so magical about the dark. i really want to try to capture something about night, and the mysterious feeling that comes along with it, in my work soon. things have been pretty busy around here, but i hope i can get to painting this weekend or sooner.

also, lately i've also been holding out on you, dear readers. i've been deciding to only share my new work after i've let it settle in me for a while. i feel like i've become a little too reactive to the work i make, and i'd like to get more connected to it before i put it out there. i hope that makes sense. we'll see how this goes.  so, you can expect to see a big post of all the new work i've been squirelling away sometime soon.

for now, here are some more images that evoke that sweet night feeling..

via just like honey

88editions

leana photo

happy friday!

ohmygoodnessgracious! this week slipped right through my fingers! i came down with a little virus earlier in the week and numerous things just crept up on me. one thing after another - you know those weeks? well, today i think i might actually have some time to make some new art, so here is what's inspiring me this friday..

society6

beautyspot

kareena zerefos via indie art & design

allnsundry

eyeful

tinfena studio

emma williamson

millerseye

 

well, here's hoping that i actually get down to some art making and nothing else distracts me! ; ) hope you all have a great weekend! :) :)

inspiration - adaptation

if i could sum up a movie in a few images, how would i do it? movies are such a great way to get into a new way of thinking or looking at things. if i'm stuck on a design or painting i'm working on, i've been finding it very helpful to escape into film these days.

today's inspiration comes from the movie, adaptation. i absolutely adore meryl streep, and, after watching this complex flick the other night, i also realized that i love all of charlie kaufman's movies. if you haven't seen it, i highly recommend it!

via cabinet of treasures

 

fig. a.) anthropologie; fig. b.) aileen chong via pinterest; fig. c.) sarah storm; fig. d.) bhldn

 

 calypso st. barth

columbia pictures

it's a lot to take in, but if you're in the mood for a mind bending experience, this film will surely satisfy.

i hope you're all having an inspiring tuesday out there! :)