Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Franklin Street this Weekend


This one's for all my Carolina-fan friends and family. Go Tarheels! I used to cheer for anyone but Carolina, but I've had way too many friends and family members attend this school and fall in love with it to do that anymore.


This Sunday I'll be on Franklin Street once again for Festifall, Chapel Hill's annual downtown art festival. Come see my latest paintings along with this sweet little gem. I'll be there from 1-6 p.m. Sunday afternoon, rain or shine.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Loco for Coco


Ta da! Here's the latest painting from my studio-- at least the latest one that has had time to dry! I have been painting like a mad woman lately. I have lots of wet canvases in the studio and more paintings to post as soon as they're dry.

This piece is for the shop window at Loco for Coco gourmet chocolates in Greensboro! I've started working there on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I love it! Not only have I gotten to sample some mighty-fine chocolate confections, but I've also met lots of happy people coming in to choose their chocolate treats! It's a hard life, I tell ya...

Loco for Coco is celebrating their third birthday soon, so mark your calendars for Thursday, October 7 from 5-7 p.m. and come in to see my latest painting and to sample a chocolate martini! Yumm...





Thursday, September 9, 2010

Today's inspiration: Robin Purcell



Meet Robin Purcell's Twisting Mountain 14 x 21... my inspiration today as I set out to paint from our Yellowstone trip. I love Robin's entire series of Mount Diablo. Would you believe this is a watercolor painting? She's re-created this in every season and every light. I hope she never tires of it because I love the way her mind works. Just look at all that clear beautiful color!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

The Monkey Quilt



(Above: D is super cute even when preggo! Below: She really liked her quilt!)
In April, we learned that our great friends, Diana and Kevin, are having a baby boy! He's due to arrive in October and we are still eagerly awaiting the birth announcement and the great news. For a while, I've wanted to try my hand at a quilt. Melissa Wheeler (yep you Melissa!) inspired me with her quilt way back in Savannah, and so I have been churning little ideas around in my head for nearly 2 years! In addition, my friend, Diana, is a pro when it comes to knitting sweaters and gifts. She's made me some of the most beautiful things that I have in my closet, so I wanted to make her something super special too!

This summer, I had my chance to put my sewing machine where my mouth was! Diana and Kevin decorated their nursery with a jungle theme, and they've been referring to their little boy as their little monkey.... hence the little monkey quilt. I poked around online and found a few cute monkey quilts and fabrics. I ordered some Moda sock-monkey fabric from fabric.com, and then added in other patterns and colors as needed. For the back of the quilt I used a soft light green minky fabric. The best part was piecing together a happy little monkey on the front. I used remnants from my fabric tote and came up with a silly but super-cute monkey with his arms raised. Unfortunately, I didn't take a close-up picture of the monkey--- but you can still see it in the pictures.


The quilt took me FOREVER, but it was a joy to make and it was so fun to complete. I didn't know how to bind a quilt, so I stitched the front and back together like a pillow, turned them inside out and then top-stitched around the border. It's not a perfect quilt, but it's a quilt made with love and made to be loved! Enjoy!