A special going away present

The last couple of days have been very busy, with final errands, a little bit more baking (stocking the freezer with home made bread for the kids!) a last night of figure drawing group, and lots - and I mean LOTS -  of laundry!

One project that finally got finished up was something special for my daughter, Arianna.  Arianna has one very strict rule whenever I am about to leave the house or right befor she goes to bed: Kiss and Hug. Kiss and Hug is very important.  We must kiss and hug, even if I am just running to the grocery store.

Ever since Arianna found out about me traveling to Italy, she has been asking for extra Kiss and Hugs to save for when I'm gone.  I knew I would have to do something to appease her need for Kiss and Hug for ten days.

A while back, Arianna came home from school with this adorable drawing of a frog.  Super colorful, lots of character.  I had seen something on Pinterest where an artist took a child's drawing and transformed it into a three dimensional stuffed animal.

So that's what I decided to do.  Create a stuffed frog that would be named Kiss and Hug - filled with all the extra kisses and hugs she will need while I am gone.

This was fun to shop for - the corful fabrics for the legs, Pom poms for the toes and fingers, cloth buttons for the belly.  It was harder than I thought to put it all together, but I was pretty happy with it.

I just gave it to Arianna tonight (don't worry - Jack got something too!) and she knew right away where she had seen this frog before.

Hopefully the time will pass quickly and her new friend will remind her that mom loves her, even from far away.

Two Portraits in Two Juried Exhibitions

I'm very pleased to be part of two wonderful juried exhibitions this fall.  The first is the Fall Exhibition of the Atlanta Portrait Society.   Juried by award winning portrait artist Jamie Lee McMahan, the portraits will be on display at the Marietta Cobb Museum of Art through December 16th.  One of my favorite portraits, my daughter Arianna holding a baby bird, was selected.

This was based on a photo just taken this past summer.   A baby bird was on the grass, and my neighbor's little girl picked up up while playing at our house.  Ari took a turn as well.  They were fascinated by this sweet creature, new baby feathers, but not yet able to fly.  After a short while, I encouraged the girls to put the bird back in the grass, so mama bird could come back.

Well - mama bird came back, and she was angry!  Hopping up and down in front of baby bird, she squawked and chirped, obviously angry at the baby for taking a break from flying lessons.  The baby bobbed up and down a bit - trying to take flight - but no luck.

Gently, I lifted the baby bird up again and placed it on a low tree branch  A few moments later mamma bird returned, and more hopping and chirping and high pitched conversation ensued between the two birds.  I didn't stay to see the final scene, but I'm guessing the baby never left another flying lesson before he was properly dismissed.

Click for another great Ari-bird story....

I also shipped the portrait of Mona in the Turquoise Scarf to the Cumberland Society of Painters National Juried Exhibition, being held at Richland Fine Art in Nashville Tennessee.  I am honored to be among 100 beautiful paintings selected by juror Peggy Kroll Roberts. 

I will miss both openings and award ceremonies while I am in Italy, but I am hoping they are well attended and I wish all of the artists the best of luck!

I'm a 2013 DaVinci Storyteller!

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New Drawings for Sale

Every few months I look around my studio and realize I have been spending WAY too much time drawing and painting and not nearly enough time selling my work.  The selling part is a necessary part of the art process...how else can I afford to buy guacamole at the taqueria across the street from my studio if I don't sell my work?!?  (The accompanying margarita that makes it's way into the rotation once a week ain't going to pay for itself, either!)

So I am finally finding myself catching up!  I have recently listed a bunch of charcoal drawings in my Etsy shop.  Browse...enjoy...shop...feed my avocado addiction...

View all of my original drawings on sale on Etsy!