It started as a dare, then quickly became a ritual. Every Thursday evening the two sisters would put on their ruffled skirts and fishnet stockings. Each would tie a black ribbon around the other’s lovely neck. Then they would go out, drink red wine, eat escargot loaded with garlic and dance the can-can with abandon…..
On those days when it is too hot to even move, it is nice to settle in with a sketchbook and a tall glass of tea (maybe some added mint from the garden if you dare venture out for it).
…..and to dream about far away places.
Many thanks to Laurel Neustadter for awarding me a Brillante Weblog Award! Laurel has inspired me with her goal of painting 20 small oil paintings during the month of June.
Now it’s my turn to share the love. The rules of accepting are as follows:
I read a lot of blogs so it is hard to narrow the field to just seven. Here are some old favorites as well as some I have just discovered…
The Knitting Gnome Dawn Doran’s fiber filled world of color always gives me a reason to celebrate.
Jim Doran does wonderful pen and ink drawings. I nominate him for his fantastic ideas, creative support and joie de vivre!
Ice-Cream Monster Toon Cafe…..Alina Chau’s beautiful dreamy drawings inspire me. Especially her gorgeous poster for the Totoro Forest Project. I can’t wait until the book comes out!
Christine Hale for her warmth, generosity of spirit, super fun drawings and lovely voice!
Free Spirit a beautiful blog about life, making art and gardening in the West Indies
Paper Cuts It’s no secret that I love paper and Patrick Gannon is a master. I just realized that he has already been nominated for this award, but I’m listing him anyway….so there.
BJ Lantz I love her lines!
…and other such things Gaia Cornwall’s delightful illustrations and thoughts about life and gardens.
I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
Three classic cocktails….Sidecar, Papa Doble & a Whiskey Sour.
I had a wonderful time last weekend at ICON5, an illustration conference that took place at the historic Roosevelt Hotel in New York. I met a lot of really great people and attended some fantastic presentations. Topics ranged from finding inspiration, to self promotion, to copyright law (if you haven’t written to your representatives about the Orphan Works Act, please do.)
Overall, I’d say the take home messages for me were, persevere, be yourself and tell a good story. Good stuff to hear.
Highlights included hearing Marshall Arisman and Rudy Gutierrez talk about inspiration. Wow. There was a whole lot of great energy in that room!
And, thanks to Ronnie del Carmen’s great talk, I got to tell a complete stranger my “getting lost” story…and I got to hear a story from her…what fun! Of course, my listener/storyteller, Cheryl Phelps, was then no longer a stranger!
I love old New York hotels… the chandeliers, the intimate clusters of well worn furniture and ornate ballrooms. The Roosevelt really fit the bill. And it was just a short stroll to my old stomping grounds. I visited the Daily News building where I used to freelance. This art deco skyscraper was the model for the Daily Planet,….. you know, where Clark Kent and Lois Lane work. The globe in the lobby brought back so many memories. It was often the meeting place to gather with friends before setting out for the evening. I took this photo to show my friend CoCo her island in the Pacific. I wonder if she even knows she has one?
I checked out the lobbies of a few others places where I once worked and walked to the park where I used to eat my lunch.
Of course I also visited my favorite building of all, the Chrysler building. If you haven’t been inside then, quick, put that on your to do list!
ps..Big thanks to my in-laws for their hospitality. The girls are still singing the songs to Mary Poppins!
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