Monday, June 17, 2013

I FINALLY Got My Chairs Covered !


Finally, finally had these two chairs recovered!

i need to get Amy from Maison Decor to advice me on the paint finish on this girl, it needs a little work and she knows EVERYTHING  about creating a beautiful patina with painted pieces and Annie Sloan paint!

anyway....


 I have had them for years, and i have draped fabric on them...
  glued fabric on them...

but never was able to get them recovered
until my friend told me she could have it done for me for around $50.00 each!
i probably wasn't supposed to tell anyone that...ooops

I was like oh heck yeah!

Of course then i had to decide on a fabric to cover them in and not be all indecisive because i wanted to jump on this chance to have them finally done!

Ok, so let's just say, that was the second hurdle.

How does one decide on a  fabric when there are 18 gagillion possible fabric combinations to choose from!!!?

I have always loved buffalo gingham check

like this...

probably one of my all time favorite dining rooms ever...

wish i could find a less blurry photo 
 

ok, here's a better shot


isn't it just so completely to die for charming!
her using buffalo check again


anyway, i didn't have any taupe buffalo check so i just needed to get over it and move on!
 
 But it just so happened that i had a few scraps of one of my favorite toiles in the world

'Covington Bosporus'


and a sweet lady i know at the local fabric store got in some linen and saved a little for me...

So that was that
like it or not
i was going with that combination dadgumit!
no more indecision!

and i think they turned out pretty cute...


Maybe one day if i find some great taupe buffalo check fabric,
 i can have a big feather stuffed cushion custom make for the seat...
wouldn't that be cool!
 
(will she ever ever be satisfied!???)


...the end...

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

A Little Yellow, A Little Pink, and Stormy Skies...


A new painting...

I love doing atmospheric paintings like this...

so funny... but i started this painting right before the tornadoes that hit Oklahoma

 
I've done a few skyscapes

painting them involves big swoopy strokes, and soft whispy watery colors

and a different kind of energy and emotion
it's almost like the whole body is involved with the painting

One of my favorite all time paintings is of this tornado

I painted this many years ago
 


and this one too...


I stopped painting tornadoes, because, well,... who's really going to buy them?!  
Not many people want a painting of a tornado in their home

I've had people ask me why i would want to paint tornadoes because they are dark and scary

Then recently i was at one of several galleries in my little town on a Friday night Art Walk , and they were featuring a new artist...

His work is amazing, photos don't do it justice

His paintings sell for around $8000.00 !

His name is Larry Gray
he does lots of moody, stormy skyscapes

and i am enchanted by his work

see the similarities!?

I mean, mine aren't the same really,

but in many ways, it's a similar concept

just goes to show you, that when you do something from more of a spiritual -  life energy place - a place that feels right to you...

you shouldn't doubt yourself so much

****************

Ok, enough about tornadoes and paintings!

Lets look at some pretty stuff!

how much do i love this little cluster rose...
let me count the ways...



found another great pillow at Marshalls

it's the prettiest shade of yellow with a little white bird on it, and down filled insert
$16.99


I love the yellow in the mix with the pinks and whites
it's such a happy color!


and check out this wooondderful vintage pink chippy door that's at the cutest little shop ever called "Nest"   in Mebane, NC 





and finally, i'll end this post by going back to one last skyscape
 
I did this one right before 911

Later it occurred to me that it looked a little like the plume of smoke from the world trade center

but in this painting, the stormy cloud is dissapating and a bright star appears as a guide...


***********

last night i was sitting outside on my little patio dealing with some troubling thoughts 

just me, with the glow from the patio lights, the mosquitos, 
the stars,  and my bud lite...

and the soft night air was the perfect combination of humidity and warmth and scented with all manner of green things, and mulch and loamy soil

and then for just a few moments the scent of gardenias appeared in the air and floated all around me

 lingering there just long enough to slowly breathe it in over and over until i felt like my whole being was infused with gardenias

and then the scent slowly just dissipated
...and was gone

it was wonderful


...the end...