An Ode To Typography

A while back I bought a nice little bundle of antique carte de vista photo cards. I love old photographs, but I also love old calligraphy and type--and that's precisely why I got these. So I can stare and then promptly nerd out at the simplistic layouts and lettering designs.
The portraits on the fronts are fine, albeit common and nothing spectacular. But I think the backs are even better. In my studio there's whole pile of them arranged on a board for design inspiration. It's really amazing how many different carte de vista designs there are out there--thousands upon thousands!And my favorite one is nestled on the wall above my painting table, perfectly at home with other antique ephemera scraps...

Le sigh...Some times I really do feel like I was born in the wrong era.

New Stuff (finally!)

Man. I really have fallen off the blog wagon. I do apologize.

So, what have I been up to? I've been thoroughly enjoying the Fall season. Lots of crisp walks, antique store explorations, late-night movies, good food, and sketching sessions. The only bummer so far is that I'm still trying to find the best way for my painting schedule and day job schedule to coexist peacefully. I was so used to staying up into the late night (early morning) hours with the paints, but it's just not feasible right now with my work schedule. Trying to retrain my brain to paint during daylight hours is hard...but we're getting there.

"Eye For An Eye" Original Sketch Brooch { sold }

"Dandy Bird" Original Sketch Brooch { Sold }

And look! New brooches! I've been working on these on-and-off for the past month and finally got them all photographed and listed in the shop. They were originally supposed to be ornaments, but I'm such a sucker for brooches and badges. Each one is completely one-of-a-kind, with an original sketch and painted details.

"Whalesong" Original Sketch Brooch { sold }

I'm utterly smitten with the little whale one.

"Tentacular" Original Sketch Brooch

In my head, the whale brooch and squid brooch are pinned on the same jacket, playing out a tragic life-or-death deep sea battle amongst the wool and tweed. I picked up this amazing old suitcase from the antique store the other day (and prompty used it in my brooch photoshoot). I've been hunting for one for a long time, but they're usually priced too high or the locks are damaged and you can't open them. This one is perfectly sized for plane or train, opens/locks just fine, has a pristine interior, and was only $8. Score!I also hung all the paintings still in my possession on one wall in my studio. Before, they were spread about all over my living room or propped against random walls. It got a little overwhelming. Having them all living in one happy little spot is a great deal better.

Thank you everyone for your sweet words! Happy fallish thoughts to you all!

All Antiquey-Like

When you last saw this gentleman, he was nearing completion but still needed a few finishing touches here and there...

"The 8-Legged Man" acrylic and antique newspaper on hardboard, 11x14"

He's finished now! Framed up and ready to roll (err--I mean, swim). I think my favorite part in this piece is actually a barely-visible snippet from the antique 30s newspaper in the background:It's hard to make out here, but it reads: "Yes, Whale Eats Sea Serpent". I crack up every time I glance at it.

I also slipped through an antique store this week for the first time in quite a while. It felt good. For a couple dollars I picked up some fab 1950s/60s colorful Italian buttons (the aqua ones are my faves):And then on the way to purchase said buttons, I spied this amazing vintage lucite crabby paperweight hidden on a shelf:
Needless to say, he came home with me as well (for only 5 bucks). I don't think the lady who rang me up understood the sheer awesomeness of this piece, but goodness, how can anyone object to little crabs suspended in plastic? Not I.

Plum And Moss

I thought I'd do an entire post of images in the purple plum and greeny moss color scheme, since those two colors together say "Fall" like no other and I'm so terribly thrilled that the fall months are now upon us. Knee high socks! Crisp morning air! Crunchy leaves! Chai tea and cookies!

That landscape painting was a recent antique store score for $12 and I really love it. The colors, the frame, the fact that some person sat down with their oil palette and took the time to create it and liked it so much as to get it professionally framed....It's magic. I feel like I rescued a little unknown gem from the trash heap.

The last picture is a close-up of some ceramic tiles I've painted at work. I'm lining them all up along a windowsill for a bit of fun and whimsy.

That's all from me for today! I'll be back tomorrow with some new shop items to show and tell. Enjoy your Tuesdays, everyone!

Old Things Become New Things

A new print is happily residing in the shop!"He Packed His Bags And Left Home For Good This Time" 6x9.25" on 8.5x11" paper

I do love that there's a nice little company of slugs and snails hangin' out in my etsy shop at the moment. I wonder if they're planning any parties or nocturnal slug get-togethers?

My weekend was spent working at the day job (10 hour shifts both days...and now, I'm quite ready for a small break from the public) but I get a couple days off before heading back to the work grind for the rest of the week. So how did I spend my Monday?

Thrifting and antiquing!

Scooped up some simple notions and a plain white bed sheet (for the quilt) from the thrift store and then *scored* at the antique store.
I found this wee old papercut silhouette (under $4!) and fell in love. Hard. Look at that hat! The small antique frame was under $9 and I knew instantly I just had to put the two together. Last month I scored a ton of discontinued upholstery fabric sample books for free from a local fabric store and have been brainstorming projects with them. Yup, you see where this is going...15 minutes later, I had a finished dandy piece of art ready for the wall. The silk fabric was cut and simply attached to illustration board using a few small pieces of double-sided tape and the same was done to the papercut silhouette. I love how the rackety green and gold frame plays off the pink stripes.

I think it's time for tea, a book, and a good late-night film.