art party

The RISD Art Sale last weekend was my very first, and it was kind of exactly what I expected, plus physical and emotional exhaustion. And trying to look engaging but not over-eager. That's a facial expression I'm going to have to work at for next time. IF there is a next time. I don't know how people do this for a living.

My mantra gearing up for this event was that it was all a learning experience: It doesn't matter if I break even, I'm LEARNING! It doesn't matter if I spend too much money on prints, and varnish my paintings at the eleventh hour, and change my mind a hundred times about what I'm going to hang... I'm LEARNING.

It was overcast all day and a little misty, but it never rained outright, so there was that to be grateful for.

I shared a table with my friend Elizabeth, who is the real RISD alum, and the maker of these great ceramic rhino heads. I decided to show my five remaining kami kami pieces, from the show I did in Kyoto in 2007.

 

I was mainly there to drum up more business for the portrait project, so I made postcards to advertise and created a portfolio of the pieces I've done so far. Maybe a dozen people took a card... not as many as I'd hoped, but better than none. I sold a few prints, and an original mixed media painting, so it was not a total loss.

I think we had some overcrowding issues at the table... Elizabeth's daughter was showing some of her prints, too, and it made our space a little busy. There's too much to look at and no central theme. See? I'm LEARNING.

 

People saw the mints, though. Those were gone by the end of the day.

Now I'm going to go hawk some cheap prints on Etsy...

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ruffled

I'm going to participate in the RISD Student & Alumni sale this weekend, which means that I am procrastinating by completing projects that have nothing whatsoever to do with that event. To wit, an adorable ruffled skirt!

Nothing inspires me to sew like being totally out of my comfort zone.

I know, that kid is pretty adorable too, but watch out. She whines.

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pat your head, rub your tummy

Well.

There's been a flurry of portrait painting over here, and I'm being my usual lazy self about getting the new pieces up. I keep thinking that I'm going to do some actual writing first... you know, fascinating details about Auden's 4th birthday (!) or the way Isla calls oatmeal oh-pi-noh. Very necessary details: the things that take up all the spaces in between portraits.

But I can't get the writing muscles to flex these days. I think in hues and values... so much so that after a day of painting, when Jason is talking to me at dinner, I can only think about what particular color I'd mix for the cool part of that shadow under his nose. I'm sorry, what were you saying?

I can't pat my head & rub my tummy at the same time, so I'll just post pretty paintings of babies:

This was commissioned as a gift for her parents on her first birthday. I love how her gaze is so direct and yet everything about her is still so soft.

And I can't believe that Auden is FOUR all of the sudden, and that Isla now says things to me like, "Don't freak about it, mama." Little wise maddening geniuses.

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brother

When I selected winners for my portrait project, I hadn't considered what to do if the winner had a sibling... but of course it only made sense to paint this sweet face after I did his brother:

I think this is my favorite so far. I love the brushwork and the softness of the expression. I worried at first that the down-cast eyes would make him look asleep, but no.

There are more coming along, too, stay tuned!

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two and some change

Isla, my sweet,

You turned two a few thousand moments ago, during which time I have been caught up in my usual whirlwind and too busy to write. Plus you keep changing, and I forgot that all this amazing growing up happens at two -- TWO -- so suddenly you're ferociously independent and stubborn and dramatic and some of the whirlwind is your making, my darling.

So don't think we didn't notice that you turned two. Or that you didn't notice, either: all the presents you got were immediately dubbed your "happy birthdays" and if anyone asked you how old you were, you emphatically stated, "Ah FOUR." We celebrated by taking you bowling with our friends, and you said, "Ah knock-a down-a PINS!"

I wish I could bottle up and preserve your little voice, how it sounds right now -- and the way you say certain words, like "more", which sounds like "murr" but rounder and sweeter in a way I just can't imitate. Pockets are "pocksit" and blankets are "blanksit," and if there are more than one, there are "one two free four five sick seven eight nine TEN! Dat how many, mama?"

You are very patient with us when we ask you about things:

"Called RED, mama."
"Called juice, papa."
"Called cra-cra, mama."
(Jeez, don't we know by now?)

You are adorably affectionate:

"Ah laafv yoo OH much, mama."

And you are suddenly well-versed in the art of the stall at bedtime:

"LAST book, papa. Dis a LAST book."
"You sing murr song, mama? You sing a song an' DEN stay a me?"

You just started saying "because," which, you seem well aware, makes your sentences so sophisticated. But you pronounce it "pahcuz," so it just sounds ridiculously cute:

"Ah gatta get it, mama, pahcuz I gatta see it."

Speaking of sophistication, you say words like "actually" and "frustrated." Maybe you really did turn four? My sense of time is totally skewed, so it could be possible.

You love ballerinas and princesses, and The Little Mermaid has been playing on endless loop for the past week, but you also like pirates and monsters and super-heroes along with your brother.

Most of the time you play along patiently when he wants you to be his squire, or Rogue, or a Sentinel, but you have a fierceness about playing -- and being -- your own way, too, which usually manifests in spitting matches or in arguing about every last detail. You don't even know what you're insisting on, but you know you must insist:

Auden: "It's a shark!"
Isla (wearing a shark shirt): "No is NAHT a shurrk!"
Auden: "Yes it IS, Isla!"
Isla: "No is NAHT!"
Auden: "YES IT IS!"
Isla: "No is naaaaa-ottt!"
Auden: "AHHHRRGHH MRRRFFFHHHHGGGG!"
Isla: "No is naaaaaa-ott!"
And on and on. It would be cute if it weren't so annoyingly absurd.

You eat like a sumo wrestler and still weigh only about 22lbs. You are a tiny little lithe thing, and you love climbing and hanging from monkey bars. We've been going to open gym at a gymnastics club, where you "hang onna bars and jupp onna trampLEEEN!"

You are smart and goofy. You get the hiccups when you laugh. You hug everyone with your whole body. You like to hide under my covers in the morning, pretending to be a cat.

ABC's? SO two thousand moments ago.

The other day we went to the park with some friends, one of whom is six years old. You were watching her play, and you said to me, "Mah grow up like Jane, mama?"

Not just yet, okay?

Doing my best to keep up with you,
Mama

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winner #2: King

Here's my other contest winner, Katherine's son King:

6 x 6 inches, oil on board

It's been really exciting for me to see how these turn out... I did his brother Zane, too, I'll show you that one next!

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winner #1: Laird

Here is one of my winners from last week's contest, Aaron's son Laird:

6 x 6 inches, oil on board

 It's nice working on this small scale -- I can get a painting done in an afternoon! It turned out so sweet, I'm really pleased.

More portraits on the way... and I want to do one for you, too! Contact me for details.

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