Get a jump on it

School starts soon. This is probably not the reaction of most kids when they realize that their glorious summer vacation is ending.

Another bad Photoshop moment

What happened to her teeth? OK, no more bad Photoshop examples after today, I PROMISE!

Bad Legs

I love to collect photos I find that are real bloopers in the photo re-touching department. Here's one I clipped out of a fashion magazine. It looks like the poor woman's left leg has been reduced to a ribbon!  I swear I did not Photoshop it myself, this is exactly what was published! Someone really goofed up!

Mad for Mod

A while back I was asked to create a whimsical mod couple for a website. After a bit of cruising on the Net, I spied these 2 vintage patterns. Whoa, nothing says sixties for the dudes like plaid trousers or a Nehru jacket! And then of course, there was the classic Yves St. Lauren's  Mondrian-inspired dress for all the groovy chicks. Oh those were the days. Or daze, depending on what you were doing.

Don't Upset the Apple Cart

One of my favorite summer treats is a juicy crisp apple. This small painting was part of a fabric pattern I created years ago.

Aphrodite @ the MOA Sketch

I've been very distracted by nature lately, so back to the drawing board! My last post (before all the Nature stuff) was my painting of Aphrodite at the Mall of America.  Here's the study from my sketchbook. I'll add the painting again, too, so you can see the before and after effect. The sketch is pretty worn, but you can see all the notations I made to remind myself of colors and other details once I got back in the studio. I love sketching on location, it makes for a personal connection to my work that doesn't happen with photos or other scrap references. All those "in-love" flying people? Well, they were there, you just didn't see them. You must look again when you go shopping.

The Storm

It's been quite a week! I've been without power for five very long and hot days! Over 600,000 people lost power, and wouldn't you know it, my home was in the last remaining 1% to have power restored. It has been a very rainy month, so when the storm rolled through with straight line winds, huge trees just toppled over because the saturated ground could not hold the roots. Everywhere I look I see trees down with huge root balls sticking up out of the ground! The wind was so fierce that almost every house in my neighborhood including my own above, had a tree or a limb come down. Fortunately no one was hurt, and my roof was not damaged. It was not fun, but it was a bonding experience for my entire neighborhood, and we are now in the planning stage of the Post Storm Party to be held in the cul-de-sac next week. Welcome to summer!

They Flew the Coop

This month has been an urban wildlife month for me: huge snapper turtles crossing the street in front of my house, garden snakes sliding through my backyard, and carpenter ants showing up as unwanted guests on my back porch. The best surprise was discovering a turkey hen sitting on her nest under my picture window. Apparently she did not Google "wild turkey nesting habits" as I did. She would have read that turkey hens abandon their nests when they are discovered and rebuild it elsewhere. Instead, Mama Turkey stuck it out, in spite of her celebrity status, with all the neighbors and delivery people coming to take a peek. This morning when I opened my front door to take Miss Suzi-Q for her morning walk, there was Mama Turkey, leading her brood off to their uncertain future! She was making soft little clucking noises. Oh, it was all so darling and it made my day!

Aphrodite at the Mall of America

DETAIL

The long busy weekend of Art-a-Whirl is over and I'm just now coming up for air! My studio building has over 200 artists in it, and has been nicknamed the Mall of America of the art crawl scene!

Which reminds me: I just received an email out of the blue from the woman who purchased my painting of the same name. It just made my day, it's so nice when people articulate their appreciation of your art. I'd like to share it with you:

 "I'm the lucky person who purchased Aphrodite at the Mall of America a few years back. Just wanted you to know that it improves with age. It is the center piece of my living room and every day I thank you for creating this fun piece of art. Thanks M.L."

In this series of paintings, the mythical goddess patrols popular contemporary meeting places, and every where she strolls, people fall in love. Often, someone who is blue is rescued by the therapeutic effects of Love.

Art-a-Whirl 2013

It's here - Spring and Art-a-Whirl have arrived, hand in hand! Tomorrow evening begins the largest art crawl in the nation, 3 days of open studios, gallery shows, demonstrations, music, food stands, performances - over 500 studios will open their doors to the public. It is so much fun, and a chance for the artists to connect with the public.  Come on by!

STUDIO 350
1500 Jackson Street NE
Minneapolis

 Friday, 5 to 10 p.m.
Saturday, noon to 8 p.m.
Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.

gloooom

 This is today. (MAY FOURTH) It is also yesterday, and the day previous,and according to the news, 26 days of last month. Where is that big yellow thing in the sky? Just askin'....

Saturday Yard Work

Only after 6 long brutal months of never ending winter could I say that today, doing the dreaded yard work, was fun. I couldn't wait to get out into the sun to prune and trim and rake and sweat. After a couple of hours the thrill wore off, though. There's always tomorrow!

Laundry

Remember when we used to do laundry wearing our high heels? No, I don't remember either, but I'm sure our mothers and our grandmothers did, according to the magazine ads of the fifties! This print is available in my shop, along with other retro cuties engaging in their domestic chores.

April 19

Last year, in fact most years, on this date it is 60 degrees and we are all thinking about gardening. Today I was thinking, I AM SICK OF WINTER!!! We had 9 inches of wet heavy snow fall, with sleet making for ice covered roads. Will it ever be warm again?

Never Too Much of a Good Thing

 My latest print...but frankly, I'm not too sure I believe this old English proverb. I can attest to the fact that YES, I HAVE HAD TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING. Many times, in fact. Just one look at my scale will confirm this!

Diet Wegman

Stolen!

The above is MY original illustration.

The above is a detail of a logo that a "designer" in Europe created in a logo contest, seemingly using my illustration (without my knowledge) as a starting point. I wasn't too annoyed, until I checked out the contest and found a logo design (detail below) that is actually my illustration, except there are flowers added to the wheels. Now this is ANNOYING!!!!

This is the downside of the Internet. Anything you post can be seen by anyone and can be stolen unless you take the necessary precautions - which I did not.

The upside of the Internet is that you meet a lot of very nice people! This whole situation was brought to my attention by an email from a complete stranger in Germany, who wrote to me saying that she thought these logos were borrowing heavily from my style. Her name is Gila von Meissner, a graphic designer with a marketing background. She's busy creating logos, strategy, text, fan pages and if that isn't enough, a line of baby clothing seen on iStock. Check out her website  for more. Thanks for the heads up, Gila!

Kittens & Bunnies & Spring & Easter

Happy Easter to you all! I was housecleaning the other day and ran across last year's calendar, and this image made me laugh out loud! I love sweet animal photos, and this company features the most amusing animal photos every year on their calendars. Photographers Jane Burton and Mark Taylor are two very patient and talented people! To see more of their calendars and photos, visit their website: http://gladstonemedia.com/kittens-friends-2013-wall-calendar/ It is so lovely to have Spring arriving!

African American Version

 I had a custom order in my Etsy shop, and it turned out so cute I want to share it. One of my readers asked if I could do an African American/Black version of my "All Good Things" poster. After I said, "Sure!" it occurred to me that perhaps I could offer a selection of skin colors for the poster girls. Hmmm. Must think about this. I know that poster shops offer a selection of type colors, or background colors...why not skin colors?

First Day of Spring - Happy Spring!

FINALLY - IT'S ABOUT TIME! However, Minnesota has no idea what Spring is supposed to look like, since it was 2 degrees when I awoke on this first morning of Spring. That's 30 degrees below the freezing mark, if you would like to look at it another way. Here's my favorite spring poem by Lilja Rogers: "First a howling blizzard woke us, Then the rain came down to soak us, And now before the eye can focus - Crocus!" Can't wait to see my first little crocus!