30 Miles, 70 SPF on 7/5/09
Rich & I did our little day trip to Indiana on Sunday...we biked the Calumet Trail which runs 18 miles roundtrip along the railroad tracks in blazing hot sun...so the other 11 miles were forays down tree shady roads trying to get over to the beach and lake, we did succeed. Please note the cooling tower in the background - I thought they only came in pairs...not pretty, but I like to paint them. That's Rich's shiny Workman's Bike...and a cool old VW Bus below.
The trail...
RIP Currents! no we did not swim : ( we had another 10 miles to ride.
This was not the trail, just a lovely tree lined road we used to get to the beach.
There were beautiful cat tails all along the trail, and I saw 2 snakes! ack!
Before the Rain Came...
Have I mentioned I love weather...? I really do, especially storms, I was loving those clouds as I was driving home this morning and grateful I beat the rain and the hail, especially trying to deliver a painting. Coming to the shop in the dark at noon amid torrential rain and small ponds in the middle of city streets was a little eerie. Of course I wish we could have storms without the destruction and all the flooding, so many basements in Chicago are going to be really wet today...
Friday Musings...
I visited Barker & Meowsky the other day to see their space, they have invited me to be their featured artist next Friday, June 19th for Tasteful Art on the Avenue which benefits Children's Memorial Hospital. I will be there with many of my canine canvases from 6-9pm...if you live in Lincoln Park please come by: 1003 West Armitage.
Okay...time to paint, I think...it's a challenge staying on track here. Hope you have a fantastic weekend!
I spy
A sweet blue pick-up...saw this gem on the Kennedy this morning on the way to Dick Blick. It's nearly the same color as my shop.
More photos coming tomorrow, met a wonderful jeweler from California who I'll introduce you to and will be featuring more of my friends here in Chicago who exhibited at the 57th Street shows over the weekend...
The Key...to my future!
It's been a crazy week, I knew I might get the keys to the space early but had no indication of when. On Monday afternoon Sarah of Sacred Art called and said she was all moved to the new location and ready to hand them over. Very generous of her since the lease does not start until the 1st. So I have been busy cleaning and meeting with people to get quotes for the work I need done. Floors, weather stripping, face-lifting the front window bays, patching the ceiling and adding more track lights. I'll be doing most of the painting - it's so many different colors right now that I need to just get a white base coat on everything and then I'll be able to see it clearly and choose the color(s) going forward. So many details..arranging alarm system, gas, electric, phone and internet, insurance, city business license.... and my current cell phone gets zero to very little reception, so it looks like I'll be switching wireless carriers too. My Angie's List membership has really come in handy for finding the best companies to work with, as well as recommendations from friends.
I sold the print above on Etsy yesterday, and personalized it for the buyer. I was a little leary, markers are permanent and it's not like I could just paint over it if I messed it up..it looks pretty good. Next time it's an extra charge (anxiety fee). Okay, time to get all the commissions wrapped up that I was supposed to be working on during the week, and then hopefully painting in the space this afternoon. Hope you all have a great weekend!
Fear...
Fear is what has motivated me most of my life....I just realized the other day that I have finally made a shift in my thinking when I saw these words:
Fear Regret, Not Failure.
It was actually the fear of not facing fear and making a change that pushed me to take this new risk/opportunity/challenge and that translates to fear of regret. Life had gotten a little too predictable. I want to connect with and be more a part of the community bringing my love of art and people and pet advocacy all together. I've worked with many different rescue groups over the years but really at arms length, donating artwork for fundraisers and designing posters & t-shirts for events but not being present and interacting directly at the events. I want to use this space to make art and to publicly connect and help support these groups - hosting adoption events, etc. as well as share my art process and possibly even teach kids to do their own pet portraits.
The Adventure Continues....
I alluded to some news awhile back, here it is: On April 1st I get the keys to my new studio storefront at 2040 West Roscoe, in the Roscoe Village neighborhood of Chicago! I have been talking about making this move for quite awhile, back in January the stars aligned and I learned that the perfect spot would soon be available only 1.5 miles from our house in a lovely neighborhood surrounded by shops and restaurants and other businesses. This space has been the home of Sacred Art for almost 3 years, Sarah is moving her store to Lincoln Square so it's only fitting that we keep art in this location. It has a tree and a park bench right outside the door. I mocked up this photo I found on-line as a vision board exercise while I waited to see if my offer would be accepted, and it worked! (A tool my good friend Eva May used to seal the deal with her storefront on Ashland back in 2007).
I'll be using future blog posts to show the progress and to get your advice and feedback on things I'd like to do with the space, I hope to be open for business by mid-April. In the meantime, being the sentimental gal that I am, I did a video tour of my work space here at home (2 weeks ago) so you could see it before I took all the paintings down for my show in Cedarburg. Please excuse my 'and's and 'um's and jerky camera, it's so hard to hear my own voice but I decided to get over it and share with you.
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