April Project: Day 29

I was, unfortunately, not able to do my blog post yesterday because the internet at our new place was not yet up and running. It was such a busy day, so I posted to Instagram and my facebook page via my phone, since I still had 3G on my phone. So, here is what I posted for day 29. It is a little pencil sketch of a coatimundi, an animal I was only recently made aware of. I think they are related to raccoons, but they have these adorably long snouts. I decided a profile portrait would capture that best. :)

I promised to share more colorful and playful things as soon as I was able. It is another full day of moving, though, but I will see what I can do.

April Project: Day 28

So, some days it is hard to find the time to make something and play. Today was one of those days. Tomorrow we are moving to a new apartment, so I've been a little preoccupied. I didn't let that get in the way of my weekly Tuesday traditional art skype with my dear friend and fellow artist, Kari Pearson. I love being able to talk with her about life, the challenges of continuing our creative practice, and trying to propel our creative careers forward.

Today, after talking and catching up a little, we decided that our art for today could be a 10 minute sketch of each other as we were video chatting. Kari set a timer for 10 minutes and we giggled and got started. Here is how that went.

One thing that really made us laugh was that Kari's drawing of me looked like I belonged in American Gothic. :) What I think is funny is that this may actually be what I look like when I'm creating and focusing. I look at my face in the upper corner of that screenshot and giggle. I look as though I have never taken a screenshot before and I'm anxious about it. :) Here is Kari's drawing of me. We joked that it is an accurate portrait of my duck lamp, with American Gothic me in the foreground. :)

I'm going to try to fit in some art time tomorrow, too, to continue this April Project. Check back soon! :)

April Project: Day 23

Happy first day of Summer in Iceland! Today is a holiday here, and so far the weather has really been cooperating! Chris and I just went for a run along the ocean and the sun was shining bright. We're not sure if it is because today is a holiday or because the weather is nice, but we were greeted by a few strangers on our run, and someone even smiled at us. It was likely a smile in response to my smile, but that is far better than the annoyed or puzzled looks I normally receive.

Because it is Iceland's first day of summer, I wanted to illustrate a phrase with the word summer in it. And what came to mind is a song I love by Kings of Convenience, a Norwegian duo that sings music that I usually describe as doodle-ie-doo music. It is super pleasant to listen to, and at times makes me think of some soft Simon & Garfunkel songs. The song is called Gold In The Air Of Summer. The video below is a bit shaky, but the song is good. The album is called Riot on an Empty Street. I highly recommend it.

These are the song lyrics...

Without giving anything away,
I can say it's by the sea.
It's a house that used to be the home of a friend of mine.
Without giving anything away,
you'll find ships inside of bottles,
and the garden's overgrown,
the house is white but the paint is coming of.

I didn't know if you wanted to,
when I came to pick you up.
But you didn't even hesitate,
and now you and me are on our way.
I think I've brought everything we need,
so don't look back,
don't think of the other places you should have been
it's a good thing that you came along with me.

Gold in the air of summer,
you'll shine like gold in the air of summer.

So I started on a larger project than I could possibly finish today, but I'll continue to work on the next few days, I'm thinking. Here is as far as I got today.

My idea is that this phrase will be framed by flowers and plants from the overgrown garden that the song lyrics talk about. I love ships, bottles, ships in bottles, overgrown gardens, flowers, gold, summer, cork, ocean, and things that shine... so I think this will be a fun project. Stay tuned for more! :) And have a great day!

a save the date for dear friends

I am excited to be working on a save-the-date postcard for a couple friends of mine! Here is a sneak peek, without giving much away. He loves hunting for mushrooms, gardening strange varieties of vegetables and fruits, and games. She loves robots and vintage quirkiness, and together they love... well, each other, obviously! They also love to cook and eat great food with fresh local ingredients. I am planning on incorporating all of their likes as well as a nod to her Sri Lankan roots in their save-the-date and wedding invitation suite. I'll post more as I make more progress!

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Upon seeing this image so large, I can see that it is not the most flattering photograph of my fingernails. I'll try to do better next time...