shaping up

I've been playing around with a lot of shapes in pleasant pastel colors for a personal project, and some of the initial doodles I did were too cute not to slap some eyeballs on and animate in photoshop. Hey kids: you too can go to art school and take one animation class and retain NONE OF IT, and then 5 years later figure out how to animate in photoshop and go do your own thing!

These little buddies work perfectly with my summer playlist, which I made last year but keep adding to whenever I find something that fits my ideal summer dreams: friends in the car, driving to the beach with the windows down and no plans other than eating snacks and reading trashy magazines.

clothes line

I finally said it out loud a week ago and haven't been able to stop thinking about it: I'm in a fashion rut. It seems redonk - my closet is definitely as full as it can get (small apartment), and it's full of pieces I really like. But something's not right, there's a disturbance in the force. My tastes are changing or I'm getting bored with what I have. Summer is certainly tricky in Minnesota, since most of the year I'm hoarding and wearing cold weather clothing, and then July rolls around and HELLO 90 degree weather! (Everyone who lives in a hotter state is probably laughing bitterly at me for complaining about this)

It would be nice if I could just run out and drop boom boom dollars on new clothing, but currently I'm trying to keep my extraneous spending at a minimum. Freelance life, baby. I'M ROLLING IN THE UNSTEADY AND UNTRUSTWORTHY DOLLARS. Maybe that's a good thing, though, because now I have time to plan. Have you ever felt like you need a total closet revamp? What do you do, because (real talk) I feel like sitting on the ground and crying until someone fixes it for me. And here's the thing: it's just clothing, and I have what I need. So I'm trying to remember that through all this frustration.

I've been paying extra attention to the ladies that make it onto my outfit inspiration board: what is it that draws me to their style? Bryan pointed out the other day that I seem to be the happiest (and look the best) in outfits with simple but interesting pieces that fit well, and that's what I'm seeing on these ladies:

natalie off duty / andy t

fashion is a playground / lucy laucht (at least I've already got a hat like this!)

I'll let you know, dearest bloggie, if I ever remedy this very non-emergency issue... but in the meantime, who wants to give me a makeover? Preferably while we listen to the entire Clueless soundtrack.

petal pusher

A T T E N T I O N ! Are you a recently married person/celebrating a wedding anniversary/looking for a belated wedding gift/just like paintings of flowers? Well my friend, I have just the thing for you!

As of now I'm taking commissions to do illustrated portraits of your wedding bouquet! The world of freelance is a fun but prickly place, and I'm looking into any avenue that will allow me to keep making art but also, you know, provide myself sustenance and shelter. I think it's pretty clear by now that I love love love drawing flowers and plants of all kinds, and I've been getting back into watercolor on the regular, so this was the clear next step.

Some details, if you're interested in one for yourself or some newlyweds that you know and like:

-The painting will be 9x9 inches, perfectly sized for this simple frame from Ikea

-This is not a print, you'll get the original watercolor painting!

-Pricing will range on the complexity of your chosen bouquet, starting at $100. 

-Shipping within the U.S. is included, if you're international we'll work something out. (And if you're in the Twin Cities I'd be happy to do a drop off at a local coffee shop!)

-I am by no means a student of realism, so this will be a stylized painting. See below for details.

-The process will take about two weeks to complete (before shipping), unless you'd like to approve a sketch, in which case I can't quite estimate the timing.

-Paypal is my preferred method of payment, and unfortunately I won't be able to offer refunds.

If you're super into this idea, here's what I'll need from you:

-Photos of the bouquet from different angles. 

-If you'd like, the exact wording for you & your partner's name and the date of your wedding.

-An initial e-mail from you so we can talk pricing and my schedule.

As a warm up for this project the lovely Maggie volunteered to be my first customer. Guys, Maggie is seriously the sweetest and most adorable person ever. Here are some more photos from when we installed it in her (also sweet and adorable) apartment:

 Here's an example of the "stylization" I'm talking about - a photo from Maggie's wedding day (by the great Gene Pease) vs. a scan of the painting itself. Also watercolor is a serious pain to scan - does anyone have any tips? 

summer lovin'

This post of summer photos (film & iphone-made) is brought to you by the following:

-Katie's sunglasses 

-This song, on repeat

-Fishing off the dock

-as many fancy salads as I have time for (1, 2, 3, 4!)

-multiple viewings of Dazed & Confused 

-learning how to do a french fishtail.

     

pattern pals #6: abstract

Maybe you've noticed, but Katie and I haven't posted a new pattern pals in awhile. We went on a little hiatus, but I'm happy to say WE HAVE RETURNED. On the same day as the new Kanye album comes out - coincidence? Yes, but let's pretend that it's not.

This time around for a theme we unwittingly gave ourselves a challenge: abstract! I am always admiring the simple shapes and texture patterns that textile artists create. But it turns out that is easier admired than done. I played around with about five million variations of patterns before I settled on this one. They kinda look like fancy bon bons, don't they? Katie's is a great compliment to it, like freshly cut grass.

As per usual, here are some free wallpapers: iphone / ipad / tile for desktop

And! It's also available as an iphone case over on my very dusty and unused Society6 page!

Next up: the corresponding dream outfit. This one is an early summer, window shopping, iced coffee celebration of the fact that it hasn't rained for TWO DAYS here in Minnesota. That's right, we dumped the snow and almost instantly fell into a rainy spell. Portlandians, I don't know how you do it. 

bag / shirt / skirt / sandals / bracelet / hat

current events

Some photos, recently taken and edited on my phone with the brand new VSCO app. I stopped using the old version awhile ago in favor of Snapseed. I'll probably go back to Snapseed after awhile too, but for now I'm enjoying the gorgeous, highly editable filters that VSCO has.

They also have a cool new "grids" feature, which is a simple, gorgeous way of showing off your photos. After flickr's recent redesign (so heavy and unorganized!), I've been enjoying looking at grids of the currently approved users (it seems to be in some sort of a closed beta):

dear leila

kevin russ

body of work

table (which I'm actually currently using as a desk)

So, a long time ago (2009, woaaahh) I made this post. My tastes have changed a little since then (that rug! I'm cringing), and now that I'm back to working from home I figured it was time to do a little update. It hasn't even been a year since I went freelance, so I'm still working on what sort of furniture I need.. but that doesn't mean a girl can't dream!

wall mounted shelves / chair /  rug

• Things I'd like ideally:  a new chair that rolls, a rug to keep my tootsies happy, a wall mounted shelf for tchotchkes and the like, a flat file for paper and art, multiple filing cabinets for supplies

• Things I have room and the money for: a latte

Our apartment is small, so I don't have a ton of room for studio space. That's really okay since I do most all of my work from my desk. But it would be nice to have more room for storage, and the money for a fancy new chair! Gisèle d’Ailly van Waterschoot van der Gracht's (how's that for a name?) home is ideally what I'd love for my studio space to look like: classic, full of life but not cluttered.

table lamp / ceramic ghost / planter

I also wouldn't mind adding some new decorations to my workspace. Obviously I can never get enough plants, and maybe I could start a collection of Ahroj's Ghosts project. They are just so darling!

What does your ideal desk space look like?