This week's pickin's

Was on the road waiting to go to a doctor's appointment and rewarded myself with a trip to a thrift shop. Found some goodies that will eventually make it to my antique booth or to the online shop.

A pair of beautiful midcentury figural lamps. Although looking at those plugs I would certainly recommend rewiring them before use. No chips on these - they are in lovely shape!

The squirrel is READY for some nut cracking! He is unmarked but comes with some seemingly original vintage tools. He has a couple of chips but still is quite serviceable!

Here's a classic! Midcentury vinyl ice bucket with a clear handle. 

Interior is pristine.

This almost antique cocktail pitcher is chromium plated with what looks like a bakelite handle,

The lid fits smoothly and the spout cap screws on smoothly and neatly.

Not often that you see industrial locations on a souvenir plate- especially a southern California one!

I love souvenir plates! I have threatened to hang all the ones I have to post to sell but I don't want to put 100 nails in the wall! Think command strips would sponsor me?

This post is Day 5 of #the100daychallenge of putting some words of 100 days in a row.

For some odd reason yesterday's post will not upload so I updated it before I wrote this.

I recognize I am not writing anything particularly scintillating yet but hoping to be a little more educational or profound as I go along and get into the groove.

Hope you had a peaceful Sunday.

Until tomorrow friends-

 

Returning To The Lakes

It is quite a compliment when someone you know personally commissions work from you.

I am tickled I will get to visit this painting this weekend while on a journey north. 

Thought you might like to see some of the process shots for this piece.

This is one of two pieces I did for a couple's home in Bethany Beach, Delaware.

She wanted it to be reminiscent of the lakes around their home without looking like 

"stereotypical beach art". 

(Note: this photo is at my house, before delivery.)

I love using vintage ephemera in my work. This Rachel Carson book was a great candidate. 

This thrift shop treasure had a broken back and soiled pages so I didn't feel the least bit guilty about cutting it into pieces!

Carson's prose is lovely, as are the pen & ink style drawing used to illustrate sea and shore life. 

I selected pages and passaged that pertained to the Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware watershed and set them aside.

While you don't need Art to Match Your Couch, it IS nice to have coordinating hues in a room if you are looking to continue the calm décor and feel of the existing space. 

One way to do that is to take all the colors in the room and use them in the background of a piece. 

My intention was that they should peek through the finished piece and speak to the other elements in the room.

This can sound easier than it actually is. 

The photo above is three and four layers deep!

I then thought about how to add the paper. 

I settled on shapes that echoed the leaves of the neighborhood tree lined lakes. 

Others have mentioned they see schools of fish or wave patterns in this step. 

I love how art is open to multiple interpretations!

Many layers of paint and glazes later I blocked in houses in the neighborhood. 

This added a small jolt of familiarity to the abstract and provided a smile to the homeowners because they know exactly what part of the lake this represents.

Here is the finished piece. 

Outwardly simple but full of layers, effort, depth, and meaning.

I feel it is symbolic of our relationship with our "happy places" in this world 

and how we need to be good stewards of them.

I would like to think Rachel Carson would approve.

Bob IS the best, soooo

 Am trying to decide what convaluted thing it is that I can get things done for other people, waaay faster than I do things for myself.  Is it the "Martyr Mom" persona?  Is it the "you can rely on me!" SuperFriend thing?  With my own work I want it to be perfect so it never appears.  When I am working on something for someone I can objectively evaluate, (good, better great) make adjustments and GO.   I AM determined to NOT make the same mistakes helping my husband like I do when I trap myself in my own details.  (Coach Lesley are you proud of me???).

Thus Bob's Best Quality BBQ is on both Etsy AND Facebook as of last night at 10.  And of course he had more "fans" by breakfast than I had at Stifel & Capra in a month because I didn't TELL anyone when I posted the shop page!  Amazing how that works, she said abashedly.

Of COURSE, it needs to be tweaked and I can see every flaw and every "thing to do" but you know what?  This party has STARTED!  Trying to let that be a lesson to ME.  Next? The website!  Charge!

http://bobsbestquality.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/bobsbestquality