Home Improvements

I'd like to use the new year as an excuse for my rampant redecorating, but in truth decorating is a near constant process for me. I have a number of prints of birds that I took from my Grandmother's house where they once hung in her guest bedroom. I didn't want to sacrifice the precious wall space to hang them all (I have a lot of art!) so I was stuck leaning them against the walls. This seemed like a precarious position for them, and in a burst of inspiration I came up with a great use for them. They are now hanging over the openings to my bookcase, providing beautiful coverage. They are easy to remove when I want to get into the shelves, but are a unique and exciting visual addition to the window seat area.

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I hung them using the type of molding clips that you'd use to hang a painting from an architectural relief. Yes, for some reason I have a number of random tools like that lying around the house. Now instead of seeing my mess of books and magazines, you see these beautiful old prints.

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I've also been working on decorating my four-poster bed. In my last apartment I had hung it with a number of sheer silk panels in shades of jade, crimson, and vermillion. I wanted to step away from that "Arabian-nights" vibe, especially because I didn't want to compromise the amazing view. This is an old curtain from one of my dorm rooms years ago that I attached to the "ceiling" of the four-poster with a staple gun. I think the effect is somewhat exotic and eastern, plus I get the cozy four-poster feeling without blocking any of my midtown view.

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Sarah Swathed

This painting is becoming a familiar sight on the blog, I just can't seem to stop working on it. For many reasons, one being that Sarah's dad might decide to buy it, I decided to cover up some of her nudity. One major inspiration for her drapery was that scandalous Miley Cyrus Vanity Fair cover that Annie Liebovitz shot.

I'm not happy with the drapery, it doesn't feel like it hangs appropriately, any painters have ideas?

I Was Framed...

Most of the paintings that I've made have never been framed, largely because of how expensive framing is. But there are a few favorites that I've always wanted to see properly presented in a frame. When we realized how well "Stripped Bare" fit with the atmosphere of our living room in New York, my parents volunteered to have it framed for me.

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We picked out this frame at Providence Picture Frame, an amazing place in Rhode Island where we've gotten most of the art in our Newport house framed. The battered wood frame with its silver and black detailing is the perfect foil for the cool tones of the flesh and curtains. It really ties the image in with the decor of the room as well. I can't believe how official it makes my work look, guess I better get my signature on there soon or no one will believe its mine!

New Years Makeovers

Many of you may know that my grandmother is living in a nursing home and my family has begun the process of cleaning out her home and getting it ready to be sold. As we are going through the house I'm discovering many quirky similarities between me and my grandfather (who I never met because he died in 1978). All of the furniture bears the marks of his repeated paintings and stainings, and proves that he was obviously a man who liked to alter things as much as I do. In that same tradition, I decided to alter two chairs that I brought down from her house so that they would better fit in with our new living room in New York.

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The process I used was a two-step method I found described in Martha Stewart Living for creating an "antiqued" painted finish. I first applied a coat of a pale Marie Antoinette-esque blue, and covered that with a coat of a purpley-grey neutral color. After letting the top-coat sit for an hour I went back in with steel wool rubbing away the top color to reveal the light blue in patches.

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New Wrappings

I'm constantly changing and re-inventing the way my home looks. I change the linens, put up new curtains, move the furniture etc. I really enjoy having projects to work on around the house, and recently finished two new ones. I just made this window-seat cushion and cover for my new apartment from the red bedspread from my last apartment:

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The crimson window seat clashed with the bright pink in the print of my chair (Mom always said never put red and pink together and I stand by it) so I decided to re-cover the chair. With a few staples from my canvas-stretching staple gun I attached this old sheet from Urban Outfitters, and I covered the cushion with a light blue pillow cover. Allowing for the fact that the chair's most frequent inhabitant is Ms. Lorelai Meow, I topped the "human" cushion with a soft turquoise cushion, easy to remove when a human wants to sit down without getting covered in cat fur.

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Sarah Rose

I just finished this painting (although I confess I may go back and do more detail work) :

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“Sarah Rose” (2009). Oil paint on composite board, 16” x 49”.

The scale of the figure is larger than life, and unfortunately scale is the hardest thing to convey in a picture. To give you an idea, consider that on this same size board I was able to easily fit my entire body nearly life-size:

“Stripped Bare” (2008). Oil paint on composite board, 16”x49”.

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With the similarities, both in medium and subject matter, it is obvious that "Stripped Bare" was a major precedent for "Sarah Rose", which I was very concious of while painting. I even kept "Stripped Bare" propped up near my easel.

People are always interested in how I get from a blank canvas to the finished work. Although a few roommates have had the opportunity to see a painting from start to finish, it is largely a private process. Therefore I've decided to give you a guided tour via photos I took at various stages:

There you have it, start to finish.

Finally a painting!

It's been a while since I picked up the paintbrushes and got back to oil painting. I made an attempt last week on a self-portrait but didn't like how it was going so I put it aside for now, and went in a new directcion. I started the new painting today, which I'm much happier with, and here it is:

I'm painting on the same wood composite boards that I used for my horizontal nude paintings. The surface absorbs the oil in an interesting way, making an almost velvety surface.