giveaway winner

Happy Friday everyone! Karina is the winner of the print giveaway. Congratulations!

Freak Flag Fly 03.22.13

Yes, I know, I know. I missed last week! I actually was painting this one last Friday and couldn't get it to where I wanted it to be so I saved it for today. 

It was quite wonderful that I didn't post it last week as this morning I bumped in to two of my favorite ladies in my neighborhood, one of whom directly inspired the Freak Flag posts. Emily is a fire cracker, inspiring everyone she meets to be better, bolder and brassier. I am a huge fan of hers. 

This morning she, and my dear friend Eileen, both had pink earrings on. Not the soft demur baby pink, but neon 80's pink that makes you giggle and remember the pink lipstick and batwing top you wore at 16. I said "I think I have to do a pink freak flag painting today". When I got home I remembered that I had this one to use. Perfect!

Just a reminder: That's exactly what Freak Flag Fridays are all about. I want to celebrate the beauty, mystery, wildness, weirdness and oddity in all of us. 

6 year old in the house

My little boy turned six this past week. After a month of family sickness (strep, flu) we were all (almost) healthy and able to celebrate with a small party and  cupcakes at school. When my parents came for the following weekend we went for a warm wander through the conservatory in Garfield Park. It was a welcome warming of the bones during a brutally cold March.

The new 6 year old took off in great joy through the green moss and winding paths shouting "we're in the jungle, we're in the jungle". I only wish we were. This March has been particularly cold and windy. I don't even remember the month of his birth in 2007 being quite so awful. I love reading blogs in Australia, like Che and Fidel, or my two sister's blogs in the UK - Playdohandpoo and spooninginthekitchen, as it reminds me of other seasons and temperatures!

My in-laws in Mississippi have seen daffodils come and go already, and we are still waiting for their green heads to break through the earth here. What signs of spring have you seen near you?

These are part of a portrait a week series on Che and Fidel.

Freak flag #3

“I used to think I was the strangest person in the world but then I thought there are so many people in the world, there must be someone just like me who feels bizarre and flawed in the same ways I do. I would imagine her, and imagine that she must be out there thinking of me too. Well, I hope that if you are out there and read this and know that, yes, it’s true I’m here, and I’m just as strange as you.”  - Frida Kahlo

I have come across this quote from Frida Kahlo three times in the past two weeks. It must have been revived recently and I can understand why. It speaks to all of us who for one reason or another have at some time (or most of the time) in our lives felt odd, an outsider, bizarre, or different. I know that's most of us, and instead of fighting what makes us 'different' - embrace it! 

That's exactly what Freak Flag Fridays are all about. I want to celebrate the beauty, mystery, wildness, weirdness and oddity in all of us. 

This collage will be  is available as an 8"x10" print on my etsy shop soon.

Please leave a comment or follow my blog and you'll be entered to win a print of this weeks collage. 

Have a great weekend.

a photo a week

Action shots. Well, these are aren't all that action-filled, but for sick kids climbing on a sofa and jumping on a trampoline constitute action. I love M's tongue sticking out. It's her cheeky sweet self.

This is a funny one of R as he's coming down from a big bounce and he has some serious trampolining concentration on his face. RIght now he's refusing to have his hair cut. I have been trying all sorts of bribery just to get a tiny trim, but he's having none of it and can smell a bribe from a mile off.

This post is linked to Che and Fidel's lovely project 52. A Portrait of my kids once a week for a year.

light, drawing, hands

We've all been sick this week and finding slow, peaceful activities has been key. We made a light table for the first time and we were all entranced. I didn't know but this same box with lights can be used for starting seedlings as it becomes slightly warm. My avid gardener of a sister in law passed on this tid bit.

R's beautiful gum ball machine drawing lying on the warm radiator in the afternoon light.

My sketch for an illustration of Woodie Guthrie's song containing the lyrics "Tom cat, Mama cat".

R's hands working those fine motor skills. He hummed and sang to himself as he worked, calm and happy.

M's sweet hands doing what she loves best right now - drawing.

what's going on

This is my desk right now. I'm working on a number of illustrations that I'll show you over the next weeks. I'd like to share my work on here as well as my kids messy universe.

BRF day boy

I was so proud of my soon to be six year old when he told me he wanted to draw each invitation to his birthday party, and draw each one he did. The front was the same on all of them. He wrote BRF DAY BOY, but inside was a special drawing designed with each friend in mind. I was planning on taking photos of all of them but he sealed them before I had a chance. I found the least sealed and snuck a couple photos! I love how he added the smily face and present to the BRF. Now I'm planning how to make the requested green ninja birthday cake.