The Art Studio

When P was around two years old I wanted to get her a canvas to paint.  The work of small children is so ....real? I can't think of an all encompassing word to describe it.  I had the luxury of focusing on just P when it was just us two. I loved going to Create Studio and watch her paint. I could study the thoughts behind her process. Then P turned 3, then 4, then I had G.  My focus became divided. They are growing fast. They're now 6 and 2! That was it! I couldn't let another day go by and not capture their art properly.  It was time to Carpe Diem!

Summer arrived. Goal #1: buy a large canvas and let the girls "Jackson Pollock" it.  June came and went. Other goals got done. July came and went. We were crazy sick for three weeks. It's now August and the girls go back to school in two weeks. Carpe Diem! 

Two days ago I finally bought a 36x48" canvas. Yesterday I bought acrylics and supplies at Dick Blick in Pasadena while Dave and I were on a date night. This morning I tarped up part of the garage to protect the walls and create an "art studio" where the girls could freely paint.  The process was pretty spectacular but exhausting.  It was controlled chaos to let a 6 and 2 year old go to town with paint. 

We will definitely have more "studio days" ahead of us. It was a blast. However, I will never forget that the day I "Carpe Diem" was the very same day we lost "O Captain My Captain".  The day will always be marked in my heart. The final product is pretty impressive, if I do say so myself. It will remind me to always Carpe Diem with my girls and our dreams. 

The process went like this:

It took me a good chunk of the morning to clean up, clear out and tarp a space in the garage. By the time I was done the girls were hungry so we ate before painting. 

Mixing. I bought primary colors with black and white so they could create even more colors. The mixing began but it took a lot of explaining and me constantly say "Wait! Wait! Not yet!" But color creation is part of the education.

P got the first brush stroke.

G joined in pretty quickly.  My biggest challenge was keeping my mouth shut and letting them do what they thought looked best.  I wanted to art direct BADLY.  On the flip side, allowing them to create but also keep in check that there are limits to what we can paint was a challenge. Or, to be more exact, there's a limit to how much paint a canvas can take. 

It was special watching them be "in it", focused, driven, creative. 

Then P got her Jackson Pollock on!

It got kind of aggressive and fun. We had music playing. Foo Fighters and Red Hot Chili Peppers were setting the tone at this point. 

The canvas was moved to the floor. Big drips were ON! Without supervision, all of the containers would have been completely used up!  Walking that fine line of freedom with supervision is hard and exhausting.  

The Jackson Pollock technique didn't go too far because P would drip and splatter and G would brush it together.  Then P gave up and joined in the smearing. At this point I'm thinking, this is not going up on our walls. I had to step in finally and art direct...a little.  I took a very wide brush and brushed in one direction over the canvas. P took over from there. She continued brushing top to bottom. Then she took a wooden dowel and pushed all the paint to the middle of the canvas, creating a mound while uncovering some of the colors beneath. Next she ran the brush horizontal through the mound of paint and the project was finished. I did have to say "You're done! Don't touch it anymore!" I knew from the beginning I'd have to use my editorial eye to know when to walk away.  

The painting has great texture.   It's going to go up in our bedroom. I also have plans to glam up our boudoir!  G is now big enough to raise the bed back up off the ground. 

Later, P was staring up at the sky. I asked her what she was looking at as I looked up myself and saw Altocumulus clouds, the kind that have a repetitive pattern across the sky. P said "I"m looking at brush strokes". She is seeing the world in a different way. My project was a success. That's all I ask for; opening up the mind and changing a perspective. 

We're so hip...?

I just read this article on Remodelista and it made me feel like we're ahead of the hip curve.  There's a whole back story to our fireplace. You can read about right here.  I was going to have it redone soon but none of us here at home are ready to let go of our art just yet.  P loves to tell people when they come over that she's allowed to draw on our wall and in fact they can do it to.  But no one dares....

The art work is actually not complete.  My idea is missing one major element. After reading the article I think I'll have P finish what we started. The finishing touch involves her using a can of black spray paint.  I won't tell Dave the plan. I'll let him come home to it finished. He might have a heart attack if he knows what's in store!  

Wall Art

Dave love Disney. I love order. P is learning to put things back where they belong but needs a lot of reminders.  This just might be the most useful and creative print for our house.  I found it on Pinterest. It's by a young girl in the Philippines. Disney needs to hire her.

Etsy Art

I've been looking on Etsy for art lately.  I wanted to find an illustration or graphic design that was about sisters. Because Dave is a photographer we mostly have photographs up on our walls. I want to balance it out with illustrations.

 I didn't find what I was looking for but found a few other shops I really loved.  P seemed to like them to. It's interesting what she's drawn to as far as art goes.  She liked the shops I marked but preferred other pieces. Here's a few of my favorite finds:

Yumalum

I'd love this for our bedroom. It would be more of a Dave and me art piece.

Dazeychic: "Once Upon a Time"

I love it's sweetness.  There's another one of two sisters that's pretty sweet to.

Judy Kaufmann : "Frieda"

This wasn't my favorite piece but it was P's.  I loved alot of what she did. The "I love My City" and "Circus" prints were my faves.

Corid "Home is With You"

I liked several of her pieces, but the look on the little girl's face and what this one said really melted my heart.

Parada Creations "Zodiac Signs"

My favorite at this shop was the Zodiac Signs but she also has great inspirational quotes and great graphics of each state. 

Vivian Maier

 Vivian Maier was a nanny in the 1950's.  She was also a brilliant photographer but no one ever knew it.  No one ever knew she had this amazing talent.  When I learned of her story it really struck me. I guess it was inspiring because here is this woman whose entire life was taking care of children. What she did to make a living had no negative impact on her eye. I love these stories where it's obvious that talent is something your born with, not learned.   


Maier's work was discovered in 2007. There are over 100,000 negatives. Her point of view on life is quite fantastic. Some of the images capture children and domestic life while others are brilliant captures of people in interesting urban settings.  More of her images and story can be seen here.  Having a photographer for a husband I don't really like hanging other people's work on our walls but I must say, this is one photographer whose work I would love to have. 

image via VivianMaier.com

Dear Colleen Prints

After getting P's print for her room I've been searching a bit more than usual on Etsy and other blogs for great prints.  I'm loving this one by Dear Colleen; and so is Dave. Right now he's the only one who has the skills. Trying to figure out where it would go.  I also love her tennis print but it would mean I'm an awful wife so I'm gonna have to pass on that particular one.

Via DesignMom

New Art for P

I've made a few little changes to P's room but I've struggled to photograph them properly. No matter what time of day, or lens I use it continues to look blah.  Thank God I don't make a living as an architectural photographer.  

P is phasing out of being a baby/toddler and into being a little girl. I felt the art work in her room should reflect this.  The entry to P's room use to look like this 

and now it looks like the picture at the top.  I got her the print from here. It's in French and says "Si tu savais combien je t'aime, tu t'évanouirais". Translation: "if you knew how much I love you, you'd faint". I couldn't express my love for her any better!

I love that the print has a "little girl" feel with the pink balloon and yet I can see this piece transitioning into her decor as a teen.  Part of growing up is having a print properly framed as oppose to just hanging up a piece of paper so I got it properly framed.  Now, I'm wishing I would have gotten the more expensive non-glare glass. Then again if the glass breaks with a flying doll, car or ball I won't have a heart attack because it wasn't so expensive.  Yeah! Wise choice for me.

I also changed her magnet strip which use to hold her fun magnetic dolls for a set of hooks. The girl's not got bags and backpacks and all sorts of items to hang up. If we had more disposable income I would have chosen this set from Anthropology, but they are $20 a piece.

I know in a few years this room will go through another change and these might be too childish.  So I opted for a strip with several hooks from Lowes for $10. Not as cool but truthfully it still looks good, goes with the vibe, does the job and I feel I made the wiser choice.  Of course as I see these hooks again I'm still tempted to get them for another area of her room....and then again I'm proud of myself for making wiser financial choices these days.   

My Man's Large Prints

Saturday mornings have become my "mama alone time".  Dave has P for the morning and I get 3-4 hours to myself.  As I was hanging out in our bedroom with nothing but quiet and my own thoughts I realized  we have very blank walls. I need some large art.  Lucky for me I don't have to go very far or spend anything at all.  Dave has about 15 large print photographs (20x40) all custom framed from a photo show he had a few years back.  Most of the photos are from our trips to India and a few from a work trip to Malaysia.  I hung up one of my favorites. It's perfect.  It reminds me of the adventures we've had and how those experiences bonded us right from the start.  

When Dave came home and saw one of his pieces up on our wall he was beaming with pride.  I should have done this a long time ago. I need to go through his stash for more of my favorites before he starts selling them on etsy.  Although I want to keep these to myself, I know I should at least share his website. You can find it here.