more OBX Thanksgiving

Just some more photos from our family Thanksgiving. It rained on Friday but it waited until we were done with our Turkey Trot. I am so tired this week! I'm working on an idea for my illustration class (it's about "smell" this week) and I just finished the mountain of laundry we brought back. It's cold and rainy here today. I've been reading a lot about Andrew Wyeth, and Betsy Wyeth, his wife. He captures the feel of Chadds Ford, PA which is not too far from where I live. I'm thinking about the smell of Lancaster County and really, I don't want to do "Lancaster County Perfume" (some of you know exactly what I mean by that!). Today it's probably earthy, mossy, and faintly like a fireplace burning somewhere. I could just curl up under an afghan and take a nap!

OBX Thanksgiving 2010

We got home last evening from the Outer Banks, happy to be back in our own home, but missing everybody (it's so quiet here without the 12 additional people!!!). These photos are of all the cousins on the beach. The kids loved having a whole week to hang out and spend time together. Nothing is better. Especially for my kids... Caroline got some "sister" time and Nathaniel, some "brother" time... and they enjoyed having older and younger kids around because they both are so close in age. Two kids is just not enough!

We did hold our Turkey Trot on Friday, and I'm still sore from it!! It was over 4.5 miles which I didn't realize is longer than a 5K! We ran to Virginia and back! ;) We were actually near the Virginia line on the 4x4 area of the beach. I think that was the most fun day... all 16 of us, all ages, running/walking up the beach in our Turkey Trot t-shirts! I'll post a photo when Janelle sends one to me!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I hope that you have a very Happy Thanksgiving and eat lots of good food in celebration! I am so thankful for all of my blog friends, my family, my friends all over the world and everything I have in my life. I love this holiday because it makes me stop and think about the past year and all the good things that have happened. I also get SO excited for Christmas and I LOVE the Macy's Day Parade... so here's a little sketch to wish you a very happy holiday!
xo ~ Bethany

week 2: taste (again)

The assignment for my online illustration class was to draw five different pictures for certain "tastes" without drawing food. I was watching tv and I spotted a tie that reminded me of Good & Plenty candy so I thought "what about doing ties for each taste?". The first one has a shape that is full and abundant like a belly full of candy! The second "bitter" color reminds me of bile (I know, gross) and would be black and a sickly green. The shape is constrictive and reminds me of a bitter relationship from a long time ago. The third is "sour" and of course reminded me of citrusy yellow colors like lemons or sauerkraut. The shape is long and sharp. The fourth "salty" reminded me of sweat, heat and peanuts, which reminded me of the South. That made me think of a weathered old man and he'd probably wear a bolero tie. The colors are metallic and hard. The fifth was my choice-- "minty" and the colors were cool blues, almost white. The shape was silk and smooth, with a point at the end.

I had to do these pretty quickly since I am on vacation this week and have limited amount of drawing time. It was fun to exercise my mind with this one! See if you can think of a taste and come up with the colors and shapes that would portray that without drawing food.

week 2: taste

I found a photo of the Tsaritsyno Gates in Moscow and the architecture looked like icing, especially in the snow. I'm not sure if I will keep this as my final submission (I am on vacation and all I have is colored pencils) but I thought I'd post it anyways. Guess which "taste" this represents?

OBX

Saturday stuff

I was just gathering stuff up in my studio and I loved coming downstairs and seeing what a productive week was left behind on my tables! It feels so good to be creating again. I am a much happier person when I'm doing my art. I am also very, very blessed to have a best friend who knows how to encourage me in the right way. This week she said, "Quit trying to be what you think other's want you to be and be the person God made you to be." And that made such a difference in my self-confidence. It is incredibly hard to try to create like someone else. It is much easier to do your own thing and make that better. I have definitely found my joy again... and this is huge because it's been lost for a very long time.

Of course, when I'm happy, the red comes out... I had to paint my toenails for the beach! This is my favorite OPI color: Vodka and Caviar. It's the perfect red! Have a GREAT weekend!!!

last illlustration for week 1

The last illustration was supposed to show movement and I watch Elle chase crows in the back field all the time... this was a very quick illustration of that! I didn't think I could fit it in, but here it is. I already know I wanted it at a different angle from a little farther away, but you get the idea. I fit this in between baking granola for my trip and folding loads of laundry! Imagine what might happen if I actually had hours to devote to drawing something (?) ;)

laugh, gosh darn it!

The crazy packing and preparing for a trip has started so what do you do? You take breaks and watch hilarious clips or read nose-snorting stories, just for a little amusement in the midst of chaos!!...

Martha's Bloopers:

Read Hyperbole and a Half's hilarious dog story here! After being introduced to this blog, the kids and I go around saying, "A'm a spaghetta nadle... Ah hahve a spach ampadamant!". You have to be in the right frame of mind for this stuff.

I blame this latest trip around blogland on Alicia (who never reads this blog anyways... so it's safe to point fingers!!!!).

Have a super duper funny Friday... the weekend is almost here folks!!! :))

p.s. Amy Sedaris on Martha (love Amy!!!):

"Sight" Week 1

I photographed these illustrations and then uploaded them... they aren't quite the same as the originals but they are close. I posted them earlier but then felt that the color wasn't saturated enough. I wanted to tell a story with them but I ran out of time to really do that and I only finished 6 out of 7 of them. My favorites are the ones where I did something different with the composition and I think I like the simpler color schemes. They are more "me" anyways. I think the first one looks like a horse!! ha! I have never been able to really draw Elle but now I think I am understanding how she looks a bit more and it's been fun depicting her in different ways. I think she'll probably pop up in more of my drawings now.

I am nervous to upload these to my class website. I saw a few photographs that were awesome (also of a dog) and I feel like I'm not offering up anything that creative. But, it's been a good push for me to do this much work in one week. Now I can't stop drawing!!! :)

stocking stuffers

YOZO Craft has incredibly cute things-- paper, stationary, zakka, ribbon, fabric... you name it, all for wonderful prices! I know someone who would love to get a couple little things in their stocking this year! Thanks to Sweet Tidings for pointing me to this shop! Speaking of which, she is starting her "12 Days of Christmas" today with cute things to make! And Rubyellen is posting her ideas for Holiday wrapping on her blog! Gweneth just sent her latest "GOOP" newsletter with some of her favorite holiday gift ideas, but, I doubt Louis Vuitton luggage will be something I'll be buying this year!!! She does peruse etsy though, so I figured she deserved a shout-out for that! ;)

my name is productivity

It's only 10:30 am and I already have all 16 t-shirts silkscreened and PERFECTLY !!! I am doing a happy dance here!!! I had this cranked in my studio while I worked which seems to do incredible magic with my focus. The logo looks cool on the black & white ringer tees and the littlest ones are just adorable... I can see them running in them already! Now I just have to iron each one after they're dry and get on with my illustrations (which I'm going to try to photograph). And, oh yeah, pack my suitcase.

scanning watercolor

I've been trying to do my illustrations but my scanner doesn't pick up the watercolor washes! Does anyone know how to scan watercolors? Or do I have to take a photo? I have no idea.

a little cuteness...

Jackie Evancho's "O Holy Night" was just released and it showed up in my mailbox today! She does have a voice of an angel. The cd is short but it comes with a DVD too.

This is what I look at every day in front of my monitor...

My little bear Nori from this adorably cute shop and my little German Flade girl holding her gingerbread cookie. It could be Christmas here in my studio all year around!

more foodie stuff...

My friend at Gotta Knit! recently dove into cooking headfirst in what appears to be a triumphant attempt at French cooking! Of course I had to find out what stuffed pumpkins were really about and how this book could possibly be life-changing. According to a mass of followers, I guess this has been going on and I'm one of the last to know about it! Dorie Greenspan lives an enviable life: Paris, NYC and Connecticut and has worked with the best and inspired the best. She is doing "French Fridays with Dorie", leading others on a weekly tour of her cookbook where they upload their latest culinary achievement from that week. I know right now I don't have time to do this but I am intrigued. I mean, I cook every day so this could be a challenge I could do. Yet, I'm sitting here reading recipes and my illustration class is waiting to see my work for the week... I will chalk that up to a mind that easily wanders. Hopefully the group will be open for a little longer. I think I'll put this book on my Christmas list! ;)

sight

My first assignment for the illustration class I'm taking is about sight and we were asked to take out our cameras and capture a subject from 7 different perspectives, to base our illustrations from. I love taking my camera on my daily morning walks with Elle, who was the most available subject. Yesterday morning was a dark, storm-impending day and the colors seemed more neutral and ready for winter...

This morning we are having lots of wind, but the sun is shining brightly and moving the clouds away... letting my favorite colors-- red, orange and golds-- look so brilliant! Of course, many of the leaves are now on the ground.

So here is Elle: 1. straight on 2. from the side 3. from far away 4. from up close 5. from above 6. from below 7. moving... and a couple more: 8. another close up ... I loved the texture of her hair versus the texture of the brush behind her 9. I thought the shadows were cool! Now I need to do the drawings... or maybe watercolor... I'm not sure which yet!

I woke up feeling sort of defeated today... I found out the Yudu materials for silkscreening are no longer carried by ACMoore or Michael's and finally I found some on amazon.com but then they hadn't shipped by the time I went to bed. Last evening I went to a party at a friend's home, of all decorating items and both of my good friends here have gorgeous homes. Mine... well, I realized I am not good at decorating which really bothers me considering I'm supposed to be creative. And then going through my closet, it's a schizophrenic selection of clothes! I started feeling like a failure from every angle. I just read "Outliers" by Malcom Gladwell, all about success, and I had realized that there have been certain reasons why my career has not been that successful, which were partly out of my control, but I also realized that I could be working harder. So I've been beating myself up about that. I started working out to Tracy Anderson's Method which is challenging but in the past I've worked out hard and not seen a lot of results, and lets face it, I'm only getting older. But then last night reading "Born to Run" (which I highly recommend), it points out that age has nothing to do with it. It is JOY. Well, serendipitously, Elsita posted about taking the positive road this morning, and I realized that maybe all of this would be a lot better if I approached things in my life with joy instead of just striving, like all those runners who fail to make the finish time. It's about the journey of it all, isn't it? So pulling out my camera this morning, it reminded me of how much I love to really see things and how much delight there is in the different colors and shapes and lines of things out there in nature right now. And then to top it off, I got an email confirming that my emulsion sheets had shipped and I should receive them today, so fingers crossed, I will be able to silkscreen 16 t-shirts before the weekend comes! (as long as I don't mess any up!!!).

So... (despite my very sore body)... I am going to chose to take the positive road today (the sun just shone in my studio window as I typed that!) and add a little more joy around here. And especially try not to beat myself up anymore. Back to work! ;)

I'm in training...

Ha... really I haven't run in a very long time. BUT, when we hold this next week on Friday, I plan to run off all that turkey and pumpkin pie (this is my favorite holiday!!!). I'm silk-screening the t-shirts this week... all 16 of them (crossing my fingers that they come out okay!!!). Better get my running shoes ready...

the holidays are coming!!!

Grab a cup of cocoa and sit down to read this online magazine by Amy Powers, just full of creative Christmas ideas! I found this on Christy's wonderful blog Sweet Tidings, along with lots of other great ideas and links! Check that out too, while you're reading!

I'm working out my turkey for my Thanksgiving t-shirts today. And tomorrow I'm starting an online class "Exploring the 5 Senses" that Jamie Shelman is teaching for 5 weeks. I'll tell you more about that as I do it!

Hope you have a great week!

busy week

Thank you for all the birthday greetings!!! I appreciated each one of them so much. It was a little quiet on Thursday because of all the rain, but I had a lot of fun over the weekend... and now learning how to use this!

Today I've been busy doing my favorite kind of project-- my cousin's business card! She's an excellent writer, specializing right now in Children's literature. I changed this little illustration of the toddler I did recently for her to use. I just finished laying out the design and sent it off to her (we live 4 states apart!).

Now I need to come up with a logo for our Thanksgiving Turkey Trot! I just ordered the t-shirts to silkscreen. And I've been sneaking in vegetables where my family never suspects them after downloading this book! ;) Busy, busy, busy and it's only Monday!

"they say it's your birthday..."

Eloise born Nov. 4th & lives in the Plaza

Bethenny Frankel

"... it's my birthday too, ya!"

I love my birthday and plan to spend it doing whatever I feel like today (which is typical of Scorpios and myself anyways). I was born on my Mom's birthday (naturally) and it's always been a day of celebration all of my life! I came into the world for the party!!

Some other November 4 birthdays: Matthew McConaughey (actor), Puff Daddy (musician), Jan Apell (tennis player), Kathy Griffin (comedian), Kool Rock (rapper... see a pattern here?!), Ralph Macchio (actor), Laura Bush (former First Lady), Loretta Swit (actress), Didier Ratsiraka (president of Madagascar... just thought that was cool), Art Carney (actor: "Honeymooners"), Walter Cronkite (news anchor), Will Rogers (humorist).

Happy Birthday Mom!!!!

xo ~ Bethany