Weeds...Part Duex

Mini Me wanted to go out into the weeds and shoot. But, I was too grossed out by the ickyness of these foxtails. Johnson and bermuda is one thing, but FOXTAILS! No way.
So Mini Me took Art Girl into the lot next door and pretended they were in a field of wheat. What were they thinking! There most definitely were scorpions and maybe even a snake!
Mini Me did an okay job shooting Art Girl but look at what Art Girl did.
Remember, Art Girl is only nine.
Drama, cool lighting, perfect fun angles, what talent.
She even followed the number one rule in photographing people, make 'em laugh.
Love it! So, look around you and see if there are any dangerous weedy lots you can shoot in. You might just come up with something like these.

Mad Hatter Tea Party

My little B turned 7 years old! What's up with that? Cut that out right now! Anyway, I threw her a Mad Hatter tea party for her birthday. She loved it.
Friends got to dress up like their favorite Alice in Wonderland character. I think she is Alice, or the Caterpillar. I can't tell. Look at her cheesy smile. How cute!
Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum came and sang some songs and danced in these hilarious costumes. These two are naturally funny and they were like the comedy act running around the party and causing mayhem. Thanks, Rachel and A.J.!
More older kids dressed as characters creating mayhem. "Off with her head!" Thanks, Lilly.
My own daughter Peeka, dressed as the Mad Hatter. She was the best at creating mayhem. When she walked into the room she demanded everyone applause. It was hilarious!
A.J., Mini Me, and Rachel...so funny. We all had a good time. Ray Jay (as I like to call them) couldn't believe I made such good pizza. The food was good...mmm.
Rachel charming the little one. Fifi doesn't really like anyone so Ray was really proud of herself when Fifi cozied up to her.
Amanda eating cake. I love her super blond hair.
I had to dig up some old pre- marriage tea cups. *No china was harmed during this activity.*
I actually forgot to frost the cake. Kids were showing up and I panicked. Luckily for me I have a sharp mind (laughing hysterically) and threw this wobbly cake together at the last minute. We had to sacrifice a deck of cards for this but I think it was worth it. We also made cake pops but we ate them before any pictures were taken.
Ben did not want to leave. I want to kidnap him. I have been asking him for years and he always says, "no". I never got a blond boy, or a blond anything. Anyway, he almost said, "yes"!

B drinking chocolate milk.
Cake. Yum.
Well, here you have a wonderful Mad Hatter Tea Party. The king and queen had a wonderful time.

OPA in AZ

The National Oil Painters of America has a yearly members only competition. Then they exhibit this competition at an art gallery. This year it is in SCOTTSDALE at the Legacy Gallery on Main and Scottsdale Road! Woo Hoo!!! I have already been twice. The show runs until May 24th so hurry up and go see it.
This one won some award but I forgot what it was. All of the art is for sale. This one is the most expensive one that sold. It was $4000. For a 24x36 I think it is a fair market price. But most of the sold paintings were under $1500. This recession is really hitting artists hard.

This one is painted by my kids favorite dude, Dan Gerhartz. We go and meet him every year at his spring show. This is a 24x36 and he wants $13,000.
Michael Mao. Very brushy up close. Beautiful. I'm thinking of doing a series of white paintings.
This is a good example of a bad photo. This painting in person just glows.
I love realism. The name of this one is Plain and Peanut M and M's. How cute.
Robert Coombs.
I really want to paint a cow. I think they are so cute.
Again, way better in person. It really inspires me. I think I'll paint one like this of one of my girls in our woods in Iowa. Does anyway have a long satin dress they want to loan me? I won't ruin it with mud and branches- honest.
I love peonies.
$20,000. For reals? I mean, this is a REALLY beautiful painting and all but $20,000?

This one is probably my favorite painting of the show. I am so going to paint this. Can you just see Married Girl in her wedding dress holding her bouquet?

Well, these are some of the highlights of the show. But there is a lot more to see at the Legacy Gallery. Go. Now. If you can't get there in time, or if you have no gas in your car, or you don't want to get out of your pajamas, you can click on this link and look online. Have fun!

I Got This Idea...

I was cruising through the internet, looking for cool portrait painters and I came across this guy. His name is Phillip deLaszlo. He replaced John Singer Sargent as the portrait painter to the rich and famous. This beautiful painting caught my eye and I wanted to paint it real bad. But I didn't have a bride to paint. Then, the very next day, I received a wedding invitation in the mail. It was fate I tell you...FATE. Then, I ran into the girl's mother at a volleyball game. More fate!
Here's the conversation,

me: Hello mother of the bride, can I paint a portrait of your daughter for a wedding present?

Mother : Uh..What? Are you kidding me? Heck yes!

me: I know your daughter is away at school, but will she be in town soon?

Mother: Yes, she will be in town this weekend.

me: can I shoot her this Saturday?

Mother: Actually, meet us at the bridal salon where she will be trying on her dress and veil.

me: Oh my gosh, that is so perfect!

(or something like that)

Totally perfect timing. Totally perfect model. Beautiful family. Lucky me.
I'm sorry for the blurry photos but I was too tired and lazy to go get my tripod. Her eyelashes are actually longer than this but I was so jealous of them I made them shorter. Not really. Shorter looked a little softer.
Oh, I wish I took a better photo. Her hands really look real. I even painted little blue veins and everything.
Her veil was so much fun. I seriously giggled when I was painting it. My friend is so sweet, she has wanted a painting from me for so long and I haven't done it. I am really blessed that this came out so well and she was so happy. Oh, and the bride was pretty happy, too.
I even painted the frame. I have never painted a frame before, it was a good experience. Okay, no it wasn't, it was a nightmare. Let's just say that I learned how not to do it. I even learned how to use paint stripper.

Pay no attention to my fingers, I was in a hurry.

Anyway, all in all, I had a really good time. They displayed the painting at the reception and a lot of people were really impressed. That made my year!

p.s. If you read this post, please leave a compliment, I mean comment!