Painting for Friend

I finished this painting of my friends' baby last spring.  I love her yellow dress against the purple rocks.  I had no idea how difficult this one would be, but I think it turned out pretty well in the end!

Painting in Progress

I am currently working on this painting.  It's from a pair of shoes I purchased on impulse from Ma Petite Shoe in Hampden a few years ago.  I love the little metal touches on these shoes and have always liked that they're both leather and suede.  I like that the angle of this one is a little different.  Some people are confused by this shoe and I think that's interesting.

New Painting Finished

Painting class started up again last month and I am working on another shoe series.  These will be 8"x10".  I finished this one last night.  I love painting these Fluevogs.  The red trim really looks great against the blue shoes.  I really love painting the inside of shoes as well. 

2012 Albums

We're a little over halfway through 2012 and it's been a great year for new releases! Here's a list of albums bought by our household this year.

Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music

We just bought this, and haven't given it a heavy listen, but so far, it's really good. He used to work with Outkast. The language is a little strong, but that doesn't bother me. Just a heads up in case that bothers you.

Walkmen - Heaven

It still confounds me this band is not more popular. They have been recording consistently great albums for over a decade. This is one of their better efforts. A nice Saturday afternoon album.

The Men - Open Your Heart

A nice rock album. I love strong guitar music!

Santigold - Master of My Make Believe

This sophomore effort from Santigold isn't as pop sounding as her first, but it's still a great album. Great for summer afternoons.

Leonard Cohen - Old Ideas

Listening to Leonard Cohen always makes me want to watch Natural Born Killers, but I'm afraid it will look too dated now (like 12 Monkeys). Another great album from a great artist.

Sleigh Bells - Reign of Terror

No band out there sounds quite like Sleigh Bells.

Jack White - Blunderbuss

I was not a big White Stripes fan. In fact, I think Meg White is the worst drummer ever. I was skeptical of this album, but when my husband brought it home, we couldn't stop listening to it. Maybe he was meant to be a solo artist.

Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do

I don't know why her titles have to be so long, but who cares when she keeps recording albums this good. I became slightly addicted to the song "Hot Knife" and listened to it about 15 times one day.

Dr. John - Locked Down

The most surprising album of the year thus far is this one from Dr. John. I cannot say I was ever a big fan of his music, but always liked his interesting voice. This was a collaboration with Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, and it's great. Give it a chance.

Alabama Shakes - Boys and Girls

Simply the perfect summer album.

Cloud Nothings - Attack on Memory

My favorite album of the year so far. I don't think another is going to be able to top it. We had to hide it downstairs so we didn't totally destroy it. They're great live too.

Slacker

I have been a blog post slacker recently (as in for the past year and a half). Sorry about that, readers! I'm finally finished with my crazy spring race schedule and am gearing up for another long summer of marathon training. This means that all of my fun baking and cooking time has been reduced! I'm trying to find my motivation to post here more regularly.

Racing Progress

Well, I am mid "I went crazy signing up for races this spring", and so far, have been fairing just okay. I decided this was the year I tried to get a little faster. I am a little faster, but not quite where I want to be. I'm trying for a 2:15:00 half marathon (still with the penguins, but that's okay). I missed it the first try by 10 minutes. I did run a great 10 mile race over the weekend, clocking in at 1:48, and I have two more tries.

Until then, I shall keep running!

Running in cute clothes helps.

Shoe Paintings Complete!

I completed the paintings for the "A Walk in My Shoes" exhibit last week. I think they came out looking pretty great. I'm keeping the "High School Shoes" and pricing the rest to sell. I already posted the first two, and here are the rest.

Birthday Shoe


London Shoe

High School Shoe

Half Marathon Shoe

All Together Now

Update: "Walk In My Shoes" Paintings

I finished two of the paintings for the "Walk In My Shoes" exhibit last night. I also got the good news that one or both of them will be featured in the marketing materials for the exhibit! I'm so excited! I decided to title them to reflect why the shoes are special to me.

Chicago Shoes


Wedding Shoes

New Painting Series

I'm working on a six painting series for the "Walk in My Shoes" exhibit at the Columbia Art Center. It runs mid-late April. I started them last night, and even though I've only worked on them once, I think they're looking okay so far.

I chose 3 belted shoes and 3 shoes with laces for the paintings. I photographed them just as they were in my closet, and didn't do any re-arranging of anything.

I started the first 3 last night, and should have the second set started next week.

2012 - The Year of Racing

It appears as though I caught a serious racing bug in 2011. This year, I'm going to strive for the following:

Two 5K
One 10K
One 10 miler
Three 1/2 Marathons (2 in one week!)
One marathon

There might be another one mixed in there somewhere. We'll see!