A Beautiful Weekend

I just spent a beautiful weekend at "Deer Abbey" my friend Jay's house out in Cherry Grove (Fire Island). The weather was perfect and many of my dearest friends were there with me. We ate and drank like animals and laughed and danced.

Jay discovered a new way to use mosquito coils...He has a very special relationship with the local wildlife...

Even Bingo had a great time sunning himself and exploring the dunes.

The views are spectacular from the back deck overlooking the bay as well as the front facing the ocean.

I even managed to do a few watercolors which I find terribly relaxing. This one was done on the beach facing the house...

This is our camp as seen from the front deck..

This is the Belvedere Hotel on the bay painted from the back deck...

Creativity is slowly returning

I have been in a bit of a creative slump lately, mostly because I've been consumed with my textile design work; working weekends and really not having time to think. However I am happy to think that Halloween is right around the corner (I know that may sound premature to some of you but it is my favorite time of year and I am thinking ahead). I have been planning some "odd" still lives for awhile using some of the odds and ends around my apartment such as my mannequin hands, my replica human skill, vintage doll heads and  a stuffed raven. Let's see if I actually find time to begin a painting this week... I don't have a bell jar yet but I'm sure I can find one. The squiggles in the background indicate a moody damask wallpaper.

That wierd thing hanging on the wall is a pair of vintage blinking doll eyes! I've been dying to use them for something significant.

My obsession with salt & pepper shakers continues

Now I know full well that I do not NEED any new vintage salt and pepper shakers but when I saw these gorgeous lobster claws on Etsy I simply had to have them! In fact I have been looking for the perfect set of lobster claws for years but they are usually too large, too orange, to worn out or have words and advertising on them. These however are perfection right down to their deep ruby red color! I guess finding the perfect object after years of searching is the thrill of being a collector. I have to admit that my collection of shakers makes me very happy. I look forward to putting out my pumpkin heads and ghosts at Halloween and my varied Santas at Christmas. I even have a pair of turkeys...

Of course Mr. Peanut must make an appearance....

These 2 humble red and green fellows are my everyday shakers. I bought them this year and they bring me endless joy every time I use them. The color of their caps is just the right vintage shade and they look so pretty in front of the aqua lamp.

A very nice post from the Pet Museum

Andree from the Pet Museum wrote this lovely post about my animal portraits and I thought I would share it:

THURSDAY, JULY 07, 2011

lisa zador and a magical cat

image copyright and by kindest permission of Lisa Zador
You knew it. You knew there was a reason why your cat keeps examining you with that analytical look in her eyes. Why she always lands on her feet. How she can leap up and do a triple lindy in midair after that pesky fly and never miss a step. Well, Manhattan artist Lisa Zador has painted it all for you. Here's her "Portrait of a Mathematical Cat," just one of a world full of clever creatures. You can meet them all at her perfectly named Etsy shop, Curious Portraits.
Of this particular portrait Lisa writes, "This is a portrait of Atticus, a genius among cats. Always obsessed with mathematical logic as a youngster he went on to become one of the leading cats in his field."*
Lisa herself is an artist and animal lover living and working as an illustrator / textile designer in New York for over 20 years. Originally from Philadelphia, she now shares her home in Manhattan’s West Village with her dog Bingo. Her first dog Toby was the inspiration for her portraits of dogs and cats. He became the subject of many Christmas cards over the years, which eventually led to having 2 books of animal portraits published by Stewart, Tabori and Chang in 2001: The Well Bred Dog and The Well Bred Cat.

also copyright and kindest permission of lisa zador

This is Lisa's portrait of Rosie, the unexpected Chihuahua, who came to live with Lisa and Bingo after her "mom" passed away. Though she has some health challenges and is now pretty much blind, she's still alive and kicking! Animals are great that way. Bless you, Rosie!
More on Lisa: she's nothing if not nostalgic, and you can feel her fondness for good things and days gone by in her work. "I feel that everyday objects close to our hearts have their own noble beauty just because they mean so much to us," Lisa says. "I try to bring out their unique qualities and a little of the personalities I see in their faces. Seeing them come to life on the canvas is always a magical moment for me! I work in oil on either canvas or wood panel in a traditional technique called grisaille. This just means that I begin with an under-painting using sepia and white and then build the color up through a series of subsequent glazes. I believe this technique gives the paintings a special inner glow and depth."
And it certainly does. You'll find something to love both at her Etsy shop and at her website Lisa Zador. She does a particularly fine squirrel, I'll tell you.
*He's also featured in The Well Bred Cat (available at Amazon.com), written by James Waller.
Posted by curator at 7:21 PM 

I'm a newly licensed driver!

 

Two years ago my NJ driver's license expired and by the time I discovered it, the grace period to exchange it for a NY license had expired. Thus began my 2 year struggle with the NY DMV to get a new one. They do not make it easy and in the end I had to go through the process as if I were a first time driver. I managed to procrastinate all this time  because living in the city, I don't own a car and don't need to drive from day to day.  By the end of last year however I was determined to finally start the process. First I had to download and study the 50 page Driver's Manual, then take a day off work to take the written test which believe me was not easy. I passed that and received my Permit. Then I had to take another day off work to attend a mandatory 5 hour class in driving safety. I finally did that last month. Then you can schedule your road test which is complicated when you don't own car because they don't provide a vehicle. None of my friends here in the city have a car and I can't rent one without a license! In the end I went through a driving school out in Brooklyn who provided a car and threw in an hour lesson before the test. After an hour of hair-raising driving around downtown Brooklyn with trucks double parked and bicycles whizzing past from every direction, struggling to do a 3 point turn correctly and parallel park over and over again I finally managed to take the road test which literally lasted 5 minutes. I am so relieved to say that I passed with flying colors and finally have a valid driver's license again. (Well, I will as soon as the official one arrives in the mail). I will never take it for granted again!

A lovely Birthday Celebration

Friday was my birthday and thanks to my dear friends I had a wonderful day. Kristina hosted it at her apartment She and Areta cooked a delicious dinner with homemade berry tartes and vanilla ice cream for dessert! I was surrounded by my dearest friends (and Bingo of course), I got this lovely book of 1960's illustrations, a bright red replica of a WWII first aid kit which will look beautiful in my pistachio colored kitchen, and a fantastic book of demented children's stories illustrated by Edward Gorey. All in all a perfect birthday!

New Baby Squirrel

Each year I eagerly wait for the new baby squirrels to finally come out of their nests. Yesterday I was so thrilled to see one sitting right under his Mother's arms on my windowsill! Today when I left peanuts out I was able to snap this photo. I had to shoot them through the screen because the baby is still so skittish but as you can see the Mother has no problems peering in the window to get my attention! Happy Spring!

Bunnies on the Brain

It must just be this Eastery time of year but I can't stop thinking about rabbits. I was originally going to paint 2 separate rabbit portraits, I do so like to do things in pairs, but I decided to take a risk and put them together in one. What a surprise it has been to me to see their mysterious relationship  spring up before my eyes. I admit that I am not privy to their personal goings-on, but I continue to be intrigued by it.

 I've finished another painting recently that goes along with that Spring feeling. It is a portrait of a very gentlemanly goose. It was done as a silly tribute to a very dear friend of mine who recently passed away and who we  jokingly called Goosey. We always teased him because we thought his head was gigantic and perched upon a very spindly neck. It was all in good fun and after 30 years he still signed his e-mails with a "honk, honk". His head really wasn't enormous at all, it was really just his big, puffy hair that was all the rage in the late 70's!  The odd thing is that this portrait actually resembles him. My Sister pointed it out. It is something about the playfulness of his eyes I think. Well, wherever he is I hope he is chuckling over it. I've grown very attached to this goose portrait and I feel strangely close to my friend when I look at it.

The Kitchen Tour

Part of my Apartment Therapy photo shoot was for their Kitchen Tour section which came out today. Since they hadn't planned to do a separate kitchen tour I wasn't prepared to cook anything so we pretended that I was mixing a batch of pistachio biscotti!  (My favorites) It was great fun. I am very fortunate to have an eat-in kitchen which is rare in Manhattan and have spent many happy hours in there laughing and eating with my friends. One of the best parts of living in the West Village is that it is so centrally located making it easy for friends to come by. I have a lot of my vintage collectibles in there including vintage tea tins and salt and pepper shakers, not to mention vintage appliances some of which were my Mom's. I also hang all my needlepoints in the kitchen because they have an old fashioned feel about them. I think I get my love of cross stitch from my Ukrainian ancestors and I thought I should mention that as the tour emphasizes the Italian side of the family. That is only because I grew up with them and they became much more of an influence. However I look so much like my Father and the Zadors that there is no mistaking where I come from!  Be sure to click on the Slide Show button to see the whole thing.

My Father always believed in having a well-stocked liquor cabinet; that way you are always ready to be hospitable when your friends stop by! He also passed on to me his love of vermouth which ironically is italian!

I bought this beautiful cupboard at a flea market down near Canal St over 15 years ago. It was in such great shape I didn't even have to paint it! The corner cabinet was being thrown out by an upstairs neighbor and even though it was mustard yellow and red at the time I could see it's potential. It is where the Franciscan china that my Parents bought for me over the years is proudly displayed.

 

 

Floor Plan of Apartment

Since several of you commented on the Apartment Therapy post that you would like to see a floor plan I've drawn one up. I haven't measured the rooms exactly but I think the proportions are pretty accurate. The bedrooms are tiny, about 6 x 10. A bed just fits lenghthwise across the width of the room with literally no room to spare! I hope this helps! Thanks to everyone for their very kind comments.

Thanks to all the Bloggers out there...

I thought I would take this opportunity to thank those of you who have written such lovely things about me and Curious Portraits, my Etsy shop in their blog. It's been about 9 months since I first opened it (only 7 since I actually began to list things) and I have learned so much in that time especially about the Etsy community and how supportive everyone is. Everyone listed here has their own Etsy shop as well as a terrific blog so I encourage you to check them out:

Hopefully there will be more to come!

Dove Portrait in Needlepoint

I was away visiting my sister this weekend and was able to finish a needlepoint I have been working on for nearly a year. It is one of two patterns I designed after a a pair of paintings of mourning doves I had done. I've shown the second one is in progress because I always like to see how other's begin their projects! I just love charting out the crosstitch patterns on graph paper. It is tedious work but very satisfying when it is finished.

Red Dove Needlepoint in Progress

 

Original Dove Painting

An Unexpected Chihuahua

This is Rosie, the beloved pet of my neighbor and friend Christine Rodin who passed away just before Christmas. I took Rosie in temporarily because I have known her all my life. After 3 months however, she has become part of our household. My roommate Cajsa and I have fallen in love with her. Initially I was afraid to keep her because she is 15 and I couldn't face losing another dog especially when my dog Bingo is already 10 and I'll have to be facing that with him in the next few years. But she has just warmed our hearts and just when we were accepting that she is ours we found out that she has kidney disease and so is spending her last few weeks with us getting tons of love and treats. Her Aunt Linda (Christine's sister) comes to visit her regularly so she gets that extra special attention. It just goes to show you how life sometimes takes charge and leads us to our destinies. I truly believe Rosie was meant to come here for her final months even though it wasn't planned that way. Bingo has accepted here being here and I actually think they have been good company for one another. Anyway she is a special little dog and I'm glad we got to know her.

Here is one of Bingo just so he doesn't feel left out....

Mr. Peanut Portrait Finished

I have just finished the first Mr. Peanut portrait and I can't wait to begin the second. I decided to do it in color (as opposed to just sepia tones which I was considering) but I kept it on the dark side to give it an aged look. I think it captures the essence of the Mr. Peanut man I remember as a child when I didn't realize that it was actually a human in a costume.

Mr Peanut portrait 1
Mr Peanut portrait 1

Etsy Photo Shoot for Inc. Magazine

Yesterday I headed up to Gary's Loft for the Inc. Magazine photo shoot. They had invited NY based Etsians to participate in an article they are writing about Etsy and I thought it would be fun. The  penthouse space was beautiful and they let me take a few photos of all the yummy vintage items they had there. I'll let you know when the article comes out!

Some Still Lives

I am taking a little break from the Mr. Peanut paintings and working on something new. I have lots of vintage knickknacks around my apartment that I've collected over the years and I thought it would be nice to have some of them in a series of paintings. One of my favorite collections is my wind up alarm clocks from the 40's & 50's. I began with my first Westclox Big Ben that I bought on Ebay because it was just like the one my Parents had in the bedroom of our house in Wildwood, NJ where we spent our summers. I just love falling asleep to the rhythmic, tinny ticking of that clock that brings me straight back to a very happy time in my childhood. After that I added a gorgeous cream and tan Baby Ben and a beautiful Moonbeam which doesn't tick but glows when the alarm goes off.  These are the subject of the first painting that I just finished.

I also have several General Electric clock radios from the 50's and 60's that I love, 2 of which belonged to my Parents as well. These are the subject of 2 more paintings (sketches below) both shown with a little scottie dog pull toy I found in a flea market. I even threw in a few of the vintage desk accessories that I have; a beautiful old inkwell with a dip pen that was in a cabinet in our basement, a little silver desk calendar that you flip every day to show the date and another of my alarm clocks.  I decided to put all these on a vintage red tablecloth against the pistachio green wall of my kitchen. I think they look very cheery and I can't wait to turn these sketches into paintings!


Mr. Peanut

Due to a series of unfortunate events this is the first post for the new year. 2011 began for me with an abscess tooth which ultimately had to be pulled. Surprisingly this was NOT the tooth that broke the week before Christmas so I had 2 to take care of on opposite sides of my mouth. For this reason I ended up taking a break from my artwork for a few weeks but now that I'm feeling better my creativity is returning. I am beginning the year with a pair of portraits that may be the most curious I've done so far. They are portraits of one of my favorite subjects: Mr. Peanut. My long fascination with him began when I was a little girl and my Father took my Sister and Me to Atlantic City for the day. It was a big event for us and a sort of family tradition as he had also taken my Brother when he was a kid. This was back in the early 1960's when Atlantic City was a real amusement park like Coney Island. I remember that  at Steel Pier we went down under the water in the Diving Bell, posed for old fashioned photos as old west sheriffs with my Father behind bars as the prisoner and watched a woman dive off the pier on a horse. It was a magical day but the most memorable part was meeting Mr. Peanut for the first time. I admit to being a bit terrified of him back then. You have to imaging being a 5 or 6 year old child seeing this gigantic peanut with dark, un-seeing eyes lumbering toward you on spindly black legs. He was silently menacing with a sort of black screen over the monacle and eye hole. In those days the Mr. Peanut people didn't talk to you, they just bobbed their giant peanut bodies up and down in a gesture of greeting. Since then I have have not only come to terms with my fear but actually embraced Mr. Peanut as a nostalgic representative of my childhood. I have a Mr. Peanut mechanical pencil that I love drawing with (except that I cannot find lead to fit it any more), I have a set of Mr. Peanut salt and pepper shakers and even bought a silver ashtray in a curio shop in Amsterdam. The shop owner had originally purchased it in Brooklyn and brought it back to Amsterdam where I bought it and brought it right back to New York!

As you can see he has been on my mind for a number of years but I was never sure how I wanted to portray him. For this pair of portraits I felt it was important to portray the Mr. Peanut that I best remember which is as the actual costume.  There have been several versions over the years but after much research I've found the type that I believe was used in the early 1960's.  I thought it would also be interesting to put a skyline of Atlantic City in it's hey day in the background and some striped bunting to lighten it up and make him seem less frightening. I've only gotten the sepia underpainting on the first portrait finished so far and I like it so much I am considering not putting in color at all. We'll see..