{the blog}

Janet Woodward Hill :: "oil sketches"

I used to paint... but somehow life and work got in the way.  When I come across something like this (below) I wonder why I don't take time to get out my paints anymore.  Perhaps I'm burnt out - maxed out in the creative department daily... so much so that I can't find time for a little "me design".  When I found this artist I couldn't get enough... her simple little paintings brought such joy. 

This artist is Janet Woodward-Hill and she lives in Stratford, Ontario.  It's delightful to see a broad spectrum of work... and I love her use of color.  She describes her work in this way:

I call these paintings my oil sketches because they are quick impressions of interiors, table settings and other household objects.

Her blog: The Evening Picture

Her ETSY shop: Janet Hill Studio {empty, but maybe she's painting now}

[Velvet Peacock Chair, Janet Woodward-Hill, sold]

[The Blue Toaster, Janet Woodward-Hill, sold]

[The Daisy Sink, Janet Woodward-Hill, sold]

[Pink Satin Shoes, Janet Woodward-Hill, sold]

[Veronica, Janet Woodward-Hill, sold]

[Sarah with Fan, Janet Woodward-Hill, sold]

I found Janet Hill via Absolutely Beautiful Things, thanks Anna!

KAAS GLASSWORKS

Where pray-tell have I been? 

Do you ever get mad at yourself when you discover something that you think you should have discovered long-ago?  I like to be top-of-my-game... however this little gem popped out at me off the pages of Country Living (which I have to agree with Decorno about this one - I'd rather be caught picking up W at the airport, but sometimes I just can't resist) over the weekend.  I saw the plates on the wall and thought "John Derian".  But no!  I was all wrong.  The resource pages say: KAAS Glassworks.  I lived in Greenwich Village during my college internship - and give the "intern" status I thought I had covered every sqauare inch of Manhattan.  Low and behold I was living about 7 blocks from Kaas Glassworks in the West Village... how did I miss this little gem:

 

Anyone been in this shop? It's at 117 Perry Street.  I think I'll check it out next time I hit up the big city!

walton scan & ralph lauren

 

[ elle decor May 08, photographer: William Waldron, designer: Eric Hughes ]

As promised the scan (above) from Elle Decor of Walton Ford's Albatross Painting. I love it against the brick.

In other weekend reading I became completely engrossed in Habitually Chic's post on Ralph Lauren.  She picked these up off the server at work, and thinks they are from British House & Garden.

Everything in these photos is classic Ralph Lauren and simply 'classic' in every way.  I don't see that house above dating itself over time.  Coolie lampshades, classic brass fixtures and hardware, antiques, crisp linens... I think it's beautiful. 

Did you notice the Cremone Bolts on the french doors in the last photo above?  Delightful!

Wanna see more...

Gruppo Romi Cremone, 2nd image: from this blog]   

[1st image:

Using Cremone Bolts in an upcoming project and cannot wait to see how they turn out!

Walton Ford :: a studio tour

Bitter Gulfs a 20' wide watercolor by Walton Ford

Last night my Friday-night-magazines-in-bed routine revealed something amazing!  I had flipped thru my May issue of Elle Decor, but last night was my second-round visit where I actually read and study the details. 

The article titled "Dealer's Choice" (on pg 176 for any fellow Elle Decor subscribers) featured a loft designed by Eric Hughes (photographed by William Waldron) and in the shot of the media room there was a huge painting [I'm at home and don't have a scanner... but I will scan for you on Monday]... at first glance I though "Audubon?", but then I looked closer and thought "no... not Audubon, what is this?". I read the caption at the bottom of the page and then grabbed my laptop to google this Walton Ford guy.  What I found made my heart skip a beat.  Where have I been?

After reading, reading, and reading some more I found his book {Panacha Tantra} on the Taschen Press website... and then this video tour of his studio... the rear view mirror... absolutely genius.  I want to meet this guy.  I want that 20' albatross painting.  I'm not sure I have a 20' wall in my house... but this painting would be addition-to-the-house worthy (I hope my husband's not reading).

More images from his book:

And more info from PBS - the videos here are GREAT!  Where have I been, seriously?  I guess I get too caught up watching junk-tv like Wife-Swap or The Bachelor to actually check out PBS once in awhile.  They have a series called “Art:21–Art in the Twenty-First Century” and Walton Ford was featured in Season 2.  I am going to have to buy the DVDs...

Has anyone seen Walton Ford's work in person?  There was an exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum last year... anyone go? I'd love to know more about this "Nature Boy"... I'm honestly going to buy the dvds... I'll give a review after I watch them!

He was also featured in Men's Vogue "Walton Ford: An artist built Ford tough"

photo credit - Martin Schoeller../ who BTW, has an insanely cool book called Close Up also seen here.

Happy Saturday!

bahhhhhhhhhh

I feel sort of like a greasy grimy blogger when I snag blog content from others and post... but it is a form of flattery (right?) and not everyone reads the same blogs - so here we are:

I have lots o' friends that blog about sweet family stuff like taking their kids to the petting zoo for Easter.  One such blogger had this photo in his album of "easter photos" and I almost fell over with lovey-dovey feelings in my little soul for that pink nosed sheep.

[Billy Goat by Berkley Illustration - Miss Havisham found these on ETSY - she gets all the credit - they are SO FABULOUS]

[the first thought in my mind was "Mr.Rogers Frog"... truly I love him AND he is only $7.00 (for a print) or $80 for the original]

Wait! Ryan Berkley of Berkley Illustration has this to say about the frog:

This unassuming frog is a high school math teacher. He also coaches the mathlete team who have gone undefeated under his leadership. The students like him for his laid back attitude and his "Fractal Fridays" slideshows.

That's hilarious... really hilarious. All this sweet animal love makes me want to design a nursery... what awesome starting points (these illustrations) are for a child's bedroom.

retail therapy

Yesterday afternoon I had to squeeze a little (I only set aside an hour) art shopping into my insane schedule.  A collection of antique bug prints for a client needed just a few more friends. And LOW & BEHOLD... my quick run into a local antique mall turned into a minor buying trip for yours truly!

This is what I bought:

[Ron Griswold 31x41 oil on canvas, signed by artist "Man in Field with Rain Storm"]

Need I even tell you that I am in love? I passed him in the antique mall (he sooo caught my eye), continued to shop but I couldn't get him out of my head. You do this?  I go to the next aisle and the anxiety starts to set in 'what if someone gets to him before I get back to him?'. I race thru the rest of the mall... when I come across these two beauties (marked down tickets)... I get a little distracted.

[oil on canvas by K. Westerberg, dated 1938, tag is in German (?) can't read it- if anyone knows German please comment - I'll scan the tag and email it to you for translation]

Long story short, I bought all three and am thrilled with these little splurges for me!  I was giddy driving home with my carload.  Man in Field was in backseat (in front of copper lantern that was still buckled in), I must have looked in rear-view mirror 100 times in the short drive.

I also got the bugs I had gone in for and a few other antique prints I can't wait to have framed for other projects:

I know art is subjective... but I hope you like my finds as much as I do!?

TGIF

Praise the Lord! I need a weekend... I'm losing my mind this week.  I wrote on the wrong day in my planner all week... I double scheduled meetings, and I asked my husband 15 times when his MRI appointment was (for his shoulder) so I could go with him, then wrote it down wrong and planned meetings all around it - so he's flying solo.  I try to be a good wife... heaven only knows what kind of crack-up mom I'll be someday.

On a lighter and much more enjoyable note... I love John Derian.

(image above from NY Times & images below from their booth at NY Gift Show)

There is no specific collection that I love most, that's like choosing whether one of my dogs over the other... they are all equally gorgeous!

Keep good company people!

TGIF!

Hamptons (I'd rather be there right now)

my brain feels something like this right now:

 

My internet provider was down all day yesterday, they really aggravate me.  Do they know what this does to my blood pressure when it comes back on and my inbox is flashing red warning signs due to an influx of emails that would make most want to crawl under a desk and die? 

Despite my anxiety level... two really fun things:

I challenged Snippet & Ink to "make this fabric a wedding"... and to no surprise she totally rocked it:

In her words: A slightly beachy, slightly nautical, very preppy Hamptons wedding in navy and green.

Mood: preppy seaside
Palette: navy, green, white

To my embarrassment - I had that clipping of fabric on my bulletin board because I love it - but had lost the source... anyone??

And on another Hamptons note... Absolutely Beautiful Things made my heart skip a beat when she featured this article on Steven Gambrel's Sag Harbor cottage.  Precious is the only word that comes to mind - agree?  Snippet & Ink's wedding could totally take place in the backyard...

And in case you don't follow the link to the article - I don't want you to miss this (the inside):

(annmarie, are you reading? this reminds me of your house)

Peace kids.

Happy Birthday (again) Mom!

what's in your notebook...

Depending on how much jingle is in the bottom of my pocketbook usually dictates what my next notebook purchase will be. For work {because I take a lot of notes} I stick to the Composition books. A few downsides: pages can be thin, college rule is hard to find, but in the end they get the job done (and the pages don't fall out).  However, Rhodia and Moleskines are my favorites.  In an age of emails, blogs (I'll be the first to admit this has totally stolen from my creative juices that might have otherwise gone into a little sketch notebook), Blackberries, iPhones, voice recorders, even post-it notes... technology and short-cuts have been detrimental to the true art of journaling.  Even in college I can remember being able to "buy notes" at the end of the semester (which I think is a total shame).

Look what I found tonight- what I absolutely LOVE is knowing what the writing/drawing instrument was. 

"This is an old stone barn that sits on a hiway on the way into my home town of Cedar Falls IA. I've always thought it was a pretty cool example of architecture of the period." - Brian Page
"It was done in one afternoon for the wandering Moleskine project on a Moleskine Large Sketchbook with my mechanical pencil .07 lead."

In this hurried, digital age we're in, I try to just slow things down a bit and just. Observe and record life in my moleskin. - Will Chau
Moleskine Plain Book with ink pen (pilot precise) and watercolor pencil.

Another Will Chau. Moleskine Plain Book with ink pen (pilot precise) and watercolor pencil.

I'm a portrait artist, and I use my Moleskine to practice my drawing skills. I can use the elastic band to hold a reference photo, and draw on the opposite page. The sketchbook is small and easy to carry, and serves as a mini-portfolio: whenever I take it out to work on something, people usually want to look at it, and I end up handing out a few cards. What could be better? The paper is very good quality, and the off-white color gives a classical feel to a drawing from the outset. - Jennifer Flint
Moleskine Large Sketch Book using graphite with colored pencil overlay.

This is my journal entry after a day spent exploring Guanajuato, Mexico, and a glimpse of the guava and cactus around me. - Sean Kane

Colored pencil and my Moleskine Sketchbook.

This painted sketch is of a very comfortable chair that has been in my family since around the 1920s. I'm rarely not sitting in it, so this is a unique vantage point! - Sean Kane

Moleskine Sketchbook with acrylic paint.   

What is in your notebook??

hoverfest

The new Urban Grace Interiors website has been under construction since October... you ever come to a complete standstill?  Well, I totally hit a wall.  I can work 100+ hours a week and still couldn't seem to get it done.  In my mind I can see it- I can hear it - I can feel it - I just can't put it on the computer screen! Last week I finally admitted that I can't/couldn't do it myself. I tried, I really did.

Welcome Ali & Marla.  Ali is writing my copy.  Marla is editing (and took most) of the new portfolio pictures. They are saints and I am grateful beyond words.

This morning Marla invited me to her new bad-to-the-bone studio/gallery... where I "hovered" for a few hours... literally - I was on a bar stool and she was working at her Mac... just like this:

{marla on the left, erika on the right}

Marla was racing through Photoshop like the creative crack Mac addict that she is.  She is amazing and I left in awe and feeling completely incompetent.  I did however remind her that I could beat her at AutoCAD any day. 

Working with other creative types isn't always easy.  But luckily these two are picky (and dang good) too.  AND I am really glad they don't have this sign in their offices:

Peace and love and lots of gratitude to you two!