painting

copycat

by Lara on April 25, 2011

in art

 

It’s been a while since I’ve painted anything for the apartment. I got pretty burnt out this time last year, doing 3 paintings in a row. (here and here)

This design by Matt Moore has been in my inspiration folder for forever. I had a huge empty wall in my living room that needed something big and bold.

Every time I went to a craft store, I hoped to score a deal on a big square canvas but nothing was panning out. Squares are kinda hard to come by. I finally ordered a 30″ x 30″ canvas from Dick Blick and after shipping, it came out around $24. I would’ve liked one even bigger but this will do just fine.

Just placing the order was intimidating. It means you. have. to. do. this.

I had about a week of waiting to get psyched up. It finally arrived on April 18th and I immediately mapped out the lines. No measurements. Just found the burst point and eyed it.

I really like the color scheme of the original so, I stuck with that and wrote down in each section what color to use. I wasn’t planning on buying any additional paint (but did end up getting 3 extras) so, I got it as close as possible with what I already had.

Here are some crappy progress pics. Of course, it would’ve been great to use my real camera and make a lil gif but that never happened.

day 2

day 5

day 6

day 7 (7 stripes to go!)

I really kicked it into high gear over Easter weekend while the bf was out of town. I don’t use an easel and instead hunch over the painting, canvas in lap on my bed or sofa, getting paint out of the bottle cap, turning it around as needed. My back was pretty much killing me.

The entire painting was done with a 1/4″ Loew Cornell angle shader and random craft acrylics and enamel paints I had.

Here it is all done!!!    $27 and a week of my free time!

Oh yeah, I got that chair at Goodwill for $10 last week!

Being a perfectionist, I can see some tiny things I want to clean up but, I’ll take care of that in a day or two. I’ve had it and I’m DONE!

Here’s a post I did a while back to help you on your own painting!

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Tim Wilson

by Lara on February 9, 2011

in art

Yes, another art post. I’m feeling really uninspired by fashion right now.

A friend of mine was just sent a box of her old RVA magazines from her parents. As soon as she blogged about them, I sent her a tweet asking “that stack of rva mags – if you find the artist that paints hyper-realistic paintings of toys, will u tell me their name? xoxo.” Immediately she tweeted back “Tim Wilson.” We both searched and shockingly found a bunch of nothing. This article from 2004 and this small site. That’s it. No clue what he’s up to now.

I remember seeing his paintings in RVA years ago and my mind was blown. They’ve haunted me for years. Layers and layers of varnish leave the huge canvases smooth as glass. These tiny pictures can’t do his work justice. These are paintings people!

Tim Wilson – See Me, Feel Me (2002-2003), Oil on canvas – 42″ x 156″ – commission from the collection of Stephen Heighton

Tim Wilson – One Life to Live – oil on canvas – 20″ x 36″ – 2003

Tim Wilson – Rush – oil on canvas – 54″ x 64″ – 2003

Tim Wilson – Face Like Summer – oil on canvas – 36″ x 96″ – 2003

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+ & –

by Lara on December 14, 2010

in + & -

  • The bf will indeed be in town for New Years Eve so, I took matters into my own hands and made reservations at Acacia. We’ve wanted to go for so long and they’re doing a 4-course dinner for NYE. It was voted restaurant of the year in March. I. Cannot. Wait. Now, what to wear?!
  • This is an oil painting! Click here and here for more! By Korean artist Kwang-ho Lee.

  • Super easy and inexpensive Christmas ornament tutorial. My mom and I used to make these when I was a kid and the varieties are endless.

  • Okay, this just cracks me up… especially when Oprah starts strutting.

(for you Jen!)

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+ & –

by Lara on November 4, 2010

in + & -

  • This home is pretty much killing me. I could do without all the stacks of books and small old paintings everywhere but other than that, I’m in love! Click here for the gallery of pics. Check out the coral in the fireplace!

  • I’ve never painted with oils before but these paintings by Theo Altenberg are tempting me to experiment with their depth and richness (via)

wow wow wow

  • This will be my 2nd and last mention of the Lanvin for H&M collection (in stores November 23). Totally out of my price range (skirts will retail between $150-$200) and a bit underwhelming for all the hype, but if I could have any piece in the entire collection, it would be this skirt (also in black).

view the entire collection here

  • Did you watch the first episode of The Walking Dead on Halloween night? If you like zombies, you will love this new series! Get caught up for this Sunday and watch it here.

  • Since late Sunday night, the bf has been dealing with kidney stones. Well, we think it’s kidney stones after a ton of symptom research online. I’m exhausted.
  • I simply cannot exercise. I don’t get that energetic rush after I’m done. I feel like achy crap the next day. I hate hate hate it. I do like Slim Fast meal replacement bars for breakfast and lunch though. That seems to be doing the trick for getting my ass back in shape.

(via)

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+ & –

by Lara on October 28, 2010

in + & -

  • Oh dear I love these shoes called the Robot by Ruthie Davis for Dennis Basso ss2011!! (via)

  • I finally brought my sewing machine, box and spool holder from my parent’s house! I never thought we had the space here but I made space. My mom kept her machine in a closet and just sewed at the kitchen table when I was kid. That’ll do! I need to be able to work on projects here in the evening or I will go crazy. Sewing is the only craft hobby I’ve stuck with since I was a kid. Now… do I need an adjustable dress form?
  • Hey! If you like edgy fashionable DIY projects, you should be reading Outsapop. Really. Would I wear these feather shoulder epaulettes? Hell yes I would!

Dmetal

  • Soooo Marie Claire posted an article about how people feel uncomfortable watching overweight people on TV kissing or whatever. It got a bit cruel, garnered a TON of pissed off comments and media attention, and the author had to update and apologize (weakly). There has been a lot of fat-acceptance talk on the blogs lately and I think it’s great. NO, it’s not great to be unhealthy but it is great to not hate yourself because of how you look. I think some of the anti-fat-acceptance comments have been missing this point. It’s not “Yay fat! I love fat! Let’s all love fat!” It’s about still being strong and confident when you’ve put on some poundage. Appearance and self-worth are two completely different things that a lot of people get confused in darker moments, including myself. Something about morbid obesity that makes me incredibly sad though: Every morning when I commute like clockwork, I see a very large woman with a few small children about to cross 4 lanes of traffic to get to the school bus stop. The children dart across the road and she has a terrible time keeping up with them. I think about how she probably can’t play with her children as much as they would like, and how tired she must feel all the time. Growing up with a disabled parent, I can empathize with the kids.

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+ & –

by Lara on October 12, 2010

in + & -

  • Do you love paper goods? I just discovered Felt & Wire Shop. Such pretty things from all over, in one place! Love this wrapping paper. (I covered my funky linen closet shelves with fun robot wrapping paper secured with tape and then protected with clear contact paper. It’s held up great and is easy to remove.)

  • Speaking of, I really love to wrap presents. Here’s the gift for the bf’s sister’s wedding next weekend. I went a little nuts at Ben Franklin. We went crazy getting her killer serving pieces at every Marshalls and TJMaxx in town. She wants to entertain.

  • She-Ra turned 25! Next to Jem, they were my favorite dolls and I can’t believe I sold them all on eBay.

  • My rat’s lump on his chin is gone! There’s a wee scab left so I’m wondering if it was a cyst that burst. (gross, sorry) I’m relieved. Barnaby’s my favorite. He lets me scratch and rub him up and he cuddles. Toki hates me.

go Barnaby go!

  • Thankfully, there aren’t any major negatives burning my ass right now. I miss karaoke. I was always a ham at ballet recitals and school plays. I ad-libbed a lot.  A few beers, a few shots and… well, I really miss karaoke. My signature songs were Beastie Boys’ Get it Together, Billy Idol’s Rebel Yell,, and if you ask me to sing with you, I’ll sing anything you want, with gusto!
  • I do want to talk about how sick and tired I am of those commercials with the bitchy wives and wussy husbands. There are the ones for yogurt where a man can’t even look in his own fridge without his wife, hand on hip, calling “Babe?” in an imperious tone. He sheepishly looks down and shuts the fridge door. There’s also the washing machine commercial with the break dancers. The husband decides to bust a tiny move and make a bad joke. (I would’ve burst out laughing.) His wife cuts a look and he also puts his head down and says, “Sorry.” This is pathetic and makes me feel sorry for men who can’t just be themselves because of overbearing women holding their balls for them in their purse. I’m a raging feminist but that doesn’t give me the right to be a bitch. Sure I want respect and wish to be treated like a “lady”. I’m a feminist but I’m also Southern as hell. We all need to be careful what we wish for. There’s a quote by writer Jean Kerr:

The only thing worse than a man you can’t control is a man you can.

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Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

by Lara on October 10, 2010

in art

We finally went to the newly renovated and expanded VMFA this weekend. I took pictures. The art nouveau area is my favorite.

(Mouse over for info)

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+ & –

by Lara on August 24, 2010

in + & -

  • I finally watched The September Issue and if you get stupid excited about the 5 pound September fashion magazines like I do, you will love it! I have always enjoyed Vogue creative director Grace Coddington‘s luxe editorials but after seeing the struggle she goes through with editor Anna Wintour, I am in awe. You can watch it instantly on Netflix.

  • Ask and ye shall receive. I have slowly [finally grown up and] come to the realization that men are not mind readers. No way, right? It is soooo much easier to simply ask for what I want. Feeling overwhelmed with household duties? Ask him to wash the dishes.  Feeling frisky? Pounce. Need some alone time? Make it happen. Want a romantic evening out? Make the reservations. Instead of building up resentment and tension, living together has become a lot easier. Showing appreciation for all the little things instead of complaining, not asking him to help with chores when he’s in the middle of something, warning him ahead of time and not springing things/requests/moods on him… these little actions have made for quite the peaceful happy home. I’m getting it all in return as well! Funny how that works out. (PS – What’s with the commercials where the woman stands there holding a full trash bag while her man is watching a game? Take the damn trash out yourself!)
  • Sewing machine:
  • It’s all about good friends dude. Seriously. This post reminds me of when Jen’s dear cat Cleo died about 10 years ago and we buried her in a friend’s back yard. Jen and I (during the grunge days) used to say we wanted Mother Love Bone’s Chloe Dancer played at our funerals but instead we burst into CLEO Dancer as we stood by her little grave and everything was okay. (Oh and I totally started boohooing for Cleo when I heard that song again.)
  • Sometimes you need a visual to imagine putting different colors together. For your wardrobe, your home, projects, anything… this little tool is a lot of fun!

  • An enviable birthday gift haul. Good grief.
  • More reasons why I love TJ Maxx/Marshall’s – I got this glowing blue rocks glass for the bf (last one – we keep breaking all the cool glasses), an aqua Kuhn Rikon 12″ non-stick pan (the non-stick of our old pan died), and a Kenneth Cole wallet (my old one was soooo funky) for less than $30. (Oh and an extra pair of cute pink tweezers because I have plucking problems.)

  • Another great artist via My Love For You… this painting is by Kristine Moran. I have this weird habit of deconstructing everything beautiful I see to assess if I could do it myself. This is completely beyond me.

  • Alas, I won’t be making it to New York Fashion Week this September. I told myself last year that I would go this year but it’s not in the cards/budget. To rub salt in the wound, I actually got invited to a few things this time around and didn’t even register for a press pass! Argh! I don’t like to make promises I don’t know if I can keep but I really really want to try harder to make it next year!
  • We have been dragging ass with some weird bug for over a week now. I feel achy, slightly feverish, eyes burning, bronchial tightness. We’ve been going to bed before 10pm most nights and have wasted 2 free weekends that could’ve been filled with fun, instead laying around doing nothing. I saw this picture on Saturday when I was feeling like crap and started laughing hysterically then started sobbing uncontrollably. Sick and tired of being sick and tired.

  • Dear People Who Sell Shoes Online, Please quit it with only offering whole sizes. That is so weak! I am a true-to-size 6.5. I cannot squeeze into a 6 and a size 7 will fall off my feet. You are losing out on a huge customer base and I have yet to discover what you are gaining from this nonsense. Just knock it off! Thanks, Me.

{ 7 comments }

geometry

by Lara on April 7, 2010

in art,decor

I didn’t think it was going to be so soon since my last painting project that I would find new inspiration for another! Here is the newest piece that has struck me as something I would like to see on the wall above our bed, could see myself actually painting, and all the supplies cost $20! (You can purchase prints of Simon Page’s work here.)

I purchased a 22″ x 28″ canvas for $15. Ben Franklin Crafts was having a great deal on craft acrylics – 3 bottles for $1 so, the bf and I picked out a ton of muted tones that we liked to use along with paint I already have.

The next step was to figure out the math. 22″ divided by 8 vertical columns = lines spaced 2 3/4″ apart. I carefully marked those out and marked each inch along the left and right sides. Then I started intersecting lines accordingly with a straight edge and pencil.

Well…. there was a minor problem. I hadn’t realized the canvas was 1/8″ of an inch off and after a few horizontal lines, I noticed things weren’t intersecting right. Yeah. Lesson learned – double check your base measurements before you start! I had to erase everything and start over again. I just about lost it and had to calm down and think for a second. I found the center (with 1/16″ off on the left and right) and started over again. Success!

Oh, and these clear grid rulers are THE BEST for stuff like this! You can line things up perfectly!

Time to paint! Here’s my messy grid with some color filled in. I found that with light colors, after I had picked which area I was going to paint, it was smart to erase the inner lines so that I didn’t have to put tons of coats on to cover up the pencil marks. Oh, and with cheap paint… you pretty much get what you pay for. We won’t go into how much I hated using those damn cheap craft paints. I also painted the entire thing with my most favorite 1/4″ flat brush. It allowed me to get into teeny corners and keep clean edges.

Here’s a crappy phone cam pic of the painting in progress.

Over three weeks later and here’s the completed project! (Sorry for the bad pics. I kept forgetting to bring my good camera and I’ve been sick as a dog for 2 weeks.)

So yeah, it’s all done and now I don’t know what to do with myself in the evenings.

So why go through all this trouble when I could spend over $100 more and just buy the print and have it framed (framed because I’m not a teenager and I don’t tack up glorified posters on my walls)? Well, I think I just answered that question. I’m cheap.  I’m also a glutton for punishment, slightly OCD, and I like having projects that are customized for my own decor. So there.

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no artist

by Lara on March 7, 2010

in art,decor

There’s a big difference between being an artist and simply having some skill. I am no artist. I have a hard time coming up with original ideas and actually making them real. I come up with ideas all the time but something gets lost in translation from my brain to the canvas, unless is purely geometric. SO, I’m a really good copy cat. I can draw photorealistically from a picture and I can handle a paint brush if I have a pre-existing guide.

Over the holidays, I copied this Hannah Stouffer painting, with my own twist and color variations for our livingroom.

my version

Last week, I needed to run to Ben Franklin Crafts for some crafty stuff and saw they were having a huge sale on canvases. They always do. So, I swiped up three 11″ x 14″ primed canvases for $2 each to do a little series. I have had this Central Illustration pillow bookmarked for a while. I really like the design and well… I painted it!

Since the design is square and I was stretching it horizontally over 3 small canvases, there was some improv involved. I also didn’t feel like doing those precise stripes in the background. I sketched out a loose plan on paper and drew directly onto the canvas where I wanted the big sections of black and white to go. I filled in the black and white then that huge amount of grey and the rest of the fine leaf/root detailing was done freehand. Taking note of the layers and steps I had to work in was the only moment of pause. All was done with Liquitex Heavy Body acrylics I’ve had lying around for over 10 years from design classes, a white paint pen that I ended up using for the white skeleton part, and some old sable brushes. $13 total and some free time. Not bad.

Here’s a shot mid-way through:

Here’s the end result:

I did post a while back to help you make your own art on the cheap. Check it out.

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