New Stuff: Hello Kitty, McDonald's and Soup Cans

My nephews and I recently went to the flea market.  Look what I found!  This adorable Hello Kitty toy!  It's been so long since I bought a toy.  She's so cute!  She's wearing a chef hat, apron and scarf.  And she's holding a hamburger!  Can you believe she only cost $1.00!

Do you remember Speedee, McDonald's first mascot?  She reminds of him, which I think is awesome.  I love vintage mascots and logos.

Image and history of Speedee via Retro Planet.com.  My mom and I recently ate lunch at McDonald's.  It sure has changed since I was a kid.

It's not the drive up I remember!  This one was a little over designed, but still cute.  I do appreciate the attempt to bring beauty to the masses.  I want the acrylic chairs in the first picture, they would look great pulled up to the counter in my kitchen.  Acrylic chairs are perfect for small places as they take up no visual weight.  I'd also love to have that white chair.

Here's some new stuff in my apartment.  The soup cans are another very fine gift from my sister-in-law.  Andy Warhol 50th anniversary soup cans from Target.  I love them.  I can't seem to decide how to decorate this little spot in my apartment.  I change it every couple days.  Here's it's current display:

The black vase is another birthday gift from my sister-in-law (she also bought me the pink Ikea bud vase a while ago).  She buys me the best gifts and I have them all over my apartment.  I'm so lucky she has great taste!  Dear readers, which vignette do you prefer?

All photos (except Speedee cup) by Peggy

Weekend Art Work

It was another busy weekend creating art.  Such is the life of an extreme freelancer.  It's all good.  Art makes me happy.

Untitled, 2011, 16" x 20", acrylic on canvas.  I was bad, I know I was supposed to leave those acrylics alone.  But they are so damn seductive.  I did a simple - but not easy - color blocking work.  I'm really loving blue.

Detritus Robot, 16" x 20", cut paper.  The idea for this work came about as I was cleaning up the yard.  Again.  The litter in the neighborhood keeps getting worse and worse.  Beer bottles, wine bottles, fast food wrappers, cigarette wrappers everwhere!  I wished I had a robot to clean up the mess.  And here she is.  I think she'd make a great vinyl toy.

I wish I were a video artist.  I'd make a video of her.  I can see her movements, her head kind of moves back and forth like a metronome.  She makes a ticking noise when she moves.  I started working on a graphic novel about the adventures of this robot happily cleaning up the ghetto.  I know, I'm a bit crazy.  And it's not like I don't have two million other projects to work on.  And, yes, I'm an insomniac.  Want more crazy characters?  Here's a fun flickr group devoted to this topic (link).

Graphic Art

Here's a few things that make interesting art:  Big, graphic statements.  Variations on a theme.  Seemingly mundane objects raised to the level of art.  The Midyette Family does all these things very well with their paintings of coffee cups they collected from New York City.  Image via Apartment Therapy.

Fab!  I want them.  The paintings are simple, graphic and colorful.  Since the theme is repeated, it appears as one large piece of art. Perfect display and accent lighting.  Great job!

Posters Reconsidered or Graphic Art

In a previous post, I wrote my rules for decorating. These are simply my opinions and should not be taken too seriously! :) I'm very opinionated about decor. You'll find there are many opinions in the blogosphere. Take what you like, discard the rest. Each person has their unique perspective and isn't that fascinating?

After I wrote the post, I had to reconsider my stand on posters. I've noticed that there are times when I do like posters.

For example, I love promotional posters. This vintage poster designed by Bonnie MacLean is a stunner. I love the colors, and I am very fond of anything with peacocks on it. This poster would fit well in Bohemian decor.

In reconsidering posters, I thought about type. I love graphic art, and type definitely fits in this category. It wouldn't be fair to mention type without nodding to the great Alexander Girard. He's the father of type as art. Image via YLiving.

In examining graphic art and type, I found a lot of positive messages. The sweetness of the following works is undeniable. Having uplifting messages of love in your home certainly can't hurt.


Jessica Gonacha Swift. Jessica has a lot of beautiful art for sale in her Etsy shop. It was difficult to maintain the focus of this post and not show more of her art. I'll have to plan a post devoted to her work in the future.

I need this one in my office!

Above two images by The Love Shop. Click this link if you are feeling blue. Her motto is "Give Love, Be Happy." Nuthin' wrong with that.

A heartfelt message of unconditional love from Jessie of My Mod Style.

This one makes me smile. There's nothing better than perusing blogs on a rainy Saturday morning with a cup of Colombian coffee.

The above three screen prints by Jennifer Ramos of Made by Girl. Her Etsy shop is here.

Design by Dylan Fareed. Image 20x200.

Design by Tracy Jenkins, image via Village.

Starbucks' Art

Dear readers, as you know, I adore the graphic art at Starbucks.

The last time my sister-in-law and I went for chai tea, these lovelies were hanging on the wall, and Abbey Road was wafting on the speakers. Aromatic tea, art and the Beatles. Ahh. It doesn't get any better than that.

I'd like to have these in my living room. Even more than that, I wish I'd painted them. Love those colors.

Starbucks Art

I adore Starbucks. No other coffee will do, but it's more than that. I receive superior customer service there. It's a great way to start the day, with a smile and with the inspirational "How I See It" on your cup.

I am also madly in love with the graphic artists that work for Starbucks. If you like graphic art and logos, Starbucks is a visual cornucopia. The Starbucks mermaid is the cutest logo I've ever seen. I'm also in love with their gum tins, their cards, their pamphlets, their cups (see my favorite Starbucks cup here). I've been very noble in exercising restraint when it came to their thermoses. They are so cute I could have had an entire collection!

Here are some examples of Starbucks' graphic art I've collected.

Gum tins. I want to have these framed.

Detail of gum tins.  Here are a few of the cards I've collected.




My personal favorite:
Isn't it fab? I adore it! You can even design your own card at their website. Wouldn't that make a great gift? (link)

Love this coaster. I've shown this before, but it makes sense show it again. This is one of the finest examples of type I've ever seen. I could see this piece rasterized and hung in a dining room in a loft. The dining room, would of course be all white and have a pale rustic farm table like this one:

I'd love to see a combination the Paton S chair and the ghost chair with this table. This is one of my favorite dining rooms of all time. I keep it my inspiration file and think it would be a perfect counterpart to the industrial kitchen I wrote about below. Image from Dwell, May 2006. Sorry for the tangent, that's how my brain works. One thing influences the other. Creativity influences creativity.

To the guidance counselor who talked me out of becoming a graphic designer: I wish I hadn't listened.

To young people everywhere: trust your heart.

To the graphic artists at Starbucks: thanks for being an inspiration!

That's how I see it.

Wish I'd Painted That, Vol. I

SNL and I had a cup of chai tea at Starbucks before shopping yesterday. Everytime I go into Starbucks I marvel at the graphic art. I love these! I wish I had painted them! The faces remind me a little of Picasso. Experimenting with Picasso's faces is how I feel in love with Sharpie markers.

Marketing People are Geniuses

Logo design from National City Bank.

Logo design is an art form. I am consistently in awe of the creativity and genius that goes into graphic design. During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the talented people who work in marketing out did themselves. Everywhere I looked were beautiful pink logos.  Also bought a beautiful pink filing cabinet on the cheap from Staples.  And leave it to Campbell's soup to do a tribute to women as well as to Warhol. I don't ever remember seeing a pink commemorative soup can before!  I love it! I want to line up multiples of this fab can on my kitchen shelf.

Thanks to National City Bank and Campbell's soup for making the world a little more pink, and hence a lot more beautiful.