Mod Purse

Dear readers, just look at this little temptress. I saw this at the vintage store yesterday. It's just too cute! But at $89.00 it's just too expensive. Ah me, I should have been born rich instead of beautiful.

New Painting

Dear readers, last week was a stressful one. I had only one remedy in mind for the weekend. Paint. I don't need to tell you that times are tough, and canvas expensive. I didn't have the money for a canvas, but as luck would have it, I found the sweetest little piece of wood by the dumpster.

Now of course, I have been thinking of hot pink and blue all week. And Barbara Novak's apartment is haunting me (see post below). So Friday night, I cranked up the Al Green.

I mean he is the coolest.

I rearranged my art glass collection.


Hot pink and blue, of course.

And painted this. Untitled, 2009, 12" x 20", acrylic on wood. I'm thinking of layering it with a high-gloss coating. I'm really happy with the way this turned out. It's got that retro vibe, but with today's saturated colors. I think this may be the beginning of a new series.

Jessica Torrant

I have a special treat for my dear readers today! As you know, I have been obsessing about paint all week, so have been looking at lots of paintings on the internet (sssh, don't tell my boss). I discovered a very prolific and fascinating artist named Jessica Torrant.

Jessica creates funky, graphic art which she sells at her aptly titled Etsy shop, livefunky. She also creates amazing fine art, available at JessicaTorrant. Any of her pieces would work well in my home. I could also see it prominently displayed in a retro-mod decor. I love it all so much, I had trouble selecting only a few to feature! Dear readers, the work of Jessica Torrent. Hope you enjoy!

I have great respect for the skill displayed in this one. This looks like rain to me. I have been attempting to capture rain in my paintings, and have been having great difficulty with it.

Not only is Jessica talented, but she is a sweetie too. I have been thinking of opening an Etsy shop for a long time. I wrote to Jessica and received kind encouragement and great information to help get me started. I will, of course, keep you posted. Jessica, thanks for being an inspiration. For Jessica's blog, click here.

Still obsessing about pink and blue...TGIF!

Pink and blue haunt me. They occupy my thoughts when I am supposed to be concentrating at my day job. They make the anticipation of putting a brush to canvas almost unbearable.

Image flickr user La caitlin.

I adore hot pink with electric blue. Hot pink looks great with ice blue. And it looks great with turquoise. One thing for sure, the paintings I work on this weekend will be predominately hot pink.

There it is again! The coffee table I wrote about below. I want it. And that oversized blue lamp is too fab! Abigail Ahern via designspongeshop.

Look at these wonderful vases from Etsy user pcbartandgifts.

I have a thing for blue bottles. Especially genie bottles. Image Etsy user SeasideVintage.

And blue lamps. Etsy user fabulousmess. I think these would look great with tall white shades, like Ikea's Skimra. I've said it a million times. Why doesn't Ikea do an online business?

Cute candy dish, and darling presentation from Etsy user vonlipi.

I'd love to have this sensuous piece by Rubens gracing my walls.

And this hanging lamp is to die for! Image Family Living via Desire to Inspire.

I dream of having an all white pre-fab ranch. White floors, white walls. Large windows. This ranch should be completely devoid of architectural embellishments. No trim, not even baseboards. So the walls and floors will be without division, and seem eternal. The home will get its character from the decor, which will be retro-modern-Bohemian-Asian-Moroccan. And oh yeah, with a touch of Scandinavian. It will be like floating on a cloud. Ahh. Is it 5:30 yet?

Color Scheme: Hot Pink and Ice Blue

Last week I watched the movie Down with Love for about the 10th time. I watch it mainly for the wonderful costumes and set design.  I absolutely adore Barbara Novak's apartment, and it has me wanting to redo my apartment in a more retro-Barbie fashion.

Oh if only I could afford that pink sofa! And I adore those paintings. Her apartment has me thinking about one of my favorite color schemes once again. Hot pink and ice blue. It looks great with pops of green and tons of white. Here's some inspiration. Hope you enjoy!

Designers Guild.

My Mod Style.

Maybe I'll repaint my apartment. Love the pink walls and blue trim. Image from flickr user hippyxic.

I want that hot pink coffee table! Looks so sweet with the little blue vase. Image Living Etc.

Image Lucyina Moodie.

Barbara has a great collection of glass and ceramics. I'm thinking of mixing in some glass pieces with my ceramic collection. I adore these bristol blue pieces by Morgantown. Image Heart of America Glass Collectors.  I am itching to play with canvas. Is it Friday yet?

I dream of a prefab ranch

The Aegean by Logical Homes is very close to being my dream home. I don't dream of large mansions and gated communities. Having lived in a building built in 1926 for the last 10 years, I am no longer enamored with old buildings. Detailing bores me. I want a simple, clean, unembellished home. And, of course it would be all white. From floor to ceiling.

I dream of escaping to such a place in the woods, where I grow my own food and live completely off the grid. It would be solar powered, and the floors would have radient heat. Inspired by the view, I would set up a studio and do nothing but paint and paint and paint. Ah, to have the time to paint as much as one wants, what a luxury. I can think of no better life.

For previous post about prefab homes, click here.

My City

I'm not sure why, but I love Cleveland. I have dreams for her. I'd like to see her become a mecca for the arts.

Euclid Avenue is shaping up nicely. There are a lot of new street art pieces. I love the concrete flower holders.

About 10 years ago they built three - that's right three - new stadiums and a convocation center. That year all of the little shop owners in the arcades were forced out. The arcades have never recovered. Shop after shop remains empty. I miss those little shops.

It's a funny thing about empty shops. Sometimes a lone piece of art remains in the window. Such is the case with this cute teapot. Why is it there? Who put it there? A vestige in a ghost town.

That was also the case with this beautiful watercolor. It was in a window. To a shop that was empty. Around other shops. That were also empty.

Another strange phenomenon occurs when a shop is full of stuff, but it is never open. This shop looks interesting, but is a tease. It's never open. I need to rethink supporting Target.

Rosie O'Donnell Does Custom Munnies!

If you read my blog, you already know that I adore custom Munnies. But did you know Rosie O'Donnell does custom Munnies? She does - and they are fab!

Each one is signed on the foot. They are available at her Etsy shop (link). All proceeds go to Rosie's Broadway Kids.

Rosie, you are too fabulous - you go girl!

White paint makes everything look better

Remember the little love seat I got from a second hand store?

It only cost $79. I adore its shape, but not its color. It had a skirt on, but I took it off, I adore those little legs. I've been wishing this sofa were covered in white vinyl, but there's no way I would pay for that.

Well, after seeing the blogosphere's famous John Derian sofa (see below), I started thinking about painting it. I'm not afraid to put paint on anything. And if it cracks, so what? Since it's falling apart, it's ripe for experimentation.

So here it is with one coat of paint. It's going to need another coat, but I won't be able to get to that until next weekend.

Of course, I can't stop moving around accessories. And notice the ottoman? I painted it too! It looks so much better. You may remember what it used to look like.

I think it looks so much better in the glossy white! It had some imperfections, which I covered with Glidden gripper.

I finally finished painting my dining set. It looks like new with a fresh coat of shiny white paint.

Ahh. Wish I could paint the floor white. When I buy the prefab house of my dreams, the floor will be white.

I want to paint everything!

This weekend I wanted to paint everything in my apartment. Walls, floors and - yes - furniture. I adore painted furniture.

I've been thinking about painting my dining room table orange. I love orange tables! (See my previous post about orange tables here.) Those blue vases look great with the orange table top! I love blue and orange together. Image Emily Jagoda.

My little love seat is falling apart, and it was cheap anyway, so is ripe for experimentation. Maybe I should paint graffiti on it, or let my nephews mark on it. Something like this fab John Derian sofa.

Image from New York Times. How cool is that? I am by no means a purist and I love when children are allowed their natural creativity. Love the sofa, hate the rugs. I'd prefer to see the floor white. I'd love to paint my floors white, but I live in a rental.

I want to paint some canvases too. I adore the colors in these canvases and how they pop against the all white background.

Love those chairs! Image via Desire to Inspire.