A Little Pixelated Project

In June, I mentioned my intention to paint something to fill the large void above the green chairs in the living room.

In the time between now and then, I narrowed down the size canvas the space needed: 48 x 36 inches. This size canvas was placed really high in the store and looked huge from my vantage point below, which made me worry that I couldn’t fit it in my car. But the painting bug had bit, so I purchased a mini canvas to paint the sketch I’d done in colored pencil, and I went home contemplating how I’d get the larger canvas home. To spare you the suspense, it turns out the canvas fit in the back seat of my car without any problems at all. It was a totally unnecessary mini-freakout.

My idea (a little of which I shared here) was to create something pixelated and full of happy color.


I used this mini canvas to give me an idea how a 48 x 36–inch version of it would look in the space.


These pictures look a little ridiculous, but they helped me realize that I don’t like my original plan. It just doesn’t feel quite right and the space would have way too many sharp right angles and squares going on. So, I’m back to the drawing board, literally.

A Brief History of Pretty Much Everything

This flipbook is so much fun. It’s definitely worth the time (just 3:12) that it takes to watch. Be sure to turn your volume up. The music and sounds effects are well worth it.

From the Archives

These three drawings are ones I did ages ago—I drew the last one in 1998 when I was 17. They were three of my early-ish drawings that I was (and still am) extremely proud of.

The Stanley Chow Print Shop

Thanks to the power of Pinterest, I stumbled upon the amazing work of UK-based illustrator and caricature artist Stan Chow. Simply put, I’m in awe of his work. See for yourselves.

Some of  favorites have been immortalized: Dolly Parton, Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer in The Sound of Music à la American Gothic, Margot (i.e. Gwyneth Paltrow) in The Royal Tenenbaums, Michael Caine, and Stephen Fry. The rest of his portfolio is equally as awesome. Check it out here. To see the prints he currently has for sale, visit The Stanley Chow Print Shop. I plan on placing my order for Mr. and Mrs. von Trapp in the very near future.

You can find me on Pinterest here.

All images used with permission from Stan Chow.

Artistic Inspiration

In light of my upcoming painting project, I’ve been trolling the internet and magazines for some inspiration. I’m hoping for an Oprah-esce “a-ha!” moment when the lightbulb flips on. I’m not there yet, but here are a few images that have me thinking over some ideas. I really like the pixelated look and blocks of colors in the images below.

I’ll be figuring out the exact size I want the painting(s) to be over the weekend and maybe doing a few more sketches to help me decide. Time will tell what I come up with!

Living Room

Of all the rooms in this house, the living room has had the slowest evolution. It started out with the same beige walls as many of the other rooms (seen here and here) in the house. On a casual first glance, the new color (Valspar’s Oatlands Subtle Taupe in flat, which we also used in the bathroom) might not appear that different from the old one, but the end result is a vast improvement. The old was a neutral with more brown/pink undertones, and this is decidedly more gray, which I’m all about. Here’s the room in it’s current state:

You’ll notice that the wish-list chairs were purchased and have arrived. I love their modern shape, tapered brown legs, and happy apple green color. The two touching arms are a perfect perching/napping/neighborhood-viewing spot for Smoky.

The covers on all the sofa throw pillows are going to be replaced. (The green one in the green chair is staying.) I used them in my first solo apartment and my first home, and things are due for an update. The two orange ones will be recovered in the graphic turquoise fabric I mentioned here. I’m still searching for the perfect fabric for the other two. We shall see.

Here’s another angle:

That’s a whole lot of blank wall space, which is why I ordered these:

I’m kind of freaking out in a good way about all the colors—so many options! I’m not a painter (in the artistic sense), but I’ve been itching to create something big and colorful and graphic on a scale much larger than my colored pencils can handle. I know I want two relatively large canvases to hang side-by-side to create one large statement piece to fill that vast expanse of grayish-beige, and I plan to use lots of color. I have a few ideas in my head of what I want to paint. My plan is to just go with one and see what happens and if I’m feeling it. Results to come!

Portrait of a Lady

Long before I mentioned it, my wish list has included having a pet portrait of our cat, Smoky, done by Yellow Brick Home. I pretty much fell in love with this talented duo’s work from the moment I saw it. So about a week and a half ago, I finally ordered my own custom piece, and it arrived today!

If I had to describe Smoky in one word, I would say that she’s amazingly sweet (OK, that’s two, but she’s seriously the sweetest cat ever), and I wanted that sweetness captured in the 4 x 4–inch portrait. That’s undoubtedly a pretty tall order, but Kim and Scott (the Yellow Brick Home team) nailed it and captured her sweet face perfectly.

And y’all, they’re so prompt. An hour or so (maybe not even that long) after I placed my order, I had an email from them giving me the details of what they needed to get started. I inundated them with pictures and information about Smoky like any proud pet parent would do, and they got back to me quickly with further information and questions. In addition to being speedy, they’re superfriendly (just like they seem from their blog) with a genuine enthusiasm for pets and capturing the personality of each of their animal subjects.

The portraits are $39 each (plus the cost of shipping), which is pretty amazing for a one-of-a-kind custom piece of art. I am so thrilled with what they created for me and whole-heartedly recommend them! Go here for more information and to peruse their portfolio of adorable portraits.

I was in no way compensated for this review. I just wanted to share the fantastic experience I had with these übertalented people.