Crazy Cat Lady

I don't know how it happened but somewhere along the way I went from a very strict dogs-only, no cats allowed!, dog-person to a total cat/dog-person hybrid!!

It was my fiance's super awesome tabby cat, Remus, (seen above) that did it to me. I was totally afraid of cats and thought they were weird and tempermental when I met Remus and then his silly little head butts and loving leg rubs totally won me over! He even helped me overcome my allergy to cats!

Now, I not only love cats and chase my own around taking their picture all the time but I have taken up painting them too! Cats can be just as expressive as dogs and are pretty hilarious, believe it or not.

Above is Charlie who looooves his housemate Jasper so so much.

Jasper does not, however, share Charlie's enthusiasm.

More cat paintings for sale in my Etsy shop!

Or contact me to have your own kitty (or dog!) painted!!

Makes a wonderful Christmas present!

Daddy's Girl

Oh dear, how could we have been so blind?

Last month I was commissioned to make an adorable Mother/Daughter painting for little

Tayla's nursery in Melrose. The painting was a hit and Tayla's Mom loved it!

The only problem was that there was a very important piece of the picture missing from

her new room- there was no daddy painting! Oh no!! Well, that is all fixed now and I hope that

Tayla's Daddy, Sean, can forgive us for ever-so-temorarily leaving him out!!

Sorry Sean! From what I hear you are an awesome

husband and an even better Father.

Congrats on your little girl!!

Bubblin' Up

There's a whole new crop of compliment bubbles poppin' up in my (other) Etsy shoppe:

www.thecomplimentshop.etsy.com.

New bubbles have a 3-D look to them to create more visual interest and allow for another color. Much more POW! for your Peso. Go have a look!

And let me know what you think about the new guys in the comments!

I'm huge in Japan.

Ok, so maybe I'm not huge per se but I do have at least three fans in the Land of the Rising Sun. Kourtney Ray, wife of a U.S. Navyman stationed in Japan, contacted me to paint these guys for her son, Joey. Now I can start billing myself as an International artist, right? Obviously.

Darth Tater and his lacky, Spud Trooper. Adorable.

Not, however as adorable as the story attached to them.

Kourtney's husband/Joey's Dad (above) was called away to serve in Iraq early last year. Obviously this upset little 10 year old Joey a great deal. He was so worried about his Daddy, in fact, that he decided to send his prized possessions, his Mr. Potato Head Star Wars figures over to Iraq with his Dad to keep him safe.

Nothing is cuter than that. Oh, except this:

That's a drawing a very proud Joey did of his Hero. So cute! I completely understand where Joey's coming from. When I was his age my hero, then an active duty Marine, was called away from us to serve in Operation Desert Storm for nearly a year. It's a really scary time for everyone when you have a loved one fighting overseas. I have a great deal of respect for the servicemen and women who risk their lives selflessly for our country and their families supporting them from home. It's an incredible sacrifice to make for strangers and I thank them from the bottom of my heart.

Happy Veteran's Day!! I love you Daddy!!

The Great (Apple) Pumpkin!

I don't mean to brag but I think this month's window is the spookiest pumpkin

patch in the whole Emergency Room, guaranteed.

Happy Halloween!!

Crazy Love

Adorable little pink, heart-eared Mama & baby elephants for Little Tayla Toomey in Massachusetts!

Tayla Bear is Danielle & Sean's brand new bundle of joy. When I asked Danielle what the significance of "crazy love" is she told me that it's the love she feels for her daughter. She said she can't even explain it, "it's just like this crazy love...there's no other word for it." How absolutely beautiful.

Congratulations again guys!! She's gorgeous!

I'm bugging out!

A collection of garden critters for a little girl in Medford, MA.

A bevy of butterflies:

In yellow:

Pink:

Purple & Blue:

And an bubble bodied caterpillar on a dreamy bubble-gum pink back drop.

Close up:

I love it when little girls love bugs! Contact me for your own Ant Army,

Grasshopper Gang or League of Lady Lightning Bugs!

Ok, I'll stop now.

Hannah & Justin's Wedding Signs

I painted some signs for a friend's Harvest Fest wedding last weekend;

then Fonzie laid on them cause they were so cozy.

Here are some of them in action:

(that's the 'Welcome' sign up top there, hard to see it in the sun)

And a couple group shots:

And last but not least, my ladies helping me paint. Thanks girls, couldn't have done it without you!!!

Happy Birthday Mario!!

It's the 25th Anniversary of the Mario Brothers video game! Wow! I remember playing my cousin Mikey's Nintendo for the first time when I was about 5...crazy!!

To celebrate, I gathered up all of my Mario themed items from the past. Enjoy!

Magnetic Mario: Playable magnetized canvas painted like a scene from Mario Bros including a mushroom, flower, Mario and a Goomba. Available here.

Magnet Detail:

Mario mural: Mario Bros mural painted on the FRONT DOOR of a customer's apartment! That's dedication!! More pictures here.

Detail:

Mario Christmas Ornaments: A couple of Mario Bros themed Christmas Ornaments. Custom ornaments available starting in November! Order yours now!!

Happy Birthday Mario & Luigi!! But your princess is in another castle!

Foxy Cleopatra Mermaid!!

Jen in Connecticut asked me to paint the coolest mermaid to date:

"A mermaid version of Beyonce's character in Austin Powers"

Holy Crap!

She also got a little red headed friend hugging a star fish:

Detail of Foxy's chubby tummy & tail:

Have a great idea for a mermaid? Let me know!

Peach at the Beach!

Another custom painting for a very energetic, easy-excitable, super creative customer, which happens to be my favorite kind!

This young lady wanted a peach sunbathing on a beach...under an umbrella...in New England...with a banner that said so...and a sand dollar that says 'Jean' in one corner...and a star fish that says 'Garvstar' in the other. I like a woman who knows what she wants...and here it is!

Painted around the edges for frame-less hanging:

Detail:

One of my long standing favorite things has always been sexy fruit (what? that's totally normal) so I was super excited to have been asked to make this painting and am now way too excited to get started on other sexy fruit! Like Sexy Kiwi, Sexy Strawberries, Sexy Watermelons!! I can't wait!

Kora the Explorer!

Custom painting of Kora the Explorer!

A very loved black labrador whose love of the great outdoors

and zest for life prompted her Mom to have a painting made of her
(and of her ever-present hiking pack...so cute!)

Detail:

Painting continued around edges for simple,

frame-free hanging...and cause it looks way cooler.

Contact me to have your dog or cat painted, or get one for a friend! See more paintings here.

Hayden the Mermaid

New mermaid painting for Hayden, she's

"turning 3 and looooooves mermaids", I'm told.

6x12" Canvas.

Detail:

Get your's here.

Best Feedback Ever!

Oh my goodness, I got the best feedback ever on Etsy yesterday!!!

Wow!!! Thanks housemusik! Incredible. Ha ha.

housemusik says:

The moment I received this epic painting, the world as I knew it ended, and a new phase began. This spectacular painting shall adorn my wall with pride, glory to all, hail the mighty psychedelic hot dog! Not only are the colors rich, but the hot dog depicted looks incredibly delicious! To eat this masterpiece would be a crime, for it is held high in my heart. Celebrate, tube meat lovers, Huzzah to you all, as I now have a pedestal in which to worship my weiner. This painting brings spectacular joy to my life, much like it did to those who followed Psychedelic Hot Dog as he crossed the Atlantic to discover America, as Psychedelic Hot Dog led slaves to freedom through the underground railroad, as well as Psychedelic Hot Dog's many recent dalliances with Tila Tequila. Bravo, Mandee Rae, for capturing the sight, smell and taste of Psychedelic Hot Dog with the vision, clarity and grandeur only a true artist could achieve. You have made my world a better place.

To Etsy feedback page.

8/24/2010

Psychadelic Hot Dog

Slug Life

Some new paintings in my shop:

4x6" Slug Life,

4x4" Lampin' Peach & 4x6" Running Fruit,

& an 8x10" Family Portrait of Bacon & Eggs.

Contact me for special requests if you'd like different

fruit, special breakfast items or a different gastropod.

6-Pack of Favorites

Rylie's Room Sign

Rylie is an animal loving 4 year old in Boston.

She love love LOVES cats and kittens but unfortunately, both of her parents are allergic to them. I painted her these hypoallergenic cats that she can name whatever she wants, dress up as princesses and she can even let them sleep on her bed without so much as a sneeze from her Mom & Dad.

Granted they're not quite as snuggly as the real thing but they almost never scratch up the furniture and, to date, I've never had to clean their litter box.

Sign painted on recycled wood from a workshop floor. 6"x24", sealed with

matte acrylic finisher to protect from sticky fingers and chap stick kisses.

Chocolate Wasted!

I haven't even seen the movie this painting references and readily admit that I probably won't however, that doesn't make me immune to the cultural phenomenon it's responsible for. This 33 second clip has it's own facebook fan page, website and was added to urbandictionary.com faster than anything I've ever seen.

In short, it's kind of a big deal.

So, to celebrate, I made it into a quote bubble...it was inevitable.

See other bubbles or request your own here.

Avatar Mural for Amir

Jeanette, my hilariously fast-talking co-worker, has been telling me we're going to paint her son's room for about 3 years now. There was never a theme, just the warning that someday, he's going to need a mural. Well, in true fast-talking, fast-moving, let's-get-it-done-yesterday Jeanette fashion, she told me the idea on Tuesday and then quickly followed up with, "so, can we do this on Thursday?"

No problem, except that "this" happens to be an Avatar mural and it's going to be quite a challenge because as a rule, I wouldn't be able to draw a person if my very life depended on it. But, which is so often the case, I answered, "of course, let's do it!" I'm glad I did too because I think it came out awesome...