The modern lightning bug

Ever heard of light graffiti? just scroll down a teeny bit and voila.

Magic.

Indy 500 Commission

Pat commissioned me to do this race car. He even offered to pay me for it, but considering we share a bank account, I figured I'd save him the money and call it a favor. Every year for the past... 16 years is it now?... he and the same group of people have been going to Indy. He wants to give this to the 80+ year old gentleman they stay with. I'll add a bit of track and stylized crowd and call it one.

Speaking of calling it a wrap. I might have to do a little unwrap on my portrait of Greyson. I've been sitting on it for awhile because, while I think it looks and feels finished, I've gotten a few critiques that disagree. I'm not sure if that's because people have gotten used to my jam-packed, horror vacui style or if it's because my critics just want more more more (bless their hearts.)

A sick Anabelle is snuggled up beside me on the couch, eyes at half-mast. Poor dear, she is just under the weather - not eating much (but curiously always asking for "eesin" aka raisins), flushed with just a bit of fever and very sleepy. I took her to the doctor yesterday, but it's just one of those we'll have to wait out. Lucky for me, this evening I tucked her into the stroller and took her on a nice walk around the neighborhood while she slept. The stroller phenomenon is a rarity.

Tonight we are ordering a Rosati's pizza for takeout. How luxurious. And Saturday we are off to Chicago for a full week! I'm craving the green and trees of a summer in Evanston, so I'm hoping for good weather there. While I'm completely dreading the plane ride with our wiggley 20 month old, I am sure looking forward to all the help once we get there.

I have been feeling happily and merrily on my way down the road of life lately. We had a lovely weekend - full of open windows, sunshine and even a late morning nap on Saturday! Went to a motocross event on Saturday evening with friends who were in town to live it up for the weekend (which reminded me of everything disgusting that Vegas offers). Enjoyed homemade pancakes with fresh berries a la Patrick on Sunday morning, and turkey tacos later in the day with Anabelle's best friend Cassidy and family. Now those two are about the cutest pair I've ever ever seen.

And as for now... I'm signing off to drool in front of the TV for awhile and rest my achin' back. Or maybe I'll get sucked back into my beach read, Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons.

In any case, fare thee well for now my friends.

It's a wrap

Here's a little thumbnail sketch that I did for our babysitter, Anahi. She asked me to draw her for the card she is sending to her mama for Mother's Day. It was a quickie, and those have a real way of bugging me. Ahhhh, it could be so much better...

And here are two little sneak peaks of Alyse's piece:

And here is the final thing - negative space and all! Thank you kindly for your comments, you know who you are :) I can't tell you how much I appreciate the feedback.

Photographing watercolor and colored pencil just doesn't seem to do the real thing justice. All of the depth and detail gets lost. humph. This piece is about 15" x 18". Or so.

As for the rest of life, I seem to be getting rounder every day that passes. I have felt the baby move now - those little flutters that at first you wonder if you dreamt up. Zofran is still my best morning friend, but my energy and spirits are high. None of that first trimester rollercoaster bullcrud.

Anabelle is so much fun these days. She wonders at any jewelery I wear, and she is a huge fan of all shoes left unattended around the house. She says "mama hay, anabelle hay, papa hay" a lot. That translated is "mama's hair, etc", and she does a similar pairing of words with "wa" which is her word for water. She'll continue to say it until someone repeats it in confirmation. She makes me just want to do my best to hug and love her because all the time on earth wouldn't be enough to spend with her.

Advice please!

Getting closer to the finished product... but still not quite there. I struggle with all the empty space: I like the idea of some room to breathe, but I don't want it to be empty and dead. What do you think? (Click to enlarge.)