Blog Love x 10 - Part II

Another installment of "Blog Love" today!

I'm so grateful to all of you for helping spread the word about my artwork and my shop. The kindness of people in the art and design Internet community never ceases to amaze me :)



Thank you to Victoria for her truly heart-warming and very personal post about my artwork on A Mile A Minute.



Thanks to Jan at Scoutie Girl, and I wish her lots of success in her new creative undertakings!



Thank you to Larkyn for her continued support and encouragement at Little Willow.



Thanks to Uncle Beefy, who keeps me entertained and makes me laugh at The Bedlam of Beefy.



Thank you to Marchi, who finds the most creative art, fashion, and design projects I have ever seen at Marchi Made It.



Thanks to Maggie for sharing her upbeat, colorful finds at Bop Bop Designs.



Thank you to Candy, whose joyful quilts inspire me in return at Candied Fabrics.



Thanks to Libby at Pink Shirts and Carwrecks (who has the most creative blog name ever!)



Thank you to Stijn for his kind words at Illustration Lovers.



And thank you to Sooziebee, who was one of my first blog supporters :)

I'll be back with more "blog love", a recipe, an interview, and more new artwork (either mine or Sophia's or both) this week!

Studio Sneak Peek

Yesterday, my husband and I were busy taking photos in the studio for a tutorial I am writing for a German magazine...

Here is a sneak peak of me creating one of the drawings I use in my collages. I love that photograph of the rustic Italian kitchen, don't you?

Back later today with more "Blog Love" - I promise :)

Blog Love x 10

Today, I'd like to give a big round of thanks to 10 lovely blogs who have featured my work in the past month or two.



Thanks to Sophie in Brisbane, Australia for her sweet post today.



And thanks to Gabrielle, the creative, amazing (mother of 5!) at Design Mom.



Thanks to Anissa at i adore style , who has great taste.



And thank you to Melinda for the post on her super hip get togetha blog.



Thanks to Jessica at Funky Finds for her eclectic and fun picks.



And thank you to Lynsey at Cuteable , where you'll find the most adorable things.



Thanks to the fun and talented Anne Harwell at Annechovie. Be sure to check out her own Annechovie shop.



I appreciate Kate's post at undeniable style .



And I was delighted that Harry mentioned my Ikea lamps on MocoLoco.



And thank you to Caroline, who made me smile at Greedy Girl.

All of these lovely blogs are very much worth a visit! I am continually amazed by the creative and unique art and design bubbling all over everywhere!

Thanks again to these inspiring blogs, and tomorrow I will be sharing more blog love...

July's Print of the Month for only $10!

If you are one of my newsletter subscribers or a "Fan" on Facebook, then you have already heard the news!

Starting in July, each month I am offering 10 limited edition prints for only $10 each. Yes!

July's Print of the Month is "Caribbean Kitchen," which I chose for its light and airy, summery feel. All of my prints are on heavy archival Hahnemuhle papers with non-fading pigment inks. If you are interested, check out "Caribbean Kitchen" (and lots of new summer prints) in my shop :)

Hope your week is off to a good start!

Interview with Mati Rose McDonough

I just love the colorful playfulness of Mati Rose McDonough's artwork, and it certainly comes to life in this installation shot of her current show "Little Pink Houses" with Lisa Congdon at The Curiosity Shoppe in San Francisco. Read what she has to say about keeping art + blogging + life in balance in her "artists who blog" interview here.

Here Comes the Sun

It's the last week of the "Here Comes the Sun" Poppytalk Handmade Market, which made me remember that I wanted to share this lovely video of George Harrison and Paul Simon performing "Here Comes the Sun" live. The video is blurry - taken from YouTube - but the sound is incredible. Two amazing musicians!

Enjoy & Happy Weekend!

"Summer Fruits" in the Shop

I just listed a new set of art cards called "Summer Fruits" in the shop. Why not brighten someone's day with a hand-written note?



You can find "Mediterranean Figs" as a print for $14 or as an original for $35.



The original of "Garden Harvest" found a new home this week, but the print is quite vibrant and available here.

Art + Food = my new "Kitchen Sketches" blog

More news from me today (I told you I had been working hard behing the scenes, didn't I).

I started a new art + food blog called "kitchen sketches," where I'll be sharing weekly recipes inspired by a collage or painting I've made.

If you follow this blog, you know that I like to cook almost as much as I like to make art. On "kitchen sketches," I'll try to show a connection between the two. I have a lot of ideas for the new blog, and it felt good to write up the first post this morning.

My first recipe is for "White Sangria" or "Sangria Blanco" - a light and citrusy drink that looks great in a pitcher, just perfect for summer parties.



The artwork



The recipe



The real thing

When you purchase a print of the artwork I feature on "kitchen sketches," I'll include a collectable recipe card for free :)

I'd love to hear your comments and suggestions, and I'd love to see you at "kitchen sketches"!

My Newsletter Has Launched!

Hi!

I've been busy behind the scenes this week, which perhaps explains why there have been so few blog posts. But I'm excited this morning about the launch of my very first monthly newsletter!



Maybe it sounds silly to get so excited about a newsletter, but it was a lot of work to get it together. It was also a good chance for me to reflect on what I have done this month, and what I hope to get done. And it is a way of saying thank you to the many kind supporters out there who keep me going!

It's not too late to sign up, and there are some special discounts and freebies awaiting you as a subscriber :) You can sign up here on the blog - the sign up form is in the right hand sidebar. See a preview here.

Hope you are having a Happy Friday! I'll be back with more news this afternoon :)

Rain + Newsletter Sign Up

I wish I could show you pictures of bright sunny skies from here in Munich, but unfortunately we have rain again!



On the other hand, all the plants and trees are very lush and green this year, which is better than brown from drought I suppose.

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A little reminder: This week I will be sending out the first edition of my monthly Newsletter, so be sure to sign up for my mailing list here if you haven't already (the sign up form is in the right hand sidebar >>). You'll be the first to know about upcoming art projects and shows, and there are monthly subscriber discounts too! I'll also be sharing more of my personal goals, inspirations and secrets, and I might even throw in a recipe or two. So please join me, I'd love to have you on my special list :)

Happy Monday!

Studio Peek

It was a rainy afternoon, so I painted some watercolor stripes



to make things bright and cheery.



Here's a little sneak peek at my latest project...
More about these later.

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Don't miss my "artists who blog" interview today with the talented Julianna Swaney here!

Happy July 4th weekend to those of you in the US! Enjoy the fireworks for me!

A Trip to the Munich Zoo

I've never been much of a zoo-goer; I always feel sorry for the animals in their cages. However, our children get very excited by giraffes, elephants, zebras and the like, so we made our second trip to the Munich zoo (in two years) this week.



There were tall giraffes eating grass out of wire baskets





tropical turtles that live to be 150 years old



and peacocks parading majestically in the green landscape.




We saw mama apes with their babies in tow



and sometimes it was hard to tell who was watching who.





After all that excitement, our two girls fell asleep for a nap



but woke up in time for an afternoon ice cream



and giggled as they met a charming family of ducks.

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When was the last time you visited the zoo?

A Trip to Augsburg, Germany

During the past 2 weeks, we've been making lots of day trips with my mother, who has been visiting us from the States.



One day we took the train to the nearby city of Augsburg,
which has a beautiful downtown area that was wonderful to explore.
Just imagine living here in a historic building with cobblestone streets...



And there are lots of delightful little shops



that invite passers-by to come by and have a seat :)

Hope you are having a good week!
Tomorrow we'll visit the zoo in Munich :)

Interview with Alicia Bock

I'm so happy to announce that today's artists who blog interview is with photographer Alicia Bock. I love her image of a single fern frond in a water glass, and I especially adore the Paris images which you will find in her shop and on her blog. Her photographs make me want to get on a plane or train immediately and go visit Paris!



Happy Friday and be sure to go over and check out her interview here :)

Pippi Longstocking Revisited

Obviously I am biased, but my 3 year old daughter Sophia continues to amaze me with her art making. Her latest series of drawings all feature Pippi Longstocking or "Pippi Langstrumpf", as she is called in German. I vagely remember Pippi's movies running on TV during my childhood, but here in Germany (and most certainly in her home country of Sweden), Pippi is somewhat of a national heroine.

In any case, Sophia loves Pippi, and at the moment she is positively obsessed with her attempts to immortalize Pippi with magic markers.