My latest painting was commissioned by a collector for her dining room in the Andersonville neighborhood in Chicago. She loves peonies and wanted something large and dramatic to fill the space above her buffet. Initially she wanted a mural but decided a canvas would be more practical and portable if she ever moved.We decided on a square, 36 x 36 inch canvas. I have been loving painting flowers on blacks and navies, so we decided on peaches and pink peonies on a rich navy color. I really love this color palette and hope to use it again soon…SO fresh! She gave me a photograph of two flowers snapped on her iphone. I used this for reference.

Spacially mapping out my canvas…you’ll see I end up with WAY less flowers.

Adding highlights and cleaning up the background.

I added a few budding flowers to balance the bouquet.

The finished painting, Peonies, 36 x 36, acrylic on canvas

My client was completely elated upon seeing the finished piece. We installed it on Monday and now her dining room is dramatic and dinner party worthy.

This month began on a very somber note as the great actor, Philip Seymour Hoffman, passed away on February 2nd. Through all of my acting years in school and beyond, he was always my favorite. An incredibly versatile and grounded actor, who was a force in both the film and theatre world. And although I never knew him personally, I was incredibly saddened by his death. May his creative spirit live on in the roles he played and in the beautiful family he leaves behind.

February has pressed on to be quite a busy month for me artistically and I am finding myself incredibly inspired right now. This inspiration has led to work being created and sold…to new commissions and a whole plethora of ideas! I also mailed off my post card to Florida for this year’s Twitter Art Exhibit. This is my second year participating. Each year this international exhibit’s sales benefits a different charitable cause, this year’s being the Special Needs Classes at The Center for Contemporary Dance in Orlando. It has been great connecting with other artists and raising money for good causes. My postcard sized art this year is “Pollinate”, a geometric inspired piece done in ink and marker.

You can follow me on instagram to see my 365 Sketch A Day Project daily. Also check out The Artsy Forager’s instagram project, “Artsy Defined” and follow along to meet other creatives and get inspired!

Here are the first 10 days of February sketching…

So January…was a month to remember! Or forget. No just kidding. It WAS marked by lots and LOTS of snow in Chicago, flu ridden children and husband, and many a day stuck indoors. Good thing I love being at home stuck in a snowstorm with candles, food cooking and music playing….

I got some new pens and markers this week so there is some color in this next bunch of sketches. Here is the last of January 2014. What. A. Month.