If you know me, you know how much I love a good “to-do” list. What I love even more than the actual list, is crossing things off of the list. And, what I love even more than crossing things off of the list, are these oil paintings of crossed off lists, by Brooklyn based artist Allison Freeman.

> write monday’s post

Ok, who’s kinda freaked out by this scary cuteness? Me too… but it’s still my favorite kind of cuteness, and clearly Taipei based artist Hsiao-Ron Cheng has mastered it! She uses a combination of pencil, oil paint, mixed media and digital techniques to create these beautiful/weird little scenes… hm, I sure hope that girl’s scarf is going to double as a parachute! Well, at least she’s got a better chance than the bunny girl who just got eaten by a T-Rex. Ouch.

Oooh, the pattern design of artist Kendra Dandy {aka Bouffants & Broken Hearts}. Right now, on Society 6, you can buy a bunch of stuff covered in these gorgeous patterns {iPhone cases, laptop sleeves, as art on canvas etc}. But wait, there’s more good news! As we speak, she’s having some of these beauties made into fabric! Tell me, would watermelon shorts and a “polka dot sweater” be too much? Hm, maybe, but I might be willing to give it a shot… you know, for art’s sake.

And my obsession with slightly strange portraits continues! I can’t help but love these very sweet faces by Chinese artist, Liu Ye. Flat fields of color, rosy cheeks, and of course, Miffy the Bunny… because let’s be honest, no one can resist Miffy.

Whoa. It was a crazy week after getting home last Sunday, but the recap from GIRL CRUSH Minneapolis is finally ready!

Oh my word. I loved every second of my weekend in Minnesota, with American painter Jennifer Davis. Amazing conversations, delicious food, and lots of art! {psst… see that little birdie? That’s a Jen Davis original, that she raffled off first thing in the morning… no, I didn’t win. Damn.}

Our workshop/tea party was generously hosted by Soo Visual Arts Center – it’s a beautiful space, and we were lucky enough to be submerged, I mean surrounded, by the work of New York artist Samantha French. Gorgeous! After  filling up with coffee and breakfast pastries donated by Common Roots Cafe, we spent the morning getting to know each other, talking insecurities, motivation, and while we were at it, we tried to figure out why blank sketchbooks are so scary {still working on it, but at least now we’ve got a plan!} Oh, and then Jen pulled out a bunch of her original paintings, and passed them around so we could hold them in our hot little hands!

Yes. We got to hold these {and a whole bunch more!}. They are stunning in person. Stunning! {ps. that little black cat is a portrait of Jennifer’s cat, Nudge… I’m not sure who that little dog is though!}

Ok, so after a morning of artist-block bashing exercises, it was time to eat! Again. Lunch was donated by Chow Girls Killer Catering {thank you!!!}. It was oh so delicious, and oh so nutritious… which was good, because then we ate these:

Gah! So good! Honestly, I lost count of how many of these bad boys I ate! {Amy, from Chow Girls, picked these treats up for us from Sweets Bakeshop ~ thanks Amy!}. Now, everyone knows that once you’re full of sugar, you need a latte! So that’s what we did… we walked over to the back room at Common Roots Cafe, grabbed a fancy coffee, and got out the art supplies:

Fun!!! Paint, glue, bits n’ pieces of vintage paper, and of course Plywerk panels. The folks at Plywerk rocked my world when they donated another batch of panels for this workshop! They had just finished sponsoring GIRL CRUSH Portland two weeks earlier, and then they swooped in to help with Minneapolis. Amazing, yes!? Oh, and speaking of amazing, check this out:

1. A vintage image that Jen found in a pile of stuff  2. The sketch she did during the workshop … and then five days later, from that inspiration / sketch, she finished this final painting:

Yep. That’s why I have a girl crush on her! I think it’s also safe to say, that I might just have a girl crush on everyone that attended – here’s a peek at the work that came out of our afternoon:

Fantastic – You all make me jealous! xo

YAY! So, that was the last GIRL CRUSH workshop for the summer… Philly, with Shauna Alterio is sold out, and coming up in October. If you’re in Austin, there are still a few spots for GIRL CRUSH Austin with Alyson Fox in April 2013! It’s going to be amazing… you should come!

{…more thanks… photography: Katie Parr, and Carolyn Payne (exec director at SooVAC!) // gift bags goodies: Vandalia Street Press, Paper Darts, Hang It, The People’s Jewelry, Urbanimal, Walker Shop at Walker Art Center – thank you all so much! xo}

Pencil, gouache, and paper on panel… and a few unsightly blemishes on the horizon made beautiful. Seriously… have you ever seen such lovely power lines? This is the work of American artist Rebecca Rothfus. I have loved her paintings for a long time, and I’m so excited to find out that I’ll get to meet her next April {she’s coming to GIRL CRUSH Austin, hosted by me and Alyson Fox!}.

Now, I won’t be in Austin until next spring, but if you’re there right now, you can see Rebecca’s work at grayDUCK Gallery, from June 15th ~ July 15th, 2012.

Beautiful, yet somewhat terrifying. These are the lovely, scary, washy watercolors of Australian artist Tara Marynowsky. All of these pieces are from her series, titled Tales. I love them so much, but I’m not gonna lie… I’m kinda creeped out.

I almost didn’t write about this. Why? Well, I didn’t want all of you beating me to these hot, artsy deals! I know, I know… so greedy! Ok fine, here you go then:

American artist Martha Rich is putting up 100 of her paintings on paper, all of which are priced at a mere $100. When she reaches 100 sold pieces, she’ll add more. Ah, artists making originals accessible to the masses… hm, I wish that bra was still accessible, but it’s already SOLD! Get over there fast, people – these underpants, dresses, and bras are flying off the shelf!

I ♥ Portland! Wow… what a lovely city. Tree-lined streets, beautiful old homes, and the location of the latest GIRL CRUSH workshop & tea party!

Sigh ~ we had such an amazing day in the gorgeous home of painter Lisa Golightly. It was literally the perfect setting for an artsy tea party. Our group was made up of all kinds of people… artists, a poet, an actress, an art/design student, an advertising art director, and a couple of “crafty mamas” {… but that’s a story for another day}. After a few scrumptious breakfast pastries, delivered by Elephants Deli, and more than a couple of cups filled with Stumptown coffee, we spent the morning talking uplifting inspirations, crushing insecurities, and everything in between.

… and after all of that talking, listening, laughing, and cursing {yes, it’s true… the occasional bit of non-teaparty-esque language may have been dropped when referring to our always annoying inner critics}, we needed a little sustenance to help us make it through the artsy afternoon that lay ahead:

YUM! After an insanely delicious lunch from Elephants {note: fig & goat cheese tartlets might just be the best thing ever invented}, we moved on to these! Chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet cupcakes decorated with tiny sugar-coated rose petals & mint leaves! Thanks so much to Cupcake Jones for delivering these little bites of heaven to our doorstep!

Ok… sugar? Check. More coffee? Check. Time to head downstairs and make stuff:

I have seen so much of Lisa’s work, but never in person. Let me tell you… it’s fantastic! What an inspiring space to roll up our sleeves and get creative:

So much fun! The folks at Plywerk donated a whole box of gorgeous bamboo panels for us to use for our collages. Paint, bits of found paper, and a few gold animals… ahh, now that’s an afternoon well spent!

I could have worked on these forever! But alas, somehow this lovely day in Portland had come to an end. Thanks so much to everyone that came {Melissa, Laura, Jessica, Autumn, Monica, and Cait}, and thanks so much to Lisa for hosting… I loved every second of this amazing day! xo

{photos: Jessica and Autumn somehow managed to snap all of these photos during our very full day – thanks for sending them my way, girls!}

A treasure box of a room, bookended by wrestling tigers… awesome.

These paintings are the work of New Orleans based artist Erica Lambertson. She has a portfolio full of interesting images, but I could not stop staring at those tigers! Such simple brush strokes, yet she has managed to capture their movement perfectly. The other painting is titled “Le Garage”… um, if my garage was filled with all of that amazing stuff, I would literally never come out. Seriously.