Winter Photos

It was another snowy winter in Michigan! There was even a stretch in February there where it seemed like every day we got another couple inches of snow. (I think I'd much rather have a single 10-inch snowstorm than five 2-inch days in a row - then you only have to shovel your driveway once instead of every day for five days straight.) What a ridiculous state... at least the snow is pretty, though! (When you don't have to drive in it.)

Here are some of my favorite snowy pictures I took this past season, including pics from December 2017 - March 2018.

As always, I also tried to take pictures of flowers, when I happened across some in my day to day life. They were few and far between this time of year (obviously), but I did get a couple nice shots. The first is of a potted plant that was left on my desk at work (they had a lot of extras after an event, and went around handing out potted plants to everyone). The second is of tulip bouquets at a local supermarket the week of Valentine's Day in February.

I'm excited for spring flowers to arrive! We planted a bunch of tulips in our front yard landscaping this past fall, and some are already starting to grow! More pictures of those to come, of course, once I have an entire compilation of spring flowers to share. :)

Charlotte Skyline in Progress (Adding Detail 3)

I've been busy with this triptych acrylic painting lately, finishing up the architectural details! Here are some more "in progress" photos as I worked through this painting, building by building.

Darkening and adding window details to a building on the far left panel

Can you tell which buildings I still have to do? :)

Changing a gray building into a brown building, and then adding tiny square windows

Working on another office building and parking structure. On the left, you can see the little plastic containers I was using to store mixed paint so that it wouldn't dry out.

Finishing up the building on the far right of the far right panel.

Can't forget to add the details on the sides of the canvases, too!

Another row of buildings that continue across a gap in the canvases

The edges on these buildings aren't finished yet, because I will do that when I paint in the bushes around it.

Same for this one - when I add the black/green silhouetted foliage, the building's edges will become more defined.

Finishing up two buildings in the lower right corner.

Another building (an arena, perhaps?), this one with a domed roof.

Starting to add window details to this light colored building...

...And finishing said building!

Working on the buildings that are smack dab on the edge of the middle and right panels.

Here are those buildings finished!

The entire triptych so far!

Finally I finished all of the buildings! Now all that's left is filling in the silhouetted bushes/foliage on the bottom to darken those up and cover up stray brushstrokes, and adding in some red light details for street lamps and the tops of some of the skyscrapers. Almost done!

Ginny turns 3!

It's that time of year again, when I post a bunch of pictures of my adorable dog, Ginny, in honor of her birthday! This year, Ginny turns three. We got her in June 2015 when she was three months old, and she's been an integral part of our family ever since.

My photo gallery on my phone consists mainly of three types of photos: my artwork (or artwork in progress), inanimate objects (landscaping, flowers, new places I'm visiting), and Ginny. I already incorporate the first two categories into this blog - so it's only fitting that every once and awhile I also do a photo dump of the best Ginny pics. :)

Women Art Show at the Carr Center - One More Month!

When I went to write this entry, I thought I would be telling you all that you have only one more week to get over to the Carr Center in Detroit to see the Women Art show on display for the month of March. But it actually turns out that they've extended the show, and the exhibition will now be up until April 26th - so you have an entire month still to go see the paintings, sculptures, drawings, fiber arts, written words, and photographs in this varied, awesome show!

Here are some photographs I took of my watercolor "Bandaged Duality" hanging in the gallery during the opening reception. It is on a white pillar close to the front door as you walk in.

There was also a sign up at the opening reception, listing the names of all women artists participating in the exhibition. (My name is in the third column.)

For more information, check out the Carr Center website: https://www.thecarrcenter.org/

Graphic Design Projects (March 2017-March 2018)

Today marks my two-year anniversary of working at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield as a graphic designer!

Two years ago, I hastily put together a graphic design portfolio on this blog, which included images of freelance work I done since 2011, projects from my Campus Life job at Eastern Michigan University (2009-2010), and projects from my EMU Graphic Design classes. (You can see that blog post here, if you're interested.)

Then, last year, I posted some of what I'd created in the previous year at Temple Israel. (You can see that post here.) Today, I continue the tradition, showing off some of my favorite projects from the last twelve months, categorized into the following groups:

- Logo Designs
- T-shirts
- Brochures & Mailers
- Multi-Page Documents (Books & Zines)
- Posters, Flyers, and Ads

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LOGO DESIGNS

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T-SHIRTS

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BROCHURES & MAILERS

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MULTI-PAGE DOCUMENTS

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POSTERS, FLYERS & ADS