I see this gentleman working it on a daily basis. When someone asks him for a picture, he strikes a pose and says he is Lady Gaga’s grandmother. Here he is with his morning coffee from the deli.

There are a million reasons to love NYC right now, including the yellow tulips in full bloom on Park Avenue, and the cherry blossoms on my favorite block (10th Street between Fifth and Sixth) that seem like they’re so heavy the tree could just collapse. But I think the pleasure of perusing the soap aisle at Rite Aid with Tom Colicchio, then riding the elevator with Thom Filicia at ABC Home in the same day takes the cake. I mean, where else could that happen? Love this place.

Seeing my name this close to Kathy Griffin’s, well I am about as excited as a girl can be. Love her. The book is here.

Are you yard salers and thrifters? When I was a kid my favorite thing in life was buying a $20 table or chair from a thrift store to paint/sand/decoupage. John Derian are you hiring??

Sometimes I get to branch out and work on something totally different and fun. One of my favorite ladies asked if I could whip up some dots for her, and I thought I would take you through the steps. I’m holding off on showing you the final piece, as it might be coming to a publication near you sometime in the future.

I bought a 40″x60″ piece of Arches watercolor paper from DaVinci, which I had to carry two blocks back to my apartment, and all I can say is thank God it wasn’t windy, otherwise it would have been like a sail carrying me away to the Hudson River. I cut it down to 40″x42″ and I busted out the Sumi ink. I just love the marks Sumi ink can make, so I played around with that for a while, then I started practicing the dots. On a large piece like this, I always practice first. Then I got to work, and it was actually more difficult than it looks…making sure the dots are balanced…making sure it doesn’t make you dizzy, etc. I’m happy with how it  came out and it’s off to the framer now. Will keep you posted!

It’s never too early to start painting, right? Also…exhibit A on the quality of my pics- placing my camera order today!

Help! I need a new camera. I need it for taking pics of things to paint around NYC, but mostly I need it to take pics of my 8 month old, who’s baby book will probably be filled with grainy snaps from my blackberry, the poor child. So, any suggestions on something relatively light and portable? Many thanks.

PS…I also need these jeans, though this is not as dire my need for the camera, obviously.

It’s been a crazy few weeks- lots of fun and exciting work-which means less blog time. There are so many things I want to write about, and so little time! I do still take long walks with Alex and take photos in my head of things to paint later. For example, people who look exactly like their dogs, weird sea urchin-y plants outside of a Japanese restaurant on Varick Street, my favorite subject Hamish in front of Citarella wearing bright blue loafers and a deep green coat, the empire state building popping up over Sullivan Street….can’t you just see the paintings now?! They are all there in my head waiting to be painted. Hopefully I’ll get to it.  In the meantime, I saw someone wearing these shoes with green jeans, it looked adorable, so here is a quick sketch.

I wanted to do something floral and bright for my next round of prints, so I got orchids with an orange ground stuck in my head and I couldn’t wait to paint! Then I changed my mind half way through…..It has to be pink! So I tried again. Still not feeling it. Just thought I’d post them. Sometimes the best work is spontaneous and comes out exactly how you want it the first time, but sometimes it’s trial and error. Going to try again and see what I come up with!

I was challenged to do some posts on my favorite NYC places by the lovely Andrea on my facebook page. I am going to start with one of my all time favorite blocks: West 28th street between 6th and 7th Avenue, which is NYC’s flower district. In the dead of winter this block can make me very happy. It’s lined with everything from the tiniest succulents in little clay pots, to huge topiary and potted 7 foot tall trees.Most of the flower shops open at 5am, and the block might be bustling with event planners choosing hundreds of pink orchids for table centerpieces, interior designers hoping to add some color to a neutral loft space, or stylists looking for the perfect shade of hydrangea for a photo shoot. Most of it is wholesale, but I think now a lot of the shops sell to regular people like you and me. I used to frequent the flower market when one of my first jobs entailed buying flowers to decorate our showroom. It’s still a huge source of inspiration for me. I love peeking into a tiny storefront and seeing a huge jungle inside.

ABC home is having some pretty big sales….I went in looking for some fabric for curtains (living next to loading dock and a firehouse can be bright and noisy!) but instead ended up looking at all of the beads and cool jewelry in their bazaar area. Wouldn’t a tangle of colorful beads be great against a black silk blouse?