Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Sweet Tea

Nectar of the South.
The best $1 spent at McDonalds.
What my boys beg from my Gammy.
What God made on the 8th day according to Hootie and the Blowfish.

All of these describe one thing....SWEET TEA!!!!



I've been wanting to paint something sweet tea related for a while, but wasn't sure what to do. Not long after the tea idea came the desire to paint something with lemons. Somehow the themes merged, and the above painting was created. It's a very appropriate painting for our Southern household. We love sweet tea, but can't justify drinking the sugar equivalent of a candy bar at every meal. So it's surely a treat for us on those days when we are handed the proverbial lemons of life!

If you know of any sweet tea addicts, this painting is for them.

While we're on the topic...Has anyone tried these?



As I stared at them in the Target check out line, I was skeptical. Iced tea mints??? Seriously? But I really think they're good. And so do all the people that they got passed to at church on Sunday (Because they wanted to try them. Not because they needed them.) They're definitely more along the lines of the Lipton artificial lemon flavored tea in a can taste instead of the real deal sweet tea flavor, but they're still good.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Scribe

Sometimes people will look at my paintings and say, "I never knew you were artistic/an artist!" And I'm so grateful. Clearly, it's flattering. Not so clearly, is the fact that I'm laughing at the thought of my brother ever hearing someone say that. Is it because he's the typical mean, older brother? No...In fact, he couldn't be farther from it. It's because he actually IS an artist. He supports his family doing what he loves. And he's really, really, really good at it. See....


Why all the hype about my brother? Well....he has decided to spread his artistic talents to the masses in a new way!!!! Without further adieu, let me introduce to you....SCRIBE!!!!! Scribe will provide stationary, invitations, announcements, greeting cards and more. COMING SOON!!!! And get excited Bluffton and Hilton Head fans, because Scribe will be teaming up with The Peanut Paintshop for a little house party in September. Details to follow. If you have a need for something awesome in the meantime, please email Matt(hew) at scribe@g-graphics.com.

Isn't this amazing? This is a wedding invitation courtesy of Scribe, and I think it's so unique and elegant. LOVE.IT.


And as an added bonus to me, Melissa, my sister-in-law, asked me to paint something for this wedding couple based on the invitation. It was difficult to paint behind my brother's brilliance, but it was fun to partner up in this way instead of our usual brother/sister antics of laughing at our parents. Just kidding of course. We wouldn't do that.


Perhaps the best announcement Scribe will produce will be coming in December. Matt and Melissa are expecting their first baby!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Maama Jaama

In our home, for whatever reason, we often refer to things that are large as "maama jaamas". (I spelled this strangely because if I wrote "Mama Jama" I thought you would pronounce it like 'mama' as in slang for your mother, but I went with the Maam spelling because that's how you spell 'maam' as in "yes, maam." and that's the proununciation I want you to go with in this case:)

Anyway...In my little painting world...this is a MAAMA JAAMA. So far it's the biggest I've ever done. 4 feet by 5 feet.


A lot of people will see my paintings and say, "You must really do some neat stuff for your own children." If I've ever said yes to you, then I lied. The nursery has some very hideous safari paintings in them that I did before Jack was born. They were my firsts. They're still hanging there for two reasons:

The reason I tell people: Because it's so sentimental to me that I painted these for my little boy before I ever even met him.
The real reason: There's nothing to replace them and the walls would be bare.

Then there's one fish painting that was a recent mock up for an order I did for someone else...so it's sort of a scrap piece of art. And then there's one in their bathroom that was something that wasn't purchased.

So...it was time to give my best, my best! How could I show these boys of mine that they are my 2 favorite little boys in the world? Well, by painting them a huge map of the US, CLEARLY!

Here's a close up of the states. I went with a more whimsical approach again. It's becoming a friend of mine, I must say. There's freedom in not having your lines be super exact and perfect (which they weren't perfect even when I did try).

It's bold, bright, and is going to be the new theme of our guest room/playroom. We're going with a travel theme since we like to travel and since it's a guest room, our guests will have travelled here to see us! Finn is making the transition into Jack's room, so that they're now sharing. So now we have room for company again!

Here are my two favorite states...For the most part, I didn't intentionally choose the color of the states when I painted them...except for a few. North Carolina was painted with CAROLINA blue because it's obviously the best color God created, it's my alma mater, and the best state ever. South Carolina, my current state of residence is orange, because there's a certain school here that tends to dominate fanhood. AND it's my son's favorite color, so I went with it.

There's nothing particularly touching about Wyoming to me. I just like the letters on it. I've never been to Wyoming, but I've heard it's beautiful. I always picture dude ranches, fly fishing and skiing when I think of that state. These letters looked 'ranchy' to me.

And here's the map lopsided. Because all things look more amazing when they're in lopsided pictures.


So where did I get the idea? I'll give you one guess and you'll probably get it right:



Pottery Barn Kids....again:) I've looked at this painting over and over again, wondering whether or not to buy it, but several things stopped me. It wasn't bright enough, it wasn't bold enough, the white background was blah and it was not a maama jaama. So, as Paula Abdul would tell an American Idol contestant, "I made it my own."

I had to have some more orange, some pink (as I am a lone pink lover in my all boy house), some purple, and a watery looking border since we live at the beach. It's not quite completed, but it's fun to look at. Thought you might like looking at it, too!

Happy July 21st!

Saturday, July 18, 2009

AlphaBlocks



Check out the Alphablocks above! These were painted for my friend, Ann, who just a baby boy several weeks ago. Almost as precious as her baby, is his nursery! Ann always decorates so well, so I was honored when she came to me with this task. Below the paintings pictured above are pictures she took of Brady's bedding. These paintings are 5x7s, which are a lot smaller than what I'm used to, but they were a lot of fun to do! I attached some ribbons at the tops of the paintings for them to hang from some wall hooks in his room. Can't wait to see them!!!! Welcome to the world, Baby Brady!

FYI-These blocks can be done with any image, any color, and they make great baby gifts!

Friday, July 3, 2009

Redfish

Our neighbor is having her 2nd boy, due in August (yes, pray now that she survives this summer heat!), and she wanted a fish painting for his room. Here's the image she wanted painted. The other instructions were a green/brownish background and she wanted it outlined.

Here's what the finished product looked like....

My favorite things about this painting...
1. It's totally out of my comfort zone. All of my clean lines were out the window on this one. It was whimsy and free-handing all the way. Which was surprisingly TONS of fun.
2. The funky, chunky lettering! The paint is a super thick acrylic that adds some texture. I would use the term puff paint, but it's really not puff paint and I don't want to bring up any damaging memories from anyone's elementary school wardrobe. But the paint is similar in that it's raised.
3. I was so focused on this painting that I did a little mock up on a smaller canvas beforehand, just to see if I could do it. And I like that one, too, so now my boys have that one on their wall:)...

Here's to trying something different!!!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Annabelle

Contrary to popular belief, I have not fallen off the face of the world. The Peanut Paintshop went on vacation. Literally! I went on a family trip, but I brought my brushes along with me. Did I devote as much time to painting as I did chasing the boys on the beach? No. Did I enjoy my time painting as much as I normally do? Absolutely! So, fear not, those who have placed orders and are awaiting their arrival. The Paintshop lives!!!!

Before our 10 day NC/SC road trip, the "Annabelle" was released from the Paintshop doors. This was for a friend who now has a 2nd baby. We were in StrollerFit together with our first children (both boys), who now look so grown up we can hardly believe our eyes. Where does the time go?

Unlike me, my friend's 2nd child was a GIRL! And what do girls need? P.I.N.K. :) Annabelle's room is decorated in browns and greens, but her mom thought she needed a little 'blush and bashful' (name that movie:) on the walls. So that's what we did!

Here's a valance from the bedding line. It's Bunny Meadows from KidsLine. They have super cute stuff!

I tried to add some of the tree theme to the canvas without going overboard. Annabelle's mom painted a tree on the nursery wall, which is awesome. As much as I love to paint, I'd be freaked out to paint on a wall! Kudos to you, P! The tree is incredible.

On the other side is a touch of the funky green flower. Probably one of those things you blow on and all the little needly things fly off. Why is it that I can't think of that word now? It's probably something obvious like "Blow Flower" . Right.

I know. You're shocked, too? This canvas made it out of the Paintshop without a nary polka dot to be found anywhere on it. This canvas must be special. Just like Annabelle. She's a beauty. If we didn't live in such a scary web-crazed world, I'd post pictures of all the precious babies and kiddos these paintings go to. I'd surely get more blog readers:)


Keep the orders coming. Remember, if you want something done that you don't see on here, please let me know! This is such a new thing for me, that virtually everything painted is a first. Well, almost.

Check in for a new post coming soon. It's another fish painting, but it's different from anything I've ever done. I was so scared to try it, but so far, I LOVE IT! Hopefully you will, too.