Long Beach Art Museum Wedding

This wedding took place mid-August on the bluff overlooking the ocean at the Long Beach Museum of Art.

Here is the setting, as the crowd awaits the arrival of the wedding party.

I wanted to capture the table settings the bride designed. She is a prolific artist, and painted all the miniture floral canvases adorning each table.

Nursery Border

With a baby girl on the way, the mom-to-be picked out bedding with a rosette pattern of pale yellow, lavendar and mauve; and wanted a painted border to match, all the way around the room.

I free-hand painted a random, yet consistent design-- using the various stages of blooms-- from buds to fully open blossoms.

This photo is closer to the muted tones of the actual colors.

I hope baby likes it as much as mom does!!

"Kids Names"

In a re-modeled residence, I was asked to paint decorative wall border elements using the names of the children as subject matter.

Each name picks up the paint colors in the bedroom and adjoining bathroom, and conveys the individual personality of the child.

Chloe likes roses.

A light switch design plays off the mini-mural design.

Emmi likes daisies.

And what little girl doesn't like butterflies?

Emilio has a beachy-pirate theme in his room, so the long board with a skull and crossbones made perfect sense.




I tried to give it wood grain and three-dimensional look, and make a "surf logo" out of his name.

The light switch palm tree and wave is a perfect compliment.

More Murals

Here is the result of the first call from my van graphics... a neighbor saw the ads and called me. We'd never even met before! She wanted clouds and elements in her attic room to match the Mary Engelbreight decor.



A tree in the corner...



A big sunflower and more clouds in the stairwell...



close up of the birdies...



A fun room for the grandkids to visit...



I would enjoy waking up here!

Taste of the Coast

Last Sunday was the first annual Taste of the Coast, a charity event held on the Belmont Pier to raise money for Kid's Connection:

http://www.lbkidsconnection.org/

Children Today was the chosen recipient for the proceeds. I was asked to paint the festivities which comprised more than 30 restaurants offering up delicious food, live music, a bounce house and auction items.

My challenge was painting such a long stretch of an event. I surveyed the area and made several compositional sketches to determine the best "view" for the painting.

Not this one...

or this.

Since the pier is "T" shaped, I positioned myself at one end of the "T" where I could see the band, the length of the pier with all the food tents...

and the bounce house in the sand, and the Long Beach city skyline in the distance.

Throughout the day, the crowd grew and grew! A few boats sailed by and birds flew overhead.

It made sense to me that they might act as carrier pigeons to deliver the banner overhead!

To my delight the painting was purchased, raising money for Children Today:

http://www.childrentoday.org/about/

Thank you to all my friends who attended and helped make Taste of the Coast a success!!

New Live Event Paintings

This was painted for a corporate VIP audience at a wine tasting party at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego. I had exactly two hours to accomplish an ocean scene (looking at the ocean scene from where I was positioned on the hotel balcony). The painting was gifted via raffle to one of the attendees.






This was painted at an ISES (International Special Events Society) Los Angeles chapter mixer at the Ambassador West in Pasadena. The caterer for the event purchased the canvas for his office.






My second trip to New Jersey produced this painting from a wedding reception held at the beautiful Rockleigh Country Club. All the people depicted are important family members and close friends. All twenty-nine!







This was a wedding celebration with traditional Korean costumes. I loved the brightly dressed women and the colbalt- blue gown the bride wore for the first dance.

Annie, the Jack Russell Terrier

Here is Annie, my mother's Jack Russell Terrier, painted in acrylic on 8"x10"canvas board. She was so delighted, she almost cried! I delivered the painting to her at the networking group we both belong to, in order to remind people that now is the time to be thinking about ordering holiday gifts.


A pet portrait makes a very special and treasured gift!


This is the reference photo I took with my camera. I prefer to take my own, but I can also work from photos provided.