Decorating with Quentin Blake

As a child, my primary passion was drawing; in fact, I spent the first ten to twelve years of my life convinced I was going to be a children's book illustrator or Disney animator. Little wonder then that two of my leading role models were Walt Disney and Quentin Blake, an English illustrator and author who is probably most famous for illustrating the works of Roald Dahl. Dahl's fantastical,

Olivia, reclining

Today I wanted to share with you all a recent watercolor my mother did of my dachshund Olivia. I think she did a wonderful job of capturing Olivia's personality (and, let's face it, her voluptuous figure). To give you a point of reference, the watercolor is based on this photograph that I took of Olivia a few weeks back in my office: Of course, since both the artist and the subject are near and

Love is....

"Enter" by Irene Suchocki"Politics"How can I, that girl standing there, My attention fix On Roman or on RussianOr on Spanish politics?Yet here's a travelled man that knowsWhat he talks about,And there's a politicianThat has read and thought,And maybe what they say is trueOf war and war's alarms,But O that I were young againAnd held her in my arms!-William Butler Yeats

Artist Spotlight: Oh, kirby! {and Giveaway}

Elizabeth R ($70, original painting on wood panel)I first became acquainted with oh, kirby! artwork via decor8 way back in 2008 and have been charmed by Sarah Kirby's original work every since. My attraction to her art is partially based on a shared fondness of similar historic periods and figures and partially because her style recalls the many, many paper dolls that I cut and played with as a

500 colors...infinite possibilities.

I've always enjoyed coloring -- and no, I don't mean drawing. Unlike drawing, coloring is free form and pressure free. You're not trying to create something, you're just...coloring. It's pleasant, mindless, and I've always found it to be incredibly relaxing. As someone with a fairly high level of energy, it also gives me something to occupy my hands with while sitting in front of the TV. If I

Preening like a Peacock

John DerianRecently I've been loving peacock motifs, both in home decor and in fashion. And while it's undeniable that peacocks (especially their feathers) have been having "a moment" in the world of design for the past few years, the peacock has been popular as a symbol of royalty, beauty, paradise (and even immortality!) throughout human history.In India, the peacock has long been associated

Housewarming

As a housewarming gift to my parents, I commissioned Anne Harwell over at Annechovie to paint my parents' new home. Custom art is always a great personal gift, but this time it felt particularly appropriate given that my mother has a painting of each one of her previous homes (several of which were painted by my maternal grandmother, an amateur artist herself who was highly skilled at watercolors