Connecticut. Short and Sweet.

I haven't painted with acrylics in a long time,
but as my last post mentioned,
I had a little extra time in MD than planned,
and cheap paint from the craft store.
Jay and Tina had bought a new house this summer,
and had asked me to do a painting for them/it.
That was way back in July.
I knew I'd be headed over there for poker night this week
(and coming empty handed isn't cool).
It's a super nice house.






















We really didn't have much time in CT,
(only three nights),
and now we're headed to Providence for New Years.
While we were here,
Meryl's Mom took us out snowshoeing,
(my first time)
and we went to the farm, too.
It went fast, but it was really nice.
Thanks, Connecticut.
See you again, sometime.

Losing Track

I keep getting surprised by how late in the day/month/year it is.
My bedtime keeps getting pushed later and later,
but I keep waking up at the same time.
And it keeps getting colder.
6 degrees Fahrenheit right now.
It makes you want to not leave the house.
(tomorrow will be an exception,
since Dark Dark Dark is back in town to play a show)

The dead bird painting is finished, dry, and photographed.
I've been working on a few other dead bird paintings lately,
but more still-lifey,
and not just floating deadness.






















I had a ton of fun working on this tattoo today.
"A pickle in a wheelchair. Hot rod flames."
There wasn't any big story to go along with it,
other than the client is friends with Chef Ryan.
The pickle is it's own story, I guess.

Winter Weather

There's rain, there's snow,

and then there is freezing rain,

that icky cold mess than makes you want to stay inside.

Meryl and I ventured out to the Seward Cafe, of course,

and then to Riverview Theatre for a $2 showing of Depicable Me

(the best $4 I ever spent)

and then stayed inside the rest of the day doing art,

cooking, eating, and staying warm.

Here's a cell phone camera shot of what I worked on

while Meryl was carving a linoleum block

for her letterpress class tomorrow.

Fabiana's Most Important Tattoo

If you haven't met Fabiana's ink yet, you may want to check out her previous posts here and here before continuing. The above tattoo is on her right bicep and has a remarkable story behind it.

Fabiana was born in Italy. When she was three years old, a mirror belonging to her parents broke. Rather than throw the whole thing out, Fabiana's father, who loved to paint, took the wood on which the mirror had been mounted, and painted this cross:


Sadly, her dad passed away about a year later and Fabiana's mom, wanting her family to have a better life, moved them all to the U.S.

Years later, as an adult, Fabiana decided to honor her father: "I thought about the painting and said Wow, it would be great to have a piece of my dad on me . . . so I took the painting to my tat guy [Lou at Third Eye Tattoos] and he was like, Sure!"

Fabiana loves this remarkable piece. She acknowledges that it's a bit different from the original but it still carries great meaning. Both Fabiana and her twin sister have the same matching tattoo to honor the memory of their father.

Thanks again to Fabiana for sharing another piece of herself with us here at Tattoosday.