Kelly's Studio

Art and other sparkly things.

Happy Little Feet

Posted on | June 22, 2011 | 1 Comment

Eight weeks ago last Saturday, I had a baby boy. Here are his footprints!

This was his (but let’s be real, *our*) Father’s Day gift to his outstanding dad. It’s mixed media on wood, 8 inches x 8 inches.

Printing the painted feet of an 8-week old (even this good natured one) is messy business. I have more to write about the feet printing extravaganza of 2011, as well as the delightful boy attached to them. But I am unable to type coherently while “babywearing” the youngster, bouncing furiously on an exercise ball, and singing at full volume “The Eensy Weensy Spider” which seems, inexplicably, to be today’s soothing tune of choice.

But you get the idea for now anyway: Life is suddenly pretty different around here.

Spring is here!

Posted on | April 3, 2011 | Comments Off on Spring is here!

And the sun is out in San Francisco! Here’s some new art to celebrate.

Click on any photo to see more detail.

I’m really liking working on multiple panels for one piece, so this may be a continuing trend. I’m not sure what the next one will be, but I’m already thinking about it …

Christmas Commission

Posted on | December 29, 2010 | 2 Comments

Ah … holiday week! And no far-flung travel plans that can be horribly delayed by rain or blizzards or anything else.

Since November, I’ve been working on a triptych of paintings for a client who had planned to give them as a surprise on Christmas. I finished the paintings a couple of weeks ago, but I have been waiting to post the photos. It would be pretty unforgivable if my client had kept the paintings a secret and then I had been the one to blow the surprise.

With Christmas as far behind us as New Year’s is ahead of us, I figure it’s safe to post the photos now. 

Here they are, side by side. Click on any of the three images to see more detail:

The colors are more muted than my usual, but as the piece came together, the brown, beige and gray started to remind me of a wintry forest.

I’m now working on a similar series of three, but this new group has more green than gray. (They need more work before they’re ready for their photo-op.)

Make Fufu, Not War

Posted on | August 29, 2010 | 3 Comments

It’s been awhile!

I have all kinds of excuses, but the only interesting one is the two-week vacation (honeymoon!) Marc and I took in Ghana from the end of May through the beginning of June. I brought my Nikon D60 and Marc brought his F4 and a whole lot of film. We got some memorable shots and decided it would be worth making a photo book. Here is a link to the final product:

Ghana 2010 by Kelly White & Marc Cousineau | Make Your Own Book

My aunt and uncle hosted us and planned the entire trip. Marc and I visited along with another couple, and we all traveled by minivan through Akosombo (Lake Volta), Accra, Koforidua, Kumasi, Cape Coast, Elmina, and many of the places in between.  We ate fufu, shito, fish, kelewele, kenkey, jollof rice, red-red, amazing street food snacks, and we enjoyed some of the most delicious tropical fruits imaginable.

We also got on board with some of the local fashion. Marc now has a very awesome African shirt, and my aunt had a beautiful African dress custom made for me by her seamstress. I literally stopped traffic in it the other night when I wore it out to dinner:  “GIRL! You’ve got it going ON! And the beads to match!” Approval doesn’t get much better than that.

With all the time we spent together in the minivan, we learned some history, traded stories, and made new friends. It was a fantastic trip.

SOMA: SO Much Awesomeness

Posted on | March 13, 2010 | Comments Off on SOMA: SO Much Awesomeness

(It was today, anyway.  Other days, it’s South of Market Street.)

Enough of this unintentional hiatus from blog updates.

As of today, I’m 3 paintings lighter!  I delivered “Little Black Dress,” “Hoodie,” and “SF2008” this morning to my favorite San Francisco Salon, G-Squared, in the SOMA neighborhood. The owner, Neil, has been keeping my hair *done* since I moved to San Francisco.  His newly remodeled salon is a cool, modern space where minimalist design is the backdrop for the stylists’ warm and inspired approach to working magic on hair.  I couldn’t be happier to have my paintings hanging there.

Next stop? SF Moto. Marc and I went by this afternoon to meet Arlene and see the brand new GoGo Gear. When we arrived, Arlene and Desiree were arranging an impressive display of all the gear. Even better, as the jackets went up, they came down again for customers to try and discover how incredibly flattering they are. In a couple of weeks, my Hologram jacket will arrive. I can’t wait!  And at the risk of getting ahead of myself, we got a glimpse of some of what’s coming for GoGo Gear in 2011:  a ruffled-trench in a sueded coppery fabric–fully armored gorgeousness.

And thanks to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade down Market St., 7th St. was completely closed to traffic for a few blocks today.  Marc seized the no traffic opportunity to get a shot (or two) down the center of 7th St., and I got this shot, which I think sums up our day quite nicely.

The excitement continues in SOMA tomorrow. We’re making our first foray into the darkroom! Our friends at Billibatt Productions took some fantastic photos–on film!–of us at our wedding in February at City Hall. (Yes, we got married!  On the fifth anniversary of our first date! I think this needs its own blog post, though.) Tomorrow, Marc and I will begin to learn how to make black and white prints. I can’t wait!

SFMOMA 75th Anniversary Party

Posted on | January 23, 2010 | Comments Off on SFMOMA 75th Anniversary Party

DSC_0225

Last Friday, I was L’s date to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s 75th Anniversary Party. It was fabulous. There is so much amazing art on display! This exhibit will be up through May 16, 2010.

The part of the evening I enjoyed the most was taking photos of ourselves and other guests interacting with the space and the art. L always has the best ideas–like this photo she took of me in the cut-out, above the party.

Merry, YAY! and Happy

Posted on | January 11, 2010 | Comments Off on Merry, YAY! and Happy

How is it already January 11?

And how have I not done a post here for so many weeks?

Christmas Eve seems like it was just last Thursday.  I spent all day at work and then high-tailed it to pick-up Marc’s Christmas present.  I pushed my last-minute shopping luck, and I very nearly didn’t get to pick it up because the store had closed early.  Then it was Christmas!  We ate baked French toast and watched movies, movies, and more movies.  That’s the Merry part.

We even walked to the movies that weekend, a 4-mile urban adventure, and we arrived in time to snag our 3D glasses and be first in line for the gorgeous spectacle that is Avatar.  We took Muni home after the movie with the 96″ canvas that we picked-up from my office.  After 10 months of hanging out in my office, the really big canvas is finally at home now.  I continue to contemplate what to do with it.

But the biggest news of that day (weekend, holiday season, 2009, what have you) is that Marc and I got engaged!  YAY!

The happy is the New Year’s we spent with wonderful friends and the start to this year.

I started one little painting and I’ve been gathering new ideas and inspiration for some others.  And in and around my other work, which has gotten pretty busy lately, I find myself admiring my shiny and sparkly new ring.  So far, 2010 is off to an unexpected and awesome start.

Rock, paper, x-acto knife

Posted on | December 18, 2009 | Comments Off on Rock, paper, x-acto knife

Here is some finished new work!

First, Old Stone I and Old Stone II.  They’re 24″ x 12″, acrylic and paper on canvas.  You can see earlier photos and the inspiration behind them here.

Old Stone I

Old Stone I

Old Stone II

Old Stone II

And Paper Flower is also done. It’s 36″ x 24″, acrylic and newsprint on canvas. I’ve been talking about this one for a couple of weeks, here and here .

Paper Flower

Paper Flower

Here is a detail shot, too.

Detail

These shoes were made for … flying!

Posted on | December 18, 2009 | 1 Comment

I am so excited. “Black Heels” is, as I type, in flight to its new home. What an unexpected (and wonderful) surprise of a sale!

I sent the box out yesterday morning, and I’m still over the moon. (Isn’t that great?)

Aside from obsessing about the packing, the addressing of the package and now the tracking of the package (hello, separation anxiety, been awhile, hasn’t it?), I have noticed I’m just really ridiculously happy about this sale. I had forgotten how much I love sending my paintings out into the world. I like imagining where they will be hung and that they will bring a bit of Ooh là là! to a room. And I like it when I do smart things like keep my merchant bank account open, even though it hasn’t gotten much action lately, so that when something like this comes up, I can process a credit card sale easily.

Big Yay! all around.  Or as my sister exclaimed, “Yay! Art!” I think that sums it up perfectly.

Paper Flower

Posted on | December 13, 2009 | Comments Off on Paper Flower

The piece I started last week is coming along. Here are a few photos:

I’m going for the impression that the flower, made of of curled and twisted newsprint, is emerging from the disorganized shreds of paper that surround it.

Once it’s dry and there’s more light, I’ll be able to get some better shots. But this will have to do for now.

« go backkeep looking »