Wrapping up June...

So I am actually typing this in July...but gonna date it for the end of June, just 'cause.

The end of June was chaotic to say the least.  We moved, and as you know, moving can really make everything crazy and stressful.  I really have to say, this was one of our easiest moves- EVER.  It was definitely easier that moving into our place this time last year, that is for sure!  For the first time John and I hired a mover, and it was great.  We found out about Dee's Discount Delivery and Moving through my friend Maria.  He showed up with his team, a moving truck and a pick up truck and all the equipment and made it happen.  Wow.  Our old place is especially a pain to move into, we were on the 13th floor of a high rise which we learned quickly in our year living in Hollywood, FL that this was NOT us...it was fun, the view was great, we were right by downtown Hollywood, lived above Starbucks, had a fancy pool on the roof and could walk to the beach.  But we would rather have some space (I have my own studio!  More on that later!!!) and be closer to our family and friends...so we could not be happier about the move back to Palm Beach County!!  Yay!

Right after we moved into the new place we headed to spend some time with Uncle Tom and Aunt Lil at their place in Fort Pierce.  This was a much needed break from unpacking and I am so glad we went. Below I made a collage of the pics from the moving craziness as well as our downtime...all surrounded by the last of my Barbie pieces:

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I did manage to keep up with my artwork, I modified the way I worked but I did it.  I had pieces that were in various stages of completion, and I had to work on them all kind of at once, but I managed to make at least a little time each day to work on my pieces, it was something that I really looked forward to especially with all that was going on.  

I had so much fun doing this series, it was truly a trip down memory lane for me.  All of the Barbies that I drew were ones that I actually owned when I was a kid, so it was fun to think back to that time.  I have vivid memories of each one, the textures and colors of the clothing, the accessories that came with each one. When I was little I would take out my Barbies each day and play with them, brush their hair, change their clothes and I remember each night the last thing I would do was place them back my white shelf, posed and ready for the next day...yep, my #OCPDartist tendencies were showing at a young age!

One idea that I played around with was paper dolls. I finished one Barbie-inspired paper doll image and started another, my original intention was to create a whole side series of them...and I don't know WHAT I was thinking!  So...I didn't make another series but I did start a second one, though...and I may revisit the idea in the future, not going to rule that out.  The finished paper doll is all framed up and hanging at Ink and Pistons right now as a part of their Annual Anniversary Art Show and it will be on display through August 16th, if you're local stop by and see it!  Tell J.R. and Amanda hello for me!


And...that's a wrap!  On to July!