Love it / Live it: The Art of Simplicity [Kenneth Noland]

Lately I've been going back and forth between a love for clean and simple, and my love for layered and complex patterning. In both my painting and building my new website, I'm constantly striving for just the right balance, but I definitely admire artists and designers that have the ability to hold back in their work and keep things minimal while still intriguing...

art by Kenneth Noland, chair via Finnish Design Shop

Artist Kenneth Noland does just that. Light and airy palettes and sharp horizontal lines make for an incredibly calming and stable effect. Which do you prefer? When branding yourself do you feel like less is more or is it better to put it all out there and let your personality shine through?

Love it / Live [in] it: Color Therapy [Mark Rothko]

    Good morning readers! Though I'm a lover of pattern and design, I'm also a huge believer in the power of color and find that sometimes that is all that you need...

image via Luis Barragan 

Just another one of Rothko's brilliant works, and a bright yellow hallway from Mexican architect Luis Barragan for a little color therapy today. The color yellow is said to represent optimism, enlightenment and happiness, I hope you're finding all of those today and more...Enjoy!

My Daylight 6.28.11

So as some of you may know, I had a birthday this weekend, and it just so happened to be my golden birthday as I turned 26 on June 26th. Though I'm busier than ever, I made sure to find the time to relax a little bit and soak up some of life's little moments. I thought I'd share with you where I draw design and color inspiration from daily...

I received this amazing handmade birthday card from the talented Amy of Strataflora. Don't you think she should start a card business?! Hallmark just does not make 'em this good.

My man surprised me by sweeping Phinney and me away on a mini vacay to Victoria, Canada where I powered down for 24 sweet hours and just enjoyed the scenery.

Saturday night found me enjoying the company of some of my favorite girls and getting all gussied up to celebrate Pride on Capitol Hill.

 And lastly I spent my birthday evening in the company of loved ones on a sun-soaked deck with veggie burgers on the grill and grapefruit sangria in my cup. I can't think of anywhere else I would have rather been. Anyone else celebrating a Cancerian birthday?? Whether or not it's your special day, I hope you all get a chance to kick back a bit this week and really, truly, Enjoy!

Love it / Live it: Layered Waters [Tobias Tovera]

         Good Morning readers! With Summer underway, I'm longing for the ocean. Though I love living in Seattle, I miss the piercing blue of the California coast and the unbelievable shades of turquoise the sun made on the crashing waves. Though I'm far from the ocean now, the stunning work of Tobias Tovera takes me right back there...

I'm a huge fan of colored glass and have collected the vintage kind for years, but this new design from the Finnish Design Shop is absolutely striking don't you think? I love the way the curved silhouettes create tonal changes in the blue...Enjoy!

Love it / Live it: Tribal Classic

I always love a little juxtaposition. I love the contrast here of the doll-faced girl in black and white looking like she just got placed on the street on the other side of the world. There is something incredibly modish about the whole look that's enhanced by the unexpected setting...

image via hiddenite, sofa via wisteria

In the same way this sofa takes a traditional style with classicaly polished and carved legs and combines with a tribal print making it splendidly current. I love the way the fabric is railroaded to run the print horizontally across the front and how the brass nailheads finish off the corners. And in classic black and white you could put this with any color palette and add instant texture, rhythm and a touch of the Southwest meets Moroccan...Enjoy! 

Love it / Live [in] it: Skies of Blue [Suzanne McClelland]

Today I'm dreaming of blue skies and even bluer waters. Though there is no ocean side vacay in my near future, I'm scheming up ways to make my space at home feel like a retreat everyday, like painting the walls in shades of turquoise...

art by Suzanne McClelland via amateur couture, photo via housetohome

The softer hues make for a calm and peaceful space while the brighter shocks of color add a gentle energy, the overall effect being that of being immersed in crashing blue waves on a hot summer day. I hope wherever you are your summer is off to a beautiful start and you're basking in skies of blue...Enjoy!

Art + Interiors: Painted Daylight [Shae Acopian Detar]

Bohemian photography AND fluid painterly brush strokes? An absolutely stunning combo. While perusing one of my favorite sources for inspiration, Strataflora, I was completely blown away by these multi-media gems from artist Shae Acopian Detar. Her photographs have such a soft, effervescent quality to them and I love the addition of such a sultry palette... 

pendants, coffee table, end table, sofa via anthropologie, baskets via wisteria, pillows via etsy shop hettle and kelly wearstler for sferra

I love a mix of textures and natural materials with color washed accents in fresh cool tones. On the verge of beginning to design and decorate our bedroom, I'm loving this palette for a calm space to decompress at the end of the day. Now if I can just get my hands on these incredible color dipped glass pendants from Anthro I know the rest will just fall into place...Enjoy!

Love it / Live it: Calmness and Clarity [Carly Waito]

Today I'm conjuring up as much calmness and clarity possible. I have lot on my plate, a lot of unknown ahead, and a lot I want to accomplish in a very short amount of time. So, I thought the unbelievably beautiful paintings of Carly Waito and these stunning amethyst pieces by Brenda Houston were a perfect fit today...

Amethyst is not only the stone of calmness and clarity but is also said to raise your mood and vibration. So here's to taking a deep breath, finding that inner calm and peace, and getting ready to take on whatever comes your way with as much optimism and positivity as possible...Enjoy!

Love it / Live it: Hello Sunshine [Jennifer Sanchez]

Happy Monday everyone and HELLO summertime! The sunshine has finally arrived and I could not be more ecstatic that my favorite season will be officially underway with Summer Solstice tomorrow. I've been sprucing up the deck and gearing up for barbecues and happy hours in the sun with the Olympics as our backdrop.

I love this piece by artist Jennifer Sanchez with its bright wheels of color and radial energy. And I wouldn't mind bringing a little sunshine into a room year round with this accent chair from Crate&Barrel either. Hoping you got a little sunshine in your weekend wherever you may be, and please stay tuned as Summer here will be full of colorful inspiration, do-it-yourself projects, home tours, personal style close-ups and more...Enjoy!

Love it / Live it: The Color of Love

Pink is the universal color of love and compassion. Though it's not one of my favorite hues I have to admit that it has a way of making you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, doesn't it?

art via hiddenite, vases via ikea

I'm feeling a lot of love and compassion today for all the amazing people in my life, who have supported me through many ups and downs, and for all of you for coming back day after day to read my little musings and hopefully to get inspired. In short, thank you so much for showing the love!

My Daylight 6.15.11

Hello! A lot of people ask me where I get my inspiration when I paint and 'What does it mean?' so I thought I'd spend a minute on my own process. First of all, I am a very happy painter. I think painting is a great way to release emotion and to express agony or frustration, but for me, I paint the best when I am happy and light. So my paintings usually reflect a lot of positive emotion, whether it be in the palette, the brush strokes or the patterning, it's always optimism that I hope comes through the most. As far as where I get my inspiration, it comes from all over and in the things I post here everyday, I just soak it all in like a sponge and then see what comes out. Often I have no plan of attack when I start a painting at all, but sometimes one item will catch my eye and I just can't wait to translate it into my work. And this week, I was inspired by Free People's April catalog.....

I have always loved Free People but this year their look has been so completely up my alley I just can't get enough of it. I love the bold hues, abundant accessorizing and of course the heavy plumage. They mixed Southwest with West Coast in such a beautiful way. So I ripped out some of my favorite looks and mixed a palette...

The great thing about taking this approach is that you end up using color combinations and dividing up space in ways you may have never thought of. Its been a while since I used the color red but I love the way it accents the palette. And as you can see I updated my blog header to better reflect my own work after receiving my Bamboo tablet and stylus and am now able to literally draw and sketch in Photoshop! Anyway, just a peak into my own crazy little head, I hope you're all having a wonderful week full of inspiration and optimism...Enjoy!

Love it / Live it: Feeling Blue [and green]

With all the changes happening in my life and career lately I've had a lot of mixed emotions, and while most of those are happy, excited and thrilled, there is also a lot to let go of. So today I needed to drink in some art that soothed the soul and this blue and green landscape seemed like the perfect fit. The distant, bird's eye view has a way of putting things into perspective a bit don't you think?

image via hiddenite

 And for the same gorgeous palette I wouldn't mind this resting on my freelance desktop, just one of Brenda Houston's numerous stunning rock accessories. You get a shock of color and a little touch of nature...Enjoy!

Colored Daylight 6.13.11

Good Morning! I hope your weekend was chuck full of joy and happiness. To keep the weekend high going I'm loving this bright complimentary palette today...

photo via hiddenite, art by Derek Root

Opposite colors on the color spectrum, orange is said to be the happiest color of all, and blue the most calming. So soak in the happy hues and start the week off with a sunny outlook today...Enjoy!

Ladybird: Echo Tongues

Good day readers! I have been waiting so long to put up this post about a new Seattle band I recently found. Their name is Echo Tongues, once a solo project by Gary Wilson, they now have 3 members including Tom Grady and Jessie Gore. The song I chose to debut is Aniborne. It reminds me of playing capture the flag in Summer at the park. I am so excited for a full length to debut but when that will has yet to be determined. While we anxiously await the full length please enjoy these songs while laying in a field somewhere; find them at http://echotongues.com/

signing off ladybird

photos from top via because I'm addicted, oracle fox, hiddenite

Hope you all have a beautiful weekend, and Happy Birthday to Ladybird!!

ladybird is a weekly columnist/ your music guru [graphics by Laura]

Love it / Live it: Jagged Edge [Holger Kalberg]

Happy Thursday my friends! It's been quite a week for me so I have to say I'm quite pleased that the weekend is fast approaching. With all the changes happening in my life my emotions have been all over the board and my stomach is starting to feel like artist Holger Kalberg's fractured abstractions...

I love the gorgeous blues and greens, I could live in this palette everyday, all it needs is a little gold...enter these stunning rock necklaces from Nallik (great find Erin!). I love the asymmetrical cuts and gold casings, now the only question is which one to choose...Enjoy!

Love it / Live it: Green Waters [Barnett Newman]

I've made it no secret here that I'm a bit partial to the work of the American Abstract Expressionists and there is just something about the bold, color-drenched canvases of the color field artists in particular that I just can't get enough of. I realized that while I post one of my favorites, Mark Rothko, all the time, I haven't given much play to the other master of the movement, Barnett Newman...

"Painting, like passion, is a living voice." -Barnett Newman

"A painter is a choreographer of space" -Barnett Newman

Barnett Newman's works had a much more linear structure to them, filling the canvases to the edge with saturated hues then applying his 'zips' like streaks of light. I've been incredibly influenced by Newman's works, often feeling like the addition of a single vertical or horizontal line creates that sense of completion in the painting I've been searching for. This piece, 'Dionysius' painted in 1949 is one of my favorites with it's deep blue-greens and now you can set the table with the same delicious palette with these plates from Anthropologie, I'd love them for any season, pulling from the turquoise for a summer soiree and the deep indigo and olive for winter...Enjoy!

Colored Daylight 6.6.11

Happy Monday! Today I'm inspired by this sun-drenched palette and serene blue skies. I'm dreaming of long Summer days and warm Summer nights and am optimistic that they're just around the corner...

art by Matthias Heiderich, photo via hiddenite, interior via coco+kelley

Hope you had a wonderfully calm and rejuvenating weekend in the sun..Enjoy!

Ladybird: 'Dagger' by Sassparilla

Happy Friday readers! Last weekend i went to Seattle's Folk Life festival and saw so many different folk artists ranging in age and variety. Among the amazing acts i saw on the lawn and in venues, one that really stuck out at me was Sassparilla, i think they summed up the Folk Life Festival sound. In their band they have a washboard, harmonica and custom made base player. I am playing their song Dagger which i really loved from their set. This band is from Portland so don't worry if you missed Folklife, they aren't too far away. Other bands i was fortunate enough to see were the Jocelyn Pettit Band, Atlas Alas and an adorable 4 piece middle school band called the Rivals. The festival did not only have tons of bands but also food, story telling and circus acts. Folklife is one of the most interesting places to people watch. The main look was the nomadic look. In some of my pictures you can see what i mean. Have fun browsing my pictures and maybe next year you will see me playing my fiddle there!

signing off ladybird

ladybird is your weekly columnist / music guru, photo source,
 graphics by Laura

Love it / Live it: Being Ballsy [Abstract Expressionists]

Good morning! Today I'm excited to share some BIG news with all of you. As Kelley (Moore) announced on her 'Ramblings' interview with me yesterday, I will be taking an ENORMOUS leap into the world of a freelancer. As Kelley follows her dreams to the Big Apple next month, I will be pursuing my passion for art and design here in Seattle as an independent contractor. This is of course incredibly scary but Kelley has taught me to be bold, take risks and follow my heart and I could not be more excited to see what lies ahead.  While I'll be doing graphic design work for Kelley and some other clients, I'll be officially hanging out my shingle as an interior designer, silk-screening everything I can get my hands on, and painting on a daily basis. And I cannot think of anything better to inspire such a ballsy and frightening risk than the work of the Abstract Expressionists...  

Jackson Pollock poured his heart and soul into each painting, virtually living in each painting for days on end and producing work that no one had ever laid eyes on before. "When I am in my painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing....Painting is self discovery. Every good artist paints what he is" - Jackson Pollock

De Kooning painted with such a fiery passion that emotion seems to jump off the canvas in each of his paintings. "I don't paint to live, I live to paint" -Willem De Kooning

"The modern artist is working with space and time, and expressing his feelings rather than illustrating" -Jackson Pollock

Robert Motherwell's lifelong dedication to abstraction redefined artistic philosophy in the 21st century. "Art is an experience, not and object" -Robert Motherwell

"What you do when you paint, you take a brush full of paint, get paint on the picture, and you have faith." -Willem De Koooning

pillows via Wary Meyers

Abstract Expressionist work continues to remind me to take risks, be authentic and paint from the heart rather than the business-savvy mind. When there are bills to be paid and a world of people judging that heart you're wearing on your sleeve this can be a hard one, but I pledge to stay true to myself and the work that comes from the soul even when the road gets tough. And I want to thank each and every one of you that stops by my little corner of the internet, your support means the absolute world to me.