Heading Back
I'll be back in SF in 24 hours. What a great trip. Stories to come!
Teacher on a Farm
Here is a pic from the mid '50s. To the far left is my grandfather; the two in the middle are a couple of relatives helping out with whatever the work was that day (It looks like they just packed in a load of turf for the winter, but my dad says the hammer and bucket makes him think they were building something.) On the far right is my dad in his early twenties. He's a farm boy but he has an air of the school teacher he's in the process of becoming, I think.
Weather is still warm and sunny here in Ireland. This is my second week here, and it's going to be a busy week. Tomorrow is Leigh's birthday dinner. Wednesday is Aaron's confirmation and celebration barbeque, and on Thursday my mom turns 70. We are having a lovely dinner out that night; just the grownups, which will make the evening uncommonly civilized. Lovely!
The Giant Jumper
Barbara, one of my oldest friends (from high school and college), happened to be in Wexford a few days ago and we got together for a few drinks, just as we used to do 20 years ago, God!
It was great to catch up and fill in the gaps and talk and talk. We put away only three drinks, which is a lot tamer than when we were in art college in Waterford. Back then we would get a good base of drinking going at the flat with the rottenest 99 pence cider you ever tasted. Vervier, it was called. Then the pub, and then the Bridge Hotel for dancing and snogging and drinking, and chips on the way home. Ah youth.
In those days, Barbara's mother knitted her a huge jumper (sweater) every week or so. Big long colorful concoctions which were perfect for art college in 1984. We all loved them and begged for them, and pretty soon Angela was outfitting the whole art department in vibrant wool.
Barb just found this drawing I did of her back then. Short blonde hair, black and white glasses, huge earrings and a giant jumper; this was classic Barb in 1984. I love this!
Wexford Town
I am in Wexford, and the weather is glorious! It's always a gamble with the weather here; that's why Irish people don't camp. It's great to be here. Everyone is doing well and I've already had my first two pints of Guinness with my dad and his storytelling friend Philip in their local.
I've also walked along Wexford's Main Street a few times, scanning the crowd to see if I recognize anyone, but no one yet. Wexford is quite young; it seems to be populated by people who were just toddlers when I left.
Wexford is a very pretty town, and ancient: about 1000 years old. It is changing of course, but I don't get as nostalgic about the old Wexford as I used to. Towns have to evolve. I just wish the new Theatre Royal they're building here wasn't so hideous.
Here is my lovely home town:
And back in California, here is a nice shot of Eric and Dad in Mendocino last year:
So Long for Now
It's almost 11:00 pm and I'm not a bit sleepy. I can't wait to be back in Ireland with my family - getting Lauryn to sing more songs perhaps. In another wonderful advantage of the new direct flight, I don't leave until 2:30 tomorrow, instead of the dawncrack.
I'll be posting from Ireland. Apparently, my parents have broadband now.
Amid my preparations this week, I was super busy at work, and I managed to paint a lot of new bears. Here's one:
Slan agus slainte!
Going Home
Here is a new diptych I just finished. I like the colored faceted shapes I've been working on, although they are a little derivative. But that's what art is about - taking what's in the zeitgeist and making it your own, right?
I am off to Ireland tomorrow and I can't wait. My mom turns 70 on May 15th, and there is going to be a barbeque at my sister's house, and a wonderful dinner out at one of Wexford's loveliest restaurants. My niece Leigh also turns 20 when I am there, and my nephew Aaron is making his confirmation, so it will be a busy vacation.
Hopefully I will have time to see Barbara, Julie, and a couple of other friends, but often the days slip by when I'm home and suddenly I'm on the plane coming back to SF thinking of all the people I should have seen.
Here is my sister Liz and her family a few years ago. That baby in her arms is now two years old and wreaking havoc.
Back row: Dave, Leigh, Liz, and Nathan. Front row: Lauryn, Jordan, and Aaron.
Hello Jamison
My brother-in-law is giving me a hard time for not posting enough!
Seven years ago today, I married my best friend. It's been a rich and wonderful seven years, not without its hiccups, but we know and love each other more than ever. I can't believe I found this man - artist, entrepreneur, kind soul, gourmet cook, Amadeus-laugher, gardener, risk-taker, and partner in life and love. My husband.
What a Clock
I am wildly in love with this clock by Netherlands designer Christiaan Postma (link from BoingBoing). It's made up of slowly rotating hour hands from 150 individual clockworks that spell out 12 words from “one” to “twelve” as time progresses. I wish it was for sale, but I think it's just a concept piece.
Watch the clock in speeded up motion here.
In other news, one of my favorite stores in the city, Egg/Urban Mercantile has a yummy new blog. If you've never been to the store, get down to Cole Valley immediately to check out their gorgeous items. Stumasa, another fave, is nearby too.
Saturday
I call this new painting "Cirque du Perdu" although I suspect that's a pretentious title.
And another few I'm working on:
This is a nice laid-back weekend. Last weekend we were camping in Russian River, and in a couple of weeks I go back to Ireland for two weeks. Oh and next weekend is the Louie show opening, and I hope to see all you Bay Area peeps there.
Until this past Thursday, I hadn't seen my dear friend Deedee for months. It was a shameful expanse of time, but the weekends just kept filling up, for her and for me. So I decided to pop down for an overnight on Thursday (She's only in Campbell, about an hour south of SF, but with commute traffic, it's a journey that can be daunting.)
It was so great. I arrived about 6:30 to hugs from everyone, and excitement from Belle (9) and Ella (6). Dinner was ready, and we ate outside. The air was warm and fragrant; it had been quite hot that day, but unlike San Francisco, the Peninsula retains its heat after the sun goes down. Then Nick took Belle and Ella off to a fathers/daughters shindig, and Deedee and I stayed and talked, and drank wine, and played with happy 9-month-old Renee. The two of us just filled up on each other, the way you do with good friends who have known you a long time. The next morning, we had breakfast and I got to spend an hour with a busy loving family getting ready for work and school. Traffic coming back to the city wasn't bad at all. It was such a nice break in the middle of the week.
This is the only photo I can find of us right now. It's from 2004:
Eric's Prints
I have been such a lame poster lately, but have you been reading Eric's posts? He did some beautiful new prints yesterday that remind me of Hugo Guinness's work.
It's beautiful weather here in the Bay Area. I believe some parts of the country still have vestiges of snow, poor duckies. Spring weather like this always reminds me why I love to live here, and also why it's more expensive to live here.
I just found this image of a cushion in my "inspiration" file. It's lovely, but I don't know whose design it is. Does anyone know?
And here is a random shot of me at the studio, painting swirlies:
Another Show Coming Up
I'm excited about this show coming up at Louie Hair Salon (in the postcard that Eric designed below, he mis-spelled the name, but we fixed it before sending to the printer).
It's a tres hip spot, and deceptively big; it looks smaller from the street. Right next door to the gorgeous little store with odd opening hours, Bell'Occhio.
April 26th, put it in your calendar and come on out for the party. There will be about 80 new paintings of bears, girls, surfers, and other deliciousness.
Absinthe Bears
I painted these last night, while watching the absolutely fantastic HBO series John Adams. Oh I do love Paul Giamatti.
They are acrylic, ink, and collage (including pages from a French copy of Les Liaisions Dangereuses) on black paper. When I finished, they reminded me of the Kylie Minogue sequence in Moulin Rouge as the green fairy, so I'm calling them Absinthe Bears. They will be for sale in the 3 Fish Shop toute suite.
Black Paint and Zombies
Every time I'm in an art store, I think I need black paint. I was in Flax with Carter this week and bought another one. Here is what I added up at the studio this morning. No more black paint!
Last night we watched I Am Legend. I have never been so tense watching a movie; the suspense was incredible, but the story was weak and the zombies/infected people were standard-issue CGI beasties. I loved the scenes of a deserted Manhattan with weeds sprouting through the streets, and I think Will Smith is great, so I'm still glad I saw it. Loved the dog too.
I went to The Beholder opening at Rare Device on the way home last night too. Very nice stuff, but the store was packed, so I didn't stay long. I did pick up a beautiful set of little cards by Finnish artist, Hanna Konola.
You can see how inspired I was by her here. These are some drawings I worked on last night. Too derivative I think, but fun to do, especially since I found the best non-leaky paint pen brand (Elmer's of all things!)
And here are a couple of paintings I am working on today:
Mural for a Boy
here is a mural I did over the weekend for Carl and Stephanie's nursery (baby boy is on the way in a few weeks.) It was fun to do. Stephanie was a great client because she knew exactly what she wanted, but she gave me freedom. I was going to do other colors of leaves, but she just wanted a monochromatic look, brown against the blue wall, and I think it looks really good.
Old Photos
I was rooting around downstairs in a file box this morning, shredding ancient paperwork for old freelance jobs and a car that got stolen four years ago. I came across a bundle of photos.
A nice photo of the Galvin Four and my mother, C. 1979:
Liz and I in our ballet outfits, 1973. I was 7; she was 4. I always felt like a big clodhopper in ballet class compared to all the other snobby little girls with long shiny hair. Bitches.
My mom and I in downtown Wexford:
My friend Dan and I at his brother Matt's wedding. I like having longer hair, although the short hair looks pretty good here:
Eric and I on a Dublin bus in the year 2000:
Creepy Gift?
My lovely niece Kaylin turned four last week, and this is the gift I sent her from an educational Irish toy company. I think this is the kind of toy that if I had it when I was four, I would never forget its creepy weirdnesss.
The most morbidly fascinating part is when you get right down to the skeleton; The figure is cartoony and big-headed, but you don't often see a cartoony big-headed skeleton, so it's extra wrong. It reminds me of the work of Michael Paulus.
Anyway, I hope Kaylin is mesmerized by this, always remembers it, and attempts to describe it to her appalled friends in 20 years.
Colors
Here are some colorful new 49 Mile Drives I'm working on:
Today a few of us took a field trip from work at lunchtime to the Mission, and I bought this awesome print in the Curiosity Shoppe:
New Paintings in the Shop
Did I mention that the 3 Fish Studios Shop is up and running and we're adding new paintings all the time?
Here are some new old-style paintings that Eric just uploaded. (Old-style because this is the kind of textile-ish paintings I used to do, and it was fun to get back to them.)
New Glasses
Erica and I are showing off our new glasses. The pleasures of being over 40. Actually, I barely need mine (they are for distance), but I had to use up health care spending account money by mid-March.
It really irks me that if you don't use the pre-tax dollars you put away for health care, it just dissapears, poof! Where does it go? It's my money. If I don't use it, I think I should be given the option of paying the tax and getting the money back.
Or if that's not possible, unused dollars (which must total millions) should go into a fund for people who can't afford health care. Perhaps it could be given to Remote Area Medical, an amazing organization I saw profiled on 60 Minutes.
Do you like the diffuse glow effect I found on PhotoShop, which nicely fuzzes out the wrinkles?
Some Facts About St. Patrick
...and an answer to those people who ask me every year, "why aren't you wearing green?"
- St. Patrick was born in Britain. Irish brigands kidnapped him at 16 and brought him to Ireland. He was sold as a slave and served in bondage for six years until he escaped to France. He later returned to his parents' home in Britain, where he had a vision that he would preach to the Irish. After 14 years of study, Patrick returned to Ireland, where he built churches and spread the Christian faith for some 30 years.
- Many myths surround St. Patrick. One of the best known — and most inaccurate — is that Patrick drove all the snakes from Ireland. But snakes have never been native to the Emerald Isle. The stories of Saint Patrick and the snakes are likely a metaphor for his bringing Christianity to Ireland and driving out the pagan religions (serpents were a common symbol in many of these religions).
- In the United States, it's customary to wear green on St. Patrick's Day. But in Ireland the color is considered to be unlucky. Irish folklore holds that green is the favorite color of the Little People. They are likely to steal people, especially children, who wear too much of the color.
- The shamrock, which looks like clover, has three leaves on each stem. According to legend, Saint Patrick used a shamrock to explain about the Holy Trinity, (three divine beings in one God - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.)
I won't be visiting an Irish pub today (St. Patrick's Day is for amateurs). But I will be raising a glass to all my family back home. Beannachtaí Lá Féile Phádraig!
Leigh
Here is a picture of my pretty neice Leigh with me last New Year's Eve. She is 20 this year. People used to tell her that she looked like Christina Ricci, but I don't see it as much anymore.
20 years ago I was working in an ad agency in Dublin. I remember getting the bus down to Wexford the night Leigh was born. I brought her a plush black cat, which I think she still has. She was the only baby in the family and we were all kind of enthralled by her. My brother's wife told me that one of the reasons she fell for him was that he was crazy about his neice, whom he called "little Leigh."
I moved to America when she was one, and when I returned for my cousin's wedding a year later, mam and Liz met me at Shannon Airport with Leigh. Liz pointed the toddler towards me and said, "go on Leigh, give your auntie Anne a kiss." She gamely came towards me with a wary smile, even though I must have looked like a total stranger.
She's cute, funny, sassy, and sometimes a pain in the ass. But I love little Leigh, and I can't wait to celebrate her 20th birthday with her when I'm home in May.
First Holy Communion
I took a picture of Cullen's, a shop in Wexford Town the last time we were home in Ireland. First Holy Communion season was approaching.
What I remember about my FHC
I wore my mother's wedding veil, an elaborate beaded affair with a headdress that kept falling into my eyes.
My white shoes were so pretty and shiny that I literally could not stop looking at them all day.
After mass and the ceremony, on the way out to lunch with the family, my dad stopped the car and went into a shop to get the newspaper or something. He bought a impulse present for me of a little comb/barrette set, which he gave to me in the car. I think this was the first time he, not mom, had actually picked out something for me, so I remember it clearly. But I don't remember where we went for lunch that day.
As was (and is) the custom, relatives and my parents' friends gave me money all day. 10p or 5p was usual. 50p was a lot, and I don't think anyone gave me a pound note.
At the end of the day, my dad counted my money, and I heard him say in a note of amazement to my mother, "God, there's nearly eight pounds here!"
I spent my loot on a pair of roller skates.
My Interview with Victoria
Victoria of SFgirlbybay asked me to be part of her Unexpected Guests series of artists' interviews. I loved doing it. Here's the finished interview. Thanks Victoria!
Chris Johanson
On the way home from the studio yesterday, we stopped in the Mission to go to the Chris Johanson opening at the Jack Hanley gallery on Valencia Street. By 6:30 it was already packed. There is something about his work that I love. It's simple, colorful, childlike, and really stays with me. It was great seeing it in person, although I thought the paintings were poorly framed, buckling under the glass, (but I guess that kind of suits his work in a way). He had created this maze of wooden fences with the paintings hung on them. Viewers had to proceed through the maze, ducking under wooden beams to see the art. Strange, and yet appropriate. Read Meighan's account of the show.
I had brought my copy of his wonderful book for him to sign, but he wasn't there at that point, but after our dinner across the street in Little Star Pizza (yum!), I popped in to the gallery again. By this point, there was a HUGE crown of Mission art/skate hipsters spilling onto the street, so it was quite a crush to get inside the gallery again. I asked if Chris Johanson was there, and he was. I was provided with a description (pink shirt, brown sweater, glasses), and then I spotted him talking to a couple of people. I went up with my book and excuse-me-ingly asked him if he would sign it. He was very nice, and happy to do it. Then he spent the next five minutes doing a drawing in my book, signing it "to Annie from Chris Johanson." A crowd gathered around watching, and when he handed the book back to my beaming self, I received several jealous hipster Mission stares.
Yeay! It made my night.
A Square Inch in Sunset and Readymade
One of my favorite bloggers and all-round awesome woman, Victoria, is featured in Sunset Magazine this month, showing off her small, gorgeous apartment in SF. Here is a photo from the article:
What's that small pink painting on the lower left of the wall. Could it be this wee thing?
This square inch nicely complements my square inch in Readymade last month. Actually it was a couple of Sq. ins; a little bear painting was tucked into a feature on Talla's studio in a few photos:
(2nd photo by Charlie)
New Sutros
I've been getting emails asking about Sutro Tower paintings, so I just did six more, and I posted them in our 3 Fish Studios shop.
Here are a couple:
We are at the studio on a beautiful Saturday listening to awesome music, painting, laughing, and having a smashing time. I love weekends.
Last night was fun. We went to Alex Zecca's opening at Gallery 16. We were meeting Carter (AKA Suzi) and Mark there, but a wonderful surprise was that we knew a bunch of other people there too: Bill and Jen, New parents Shannon and Pierre on their first date night out since they had the twins. (Shannon and Carter went to high school with Alex.) I liked his drawings a lot.
The charming and funny Leigh Wells was there too, scoping out the space - she has an opening at Gallery 16 in June. She's so talented and her work will look great in that space. Talked briefly with Danette from Lemon Twist and tall, lovely Vanessa, who works at the gallery. Vanessa also has another gallery, a passion project, Ping Pong Gallery, which she owns with her boyfriend (or is it fiance?). It's just a couple of blocks from our studio. They're having an opening that looks interesting on March 14th.
The only thing that marred the event was a homeless guy who wandered in and became belligerent. They had to haul him out kicking, and one of his flailing limbs deposited an entire glass of wine over my new DKNY jacket. Leigh helped me mop up, and the print was perfect for such an incident - dark, purply black leaves, so it didn't show. I still smelled like a wino all night. More of a wino than I already am, I mean.
Then Carter, Mark, Eric and I went and had a delicious dinner in Spork. Good night!
India Rose on Apple
My dear longtime friend, former roommate, studio neighbor, and partner in goofiness Carter, and her husband Mark are featured on the Apple Website in a profile for their company, India Rose. Congratulations! You both look so Hollywood good-looking and professional.
Shop online for the freshest, loveliest home textiles around from my friends and make your house happy.
Across the Universe
We saw this movie last night, and I absolutely loved it. Eric rented it in an effort to get me to like the Beatles (I confess, I'm not a fan). The visuals were mesmerizing, the story was sweet and earnest, and I really loved the songs, so perhaps it is time for me to listen to the originals. Roger Ebert said that it's a rare musical where you walk into the theater humming the songs. He gave it four stars. Dear old Rodge.
Other movies I've seen recently:
Notes on a Scandal, creepy and delicious.
American Gangster, vivid, bloody, and a great showcase for two Hollywood giants, but too long!
There Will Be Blood, jarring, beautiful, but a bit of a head-scratcher for me.
Tonight we're going to Carl and Stephanie's for the Oscars. It's always a fun time because Steph is an Oscars superfan. Last year she had these amazing cookies.
Collage
What a week! We had a major presentation to do at work, and I put it together in Keynote (the Mac version of PowerPoint). It was a lot of work, with late nights and last minute catastrophes. But now I am good at Keynote, which is way sexier than PowerPoint. And the presentation went great. Yeay!
I'm hanging a show today at Brown Bear (289 Divisadero at Fell). The opening is tonight, from 5:00 to 8:00, so swing by if you're in the area. It's a cool stretch of Divisadero, with the Madrone Lounge just a block away, where you can still see my paintings (that show has been up for a long time.)
I'm hanging mainly collage at Brown Bear. Like these:
Stay warm and dry this weekend, San Franciscans. It's going to be wet and stormy. I plan on lots of movies, wine, and Eric's delicious cooking. (He's in the kitchen right now making a beef tenderloin pie. What a guy!)
Two New Paintings
One is for a commission, so I did a similar one for myself. (It's your choice which you want Leah)
Blond
Tonight we are having a party for my birthday, which is on Monday. I'm excited. I don't think we had a single party last year, because in 2006 we both turned 40 and we had two huge awesome parties - catered food (by talented foodie couple Margaret and Erik), hot bartender, the works - fun but expensive.
And of course the day after mine, I ended up in the hospital. Oh I was so in pain two years ago. I have had two years without a single twinge of that old pain, which we now know was Crohn's. I have no dietary restrictions at all, and it is amazing to be pain-free. Of course, because it doesn't hurt to eat anymore, none of my clothes fit me, but it's always something!
Great news from Ireland this week; continuing their tradition of having babies on or near holidays, my brother John and his wife Geraldine had their third baby girl on Valentines Day. Baby Ava joins sisters Chloe (born on Boxing Day) and Kaylin (born one day after St. Patrick's Day). We've seen pictures and she's beautiful!
Now a few pictures. Here is a rare shot of us when Eric had blond hair. This was in our apartment, taken by Amy.
And this is one of me in art college, circa '86. More than half my life ago!
And my sister Liz on her First Holy Communion. How cute and innocent she looks. Looking innocent was always her secret weapon.
Slim
I'm quite happy with this (a commission). It will be framed in black.
I did this one tonight too.
We had a lovely weekend, spending time at the studio and at home, enjoying the balmy spring weekend. It's zero degrees in Michigan right now. Eric is going there tomorrow. Wow, that's cold.
Two observations from the Grammys, on TV right now:
Musicians thank God in their speeches more than actors do.
Alicia Keys is smokin' hot.
The Prize
We are at the studio and I'm going through boxes of old stuff, trying to get organized. I just found this hysterical newspaper clipping that my sister sent me years ago. Quite a prize!
3 Fish Studios Site Is Up
Eric and I finally hired someone to work on the 3 Fish Studios site and I'm happy to announce that it's up, and it's looking great. Here's Eric's entry, with a link to Mark, the genius who made it happen in a timely and affordable manner. I love that we have a store and we're all linked up with PayPal. I think I'll keep my Etsy shop too though.
Talking of Etsy (my favorite Web business ever), today I am wearing an awesome new necklace from favorite Etsy seller Paraphernalia. It's based on an old anatomical illustration of the labyrinth, or inner ear. Look how eerie (ear-ie?) it is. It's like a sea creature, some exotic octopus. I remember learning in high school biology class that fluid moving in the three semicircular canals creates balance. (My memory seized the term "loop of Henle" from the vault, but I just looked it up and that's in the kidney.)
I have been a little busy to post much, but I will try harder, because this spring is shaping up to be full of exciting things. Can I start to talk about spring yet? When does it officially start anyway?
In other news, we have decided to share our studio space with a third artist. Our space is large and airy, a little extravagant for two people, but we really love it. Our rent went up and we started to look at a smaller space, but we decided that finding another artist was a better solution. Spread the word!
A Warm Weekend
We're off to Florida tomorrow to visit Eric's family. It will be so nice to be somewhere warm for a few days, and I'm looking forward to Eric's brother Bob's hospitality and margaritas, and his mom's breakfast rolls and new sun porch - perfect with a glass of wine (oh everything is better with a drink!)
I'm sorry I will miss Rare Device's new opening on Friday night, Everyday. It promises to be a great show. AND I'm missing Lisa's solo show opening tomorrow, Thursday, at Swallowtail. Go check it out.
Wallpaper Bears
I am seriously in love with all of Nama Rococo's wallpaper designs. Here are some bears I did with a background inspired by one of my favorite NR designs:
Tonight we just finished our Bourne Trilogy, started with the Identity and Supremacy last night.
I like them all, but I think Ultimatum suffers in comparison to the others. I could just hear the round-table discussions about what chase scenes and set pieces would surpass the first two movies (at the expense of credibility that was already stretched to breaking point).
The last straw for me was when Bourne lures the CIA lads out of the building on a wild goose chase so he can break into their offices. Then he calls David Strathairn, who claims to be sitting in his office, and Bourne says, "I doubt that; if you were in your office, we would be having this conversation face-to-face." Consequently, they all screech back to the office and Bourne is almost caught. Isn't he supposed to be smart? If it was in his interest to get them back to the office it's one thing, but it wasn't; he could have easily kept them running outside and out of his hair. It was a trailer quip, and a cheap shot.
Plus I love Franka Potente ever since Run Lola Run, and Julia Stiles bugs me, so that was another point against Ultimatum.
Still, there are worse ways to spend a Sunday evening than feasting my eyes on Matt Damon, I must admit.
Rainy Week
To quote Emma Thompson in 1991 movie Impromptu, "stupid stupid rain." I had forgotten about the movie, and when Suzanne was here recently she quoted it and we were trying to remember what movie it was. Thank God for IMDb.
Stupid rain, but I do get to wear my pink rubber boots with tattoo designs on them.
I bought my first umbrella when I was about 22. For some reason that I can't fathom, I assumed umbrellas didn't work, so I went through many years of getting soaked by Irish winters (and summers and springs and autumns). I finally bought one when I lived in Dublin (red with a duck head handle) and I was amazed. Wow! This actually works. It keeps me dry.
In other news, the group show I'm in at Brown Bear has been postponed until February. That's fine. It gives me a bit of breathing room. I have tons of paintings right now, but I don't display paintings more than one place, so I will be hanging all new stuff.
This is Eric and me when we first started dating. This year it will be 10 years together. I can't believe it. Before Eric, I never made it past 6 or 8 months with a relationship.
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