Wexford Girl

Tuesday

Eric, Bob and I had oysters and incredible clam chowder for lunch at Hog Island in The Ferry Building today for lunch. Delicious!

After work, I brought Melanie over to the studio on the motorcycle. She loved it. She says she needs to find her muse again, so maybe we'll get together there to paint sometimes. Eric and I want to have all kinds of artists over to print, paint, and make things. I had this idea for art brunch on Sundays. Good music, coffee, and mimosas while you make art - what could be better?

Melanie and I had a glass of wine in Yield, the hip little wine bar just opposite the studio. We were the first there, but I was glad to see that it filled up, which means it has a better chance of staying in business. The wine was delicious, and it was a generous pour.

I like the neighborhood. People in SF often look blankly at me when I say the studio is in Dogpatch, but I bet that within five years, it will be a destination neighborhood. I like it a lot.

Here's a doodle.

Day of Five Bridges

Today, we rented a big truck, drove to Benicia to pick up a bunch of cool old furniture we bought last weekend (Bay Bridge, Carquinez Bridge). Drove back over the Carquinez to meet Eric's sister and family for lunch at the Dead Fish in Crockett (cool place, tasty food). Then we drove to San Anselmo (Richmond Bridge) and picked up a drying rack for prints from Eric's cousin Kathleen and her husband Steve.

Then it was back to the city (Golden Gate Bridge) and the studio (Third Street Bridge - it counts!) to unload the truck. On the way home, we stopped to pick up a great oak table from Jen, a new friend Eric met at his letterpress class.

Now we're home, weary and happy, having a glass of wine.

We couldn't have done it without the help of Bob, Eric's very handy brother who came from Florida to help us set up the studio. He and Eric are building work benches tomorrow at a friend's woodshop. I am taking tomorrow off to get the studio set up to become the place I go to paint, draw, and print (as soon as Eric teaches me how to etch and silkscreen).

The De-Lurk

People are doing this de-lurking thing, which I guess is a way of revealing a little more about themselves blog-wise, so here goes:

I am from Wexford, Ireland, oldest of four children. My dad was a primary school teacher and principal. My mom is very funny and we have the same laugh.

I went to art school over there, then spent two years working in an ad agency in Dublin. I was granted a green card in a lottery system and moved to San Francisco, two weeks before the '89 earthquake. Since 1998 I've been with my lovely Eric, and since 2001, he's been my husband. He has made me a better person in many ways.

I have a BA in English Literature from UC Berkeley. I went back to school over here, and put myself through by waitressing. I waitressed for years, and towards the end was quite a surly one. I used to write poetry a lot. I can knit and crochet, but I find it boring. I love to paint and draw.

I work as a writer in the financial services industry in downtown San Francisco. My desk at work is extremely messy. I constantly make plans to be more organized, but rarely follow through. I daydream a lot and sometimes completely zone out of conversations.

I am reluctant to take risks. I hate to gamble. I watch too much TV. I hate working out. I am a good speller and have a fantastic memory.

In my late 20s, I got rid of the dead wood - people who were not bringing good things to my life, people I'd become friends with just because I was 24. I've had to do it a few times since then too.

I am not going to have children. I love my nieces and nephews, Leigh, Kaylin, Aaron, Jordan, Chloe, Lauryn, and Nathan. I miss my family. I can have a hot temper and sometimes I take things too personally. I worry too much. I love to drink wine. I love bread above all things. I ride a motorcycle. I am 40 years old.

The Garret

Here is our attic room, where I have been working for the last month or so, ever since Eric made a plea to get our dining-room table back. Amy calls it the Poseidon Suite. It's all wood - floors, built-in bookshelves, sloped ceiling, and it has two little windows at either end. It's dark, and too hot in the summer.

But it's a cute room, with a small TV, on which I sometimes indulge my morbid fascination with The Real World while I'm painting. (What happened to those kids? Remember the San Francisco one? There was a medical student, an AIDS activist, a cartoonist. OK, it also had disgusting Puck, but back then they all seemed more mature than the layabouts they have on the show these days: they are way too obsessed with looks, seem to get hammered every night, and they'll make out with anyone. They make me sad, but I can't look away.)

Anyway, the attic, it's not ideal for painting. I can't spread out, and I have several large pieces to do now for commissions. So I can't wait to move into our new studio this weekend. It couldn't have come at a better time.

Girl Spy

Because I first started painting on paper with that old Russian book, it seemed appropriate to paint my girls in Russian garb. Now I paint on plain paper, brown paper, and pages from all kinds of old books, but I am still fond of these steely, seal-dark beauties in their fur.

I sometimes give them guns to better equip them in the world of espionage, subterfuge, and constant danger. It's the least I can do.

Time Cover

Congratulations to Leigh Wells, a wonderful illustrator I know, for this huge coup: the cover of the latest issue of Time Magazine!

And here are a couple of shots of another book I got recently, on Alex Katz. His stuff is deceptively simple, but he does something magical with paint. beautiful stuff.

Sugar

This weekend, Eric and I went to Brenda and Tommy's famous Glögg party in Sacramento. It was a lot of fun, and because the evening revolved around a simmering vat of brandy, port, cloves, almonds and spices, we spent the night up there.

Leaving early the next morning to drive back to the city with no traffic, we decided to take a little detour through the old town of Crockett, where Margaret and Erik live. It's such a strange and beautiful little place, tucked under the Carquinez Bridge like the town that time forgot. Lots of stone buildings, steep hills, and pretty views of Carquinez Straits.

One of the most dramatic features is the C&H Sugar factory, which produces the pink boxes of sugar found in every store in America (or perhaps just California; I've never checked in other states). It's like something out of the industrial revolution. We drove in beside the train tracks to take a closer look at the imposing facade. Then we were kicked out by a stern security guy in a truck for trespassing on private property. Oops!

Princess Ting

I work with a designer who just got married in Taiwan, and I can't get over her gorgeous photos and how beautiful she looked. She allowed me to post this one.

Doesn't this look like a Chanel commercial or something? When I said so, she dismissed the notion with a wave of her hand, "Oh, he was just a really good photographer; he could make anyone look like that."

Um, I don't think so, Ting.

Drawing Factory

Sketch Tuesday was so much fun, and I sold seven pieces! Lisa came by and Nadia dropped in too. Tess came by with a friend and bought several pieces from various artists. Eric sketched a little bit, but mainly hung out and chatted with people.

I did a painting of a bride holding a gun and wearing a red rose choker, and Lisa urged me to leave the face blank and put blood drops from the gun. It was a little creepy, but it promptly sold.

Here is the beautiful Kelly Tunstall painting Eric bought for me as an early birthday present. It was lovely to meet her. We met several other wonderful artists, Paul Madonna (All Over Coffee) is the real deal: immensely talented and down-to-earth, just a very cool guy. Eric and I had a nice chat with him, and he was excited to hear we are starting a printmaking studio.

I also bought a great pen and ink piece by an artist called Deli.

And here is the surfer girl I did. Lisa wants it and so I kept it for her, but three other people wanted to buy it. Time to do some surfers!

A Trip

Know anyone moving from California to a more frigid climate? I don't, but when I do, I have the perfect gift to make them reconsider their decision.

The benevolent takeover of the world by Amy Ruppel continues with these amazing coasters.

In other news, have planned an amazing trip to Toronto and Niagara Falls in May with my mom. This will be the first time we've had a vacation together. We're going to explore Toronto's shops and restaurants for a couple of days, then drive to the Falls and stay in a hotel with "Falls View" in the name, which I hope lives up to its promise.

We will see the Falls up close by boat, then spend a couple of nights (one of which is her birthday) in the cute town of Niagara on the Lake, with its wineries and George Bernard Shaw festival. I got tickets for a play too. How did we do all this before the Internet? I love Hotwire!

Here is me with my mom a few years ago in Wexford.