Business in the Big Apple

While visiting NYC's grid-like streets with skyscrapers piercing the air, there's a sense of organized chaos. Day dreaming for a moment, I closed my eyes to imagine a veil of "apple and leaf" themed pattern cloaking the buildings. This whimsical, fleeting thought inspired my interpretation of the New York City skyline in this illustration.

Actually, a very cool idea if Apple were to use holographics to cast their branded image onto various facades of Manhattan skyscrapers.
Can’t you just see it now, apples growing in the concrete jungle!

Snapping back to reality, I was immediately in a business mindset again. Shortly after meetings, always knowing how to combine business with fun, dinner in The Big Apple had to conclude with painting the town red. Putting my thumbprint on the city that doesn't sleep, while walking all the way from Soho to Rockefeller Center, we detoured at Times Square. The jolt from sights and sounds at this famous intersection electrifies your pulse better than a Red Bull.


And if the weather isn't so perfect next time I decide to venture on a 31-block walk, I'm crossing my fingers that the taxi hailed will luck out to be the Cash Cab!
http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/cash-cab/

The Painted Memory
www.thepaintedmemory.com

A Second Life for Old Furniture

Furniture fills a room - but it's the right combination of pieces that make a tasteful statement communicating your style to guests. What might have once been an old, nondescript item in a forgotten corner can now have new life and reason to become the conversation piece no one misses. Whether it's recovering the seat of a corner chair with a contemporary fabric mixing fresh newness with classic traditionalism, scouring antique flee markets for a shabby chic combination of elements, or hand-painting a themed composition or scene on the primary surface, my passion is reviving treasures of a bygone era for current living. It's amazing how a tired piece is transformed with a few brush strokes.


A favorite finished product of mine is the coffee table where I sanded the silhouetted sketch, painted my family's house heroed in the center, and after a few coats of varnish, applied gold leaf to the edging of the table as a special touch.

Subtleties were thoughtfully incorporated as a nod to my heritage. With ancestors having traveled from Ploos van Amstel to Cincinnati, it was pivotal to bridge this connection by including a tulip as the hierarchical focus. My childhood Glendale home was built and designed by the family over 100 years ago. Having discovered old, black & white photographs capturing its construction was all the inspiration I needed to fuel my decision, and begin painting.


Additional pieces I've painted include Springer Spaniels, vegetables and ferns. All begin with a thumbnail sketch washed in loose color before the real project begins!


Next personal project on the list, painting a destination scene on my headboard.

The Painted Memory
www.thepaintedmemory.com

For the Love of the Game

It's no wonder the word "Love" is a part of the Tennis scoring vocabulary because once you've been bitten by the bug, the eternal affair has begun.

This year's Tennis Masters Cincinnati Tournament offered me and my sister the opportunity to meet the Bryan brothers and Justin Gimelstob. I couldn't help but chuckle as a flashback came over me.

It was a decade ago when Christine and I queued at Wimbledon and enjoyed berries & crème on what wasn't yet known as Henman Hill. Camping out at the practice arena, we were seated immediately on the court's edge and so close to the players, we could have fulfilled the responsibility of the ball girls. It was here that I saw Gimelstob playing in person for the first time! In addition to the Williams sisters. Quite the thrill! Being at such proximity, you truly appreciate the pace, placement and skill of this professional level of play.


With Cincinnati putting a stake in the ground, publically announcing our love of the game, we will hold the honor of hosting a marque tournament recognized nationally.

Become blown away when you checkout the plans for what will be next year's Lindner Family Tennis Center. Touted to be a festive urban tennis garden.
http://www.cincytennis.com/expansion_plans_announced/

The improvements, officials said, will allow men’s and women’s matches to take place simultaneously at next year’s Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women’s Open. Those matches are second in size only to the U.S. Open. A huge feather in our cap for the Queen City!


The Painted Memory
www.thepaintedmemory.com

Celebrating life's journey through a map of personal icons

Tell the story of your life in vivid watercolors.

The idea of creating a two-dimensional tapestry celebrating life’s sweet moments inspired me to offer Life and Wedding Maps.
It’s the perfect way of telling your journey through pictures of treasured spots or events.

The absolutely best part – hearing the background to what should be included in the final list, and then delivering the masterpiece and watching eyes light up as they scan the painting for discoverable details.








One in particular that stands out is – the Wedding map for dear friends, Paige and Brett, which was then used as their Save-the-Date.
An absolutely amazing fairytale wedding!!!

Enjoy!
The Painted Memory
http://www.thepaintedmemory.com/Wedding-and-Honeymoon/Wedding-Maps/

Out of the Blue - Dayton Air Show

A whisper rippled through the crowd with a hush settling as the Top Gun Anthem bellowed over speakers all across the airfield. Standing poised on the lawn of the Blue Angels VIP Tent, it was as though we are on the frontlines of a heroing display of American pride... jetting out of nowhere to maneuver death-defying stunts in our midst.


Rocking the skies, the Blue Angels’ six jets blazed trails at 400mph with precision flying; challenged by inverted courses and intersecting paths to miss utter collision by a mere 18 inches of separation.



When asked the question, “How much is computer controlled vs. pure gut?” the answer came back – SHEER GUT balanced with intuitive smarts from solid training.

The six pilots took to the skies in Boeing F/A-18 Hornet jets – painted in the Navy colors of blue and gold, guided by #5 Lead Solo, Lt. Commander Frank Weisser, a friend of my sister's. Thanks for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, Lieutenant Frank!

The pictures say it all!!!








The Painted Memory
www.thepaintedmemory.com

TAKING CENTER STAGE – DAAP Fashion Show 2010

University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP) - has become a creative force with which to be reckoned, receiving global acclaim.
http://www.daap.uc.edu/about/welcome

Attending the 2010 DAAP Fashion Show preview night elevated my senses to an ethereal realm – suspending disbelief of the unimaginable couture. The techno beat, electric haute lighting, and glitz & glam all around were pivotal in building anticipation. Expectations were exceeded off the charts!

Models featured handcrafted, one-of-a-kind ensembles by DAAP Seniors that were ideated from sketch to pattern creation, and then brought to life with needle and thread. Chic evening wear, lingerie, sports wear, and musical instruments sewn into future-esque garments were only a handful of themes that commanded attention on the catwalk.


Over-the-top styles made believers out of audience members that, for a mere 2 hours, Cincinnati was the new Paris, Milan, and New York City of fashion capitals. The Midwest Project Runway just trumped NYC!

DAAP boasts the success of grad Althea Harper, a finalist on Project Runway Season 6 and invited her back to grace the audience with her story to stardom. Making her mark in the fashion scene by using fluid fabrics to silhouettes the female form as strong and beautiful.
http://blog.altheaharper.com/


Walking out of the auditorium, it was as though a fountain of ideas were pouring through the right side of my brain. Immediately, I began my own fashion sketches, followed by a splash of watercolor to give a sense of color-way within my imagined Collections. Loving the idea of a conversation print & pattern that’s heroed within the lead piece and how this signature element influences the complimentary garments through the SCAMPERED Method – it’s this jazzed pulse I imagine that gives fashion designers a natural high.



As the night concluded, the crowd’s standing ovation was merely a hint of the excitement radiating virally from that moment on.
Cincinnati Bucket List – must include visiting UC’s campus to attend the renowned DAAP Fashion Show next Spring.

The Painted Memory
www.thepaintedmemory.com