Before & After

Dear Reader,

IceBoxCards is no stranger to LaPine Design. There have been posts a plenty about the greeting cards that my father has drawn.

He works on a mail route. When people on his route would give him a gift for Christmas, he would draw them a personal thank you card...even if it took him until April to draw and deliver them all.

After many cards were given out, we finally started scanning them before he gave them to the generous patrons.  Here's what they look like after being scanned.

Then they fall into my obsessive-compulsive-skeletal hands. I get rid of the smudges and straighten everything up so that they will look sharp when we have them printed. This particular card took me 1 million years to finish. It was also originally drawn on a card with beveled edges. That posed a problem, but I believe it was eventually conquered. It should be noted, when I close my eyes I see this in negative on the back of my eyelids.

This landscape features Farnuk of the Far North fly fishing in the freezing waters beneath Seven Bridges Road in Duluth, MN. You can click on it to purchase it or one of the other 15 designs that were scanned before they were handed out to a someone special on my dad's mail route.

Hope you've enjoyed this Before & After experience!

'Til next time!

Lovely Sites

I found these sites absolutely adorable.

KateMorton - Australian author of A House at Riverton as well as The Forgotten Garden writes as if she actually lived during 1913. Not only are her books exquisitely written, her web site possesses a certain nostalgia that left me enamoured.

Last week I was admiring the writings of my friend Sarah of Always Kiss Me Goodnight when this beautiful voice resonated from my labtop speakers. Not only was the voice delicate, the lyrics were heartfelt. I had to hear more. That introduced me to indie artist, Mindy Gledhill.

"Indie singer-songwriter that will leave you floating like a scoop of vanilla cream floating in strawberry soda."

Isn't her site darling?

I love the design of her new Christmas album also.

And you have to read her Bio too! It's just as creative as her music. Oh, I hope you find a new favourite in her!

Do you know of a site with an antique theme like the ones above? Please send me your recommendations.

New Etsy Banner for LaPine Design

I think I actually am going to like this one this time. It reminds me of some velvet wrapping paper I bought a while ago...Ah, Who am I kidding? I'll probably have to change it again next week.

I honestly don't know how people can have the same banner for years. I grow tired of mine after a day. Let's hope this one has some longevity.

Rubber Chicken Theatre Poster

The Rubber Chicken Theater needed a poster for their 4th Annual Holdiay Comedy Revue, so they asked me to create something.

The director, Brian Matuszak wanted the poster to be inspired by the 1987 film The Running Man starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. I'm afraid I've never seen it.

I recreated the silhouettes of Duluth's landmarks and that little runner...well, that's my little bro--runner extraordinaire. The original picture of Mayor Don Ness was so tiny that it was going to look pixelated no matter what. So thankfully I could make it look artistic.  The water colour brush strokes were a last touch. I also chose to make the title grungier compared to the orignal show. I think it works well.

Okay, so let's talk about this Christmas ornament which I drew and warped their logo onto. Out of curiousity, where would you have placed that ornament on the poster? The director wanted a Christmas element added to the poster.  I came up with this, but didn't know where to put it. Suggestions? For tickets to "The Running (Unopposed) Man" visit Rubber Chicken Theater.com or call (218) 213-2780

The show runs from December 2-31, 2011

Later on I was asked to create a banner for perfectduluthday.com What do you think of this banner? All of these designs remind me of the Celine Dion Incognito album cover that I drew in 11th grade. Can you see the resemblance? Or is it just me?

Breaking Dawn Treasury

There are all of 3 people who might care about this. Me being one of them.

Just in case you've taken the plunge into the Twilight craze, here is my Breaking Dawn Treasury on Etsy.

The Volume 4 Pillow has been adjusted to fit the frame. It has been driving me crazy. It's a new picture too. I don't know how I feel about it. I'm guessing I'll change it again.

'Til then!

Sunken Treasure

 

I like the thought of sunken treasure. Why? I've narrowed it down to several reasons.  Maybe I was too young when I saw Disney's The Little Mermaid for the very first time and the grandeur of such treasure loomed large in my formative-spongy mind. This could also explain why I am a "hoarder". Ariel was definitely a hoarder.

 

(This figure perched off the shores of Copenhagen is The Little Mermaid, but from the angle that my Aunt Lori took the picture it just looks like a nude statue.)

Or maybe it's the sheer magnetism that I have for the history of the Titanic that keeps me mesmerized by shipwrecks and their forsaken bounty. 

The scene in the 1997 film when the old Rose picks up the butterfly comb that had been underwater since 1912 left quite the impression on me. To think that there are countless stories of artifacts that were thought to be lost, but someone risked their life to bring them back to the surface.

Or perhaps it was the tragic story of my cousin Kristin's ring falling off the pontoon boat into the soggy depths of Long Lake that has made me contemplate and fantasize about what else could be lost to those mysterious fathoms below.

So naturally I was hooked from the moment I stumbled upon Petit Expedition- a shop on Etsy where you can buy gadgets and gizmos of plenty that look like they have been retrieved from a shipwreck.

Just look at this stuff...

Isn't it neat?

These ones really look like they have been submerged for years.

Am I the only one who finds ship wrecks fascinating?

Why do you like them?

Dear, Sweet November

I'm quite fond of November. It's the month before my birthday which allows me to contemplate what I will include on my wish lists. That's always fun. November also marks the beginning of when the radio stations start to play Christmas music. And it obviously contains Thanksgiving which may arguably be the cosiest of the holidays. Am I right?

It also happens to be the month when Breaking Dawn: Part 1 is released.

I'm starting to get somewhat excited. That may have had to do with the fact that they have been airing steamy Volvo commercials while I've been slaving away on the Breaking Dawn Pillows that lapinedesign will be giving away this month.

They will be featured on Book Nook Club & Bacon Time With The Hungry Hypo!

K-trix (My Die-Hard-Twi-Hard Best Friend) has been keeping me posted all throughout the year of the current developments. She's read the book several times, when I've only read it once and that was awhile ago. So I'm anxious to be reminded of portions of the novel that I have forgotten since the first read-thru. How could I forget that Bella's diamond hair clip contained sapphires?!?! I don't even deserve to call myself a fan these days! I'm expecting quite the cliff hanger. Do you think Part 1 will end as it does in the book or will they keep us hanging in suspense prematurely?

So I have 11 goals for the 11th month.

1. Send off the Breaking Dawn Pillows to the winners.
2. Post the enthralling Breaking Dawn Treasury that K-trix (Super Fan) and I created on Etsy. Just you wait, Enry Iggins, just you wait! It's gonna be legen...wait for it...dary.
3. Make clever necklaces for the group that will be attending the midnight show.
4. Finish the poster for Rubber Chicken Theater's Holiday Revue.
5. Finish writing the 2nd pre-chorus of my new Christmas song.
6. Record my Christmas song.
7. Photograph my latest Breaking Dawn Pillows.
8. Record a sad song with my talented friend, Hannah. Here's her myspace. She rocks and agreed to sing a song for me!
9. Continue to work on the illustrations for my cousin's children's book concept.
And if time permits
11. Paint a pomegranate.

Please, let me explain number 11.

I've been watching a bit of Modern Family and couldn't help but notice the pomegranate painting in the Dunphy's kitchen.

The Modern Family in an Edwardian beach scene which I love a bit too much!

The Dunphy's kitchen.

Amy Runyen's artwork adorns the Dunphy wall.

If that wasn't enough inspiration...

Barbara Andolsek's masterpiece.

John Singer Sargent. Sigh.

Sandy Burr. I'm not sure if this is a photograph or a painting. Either way, it's enticing.

An interesting twist to a classic, by Pat Koscienski

They're almost vampiric if I may say.


Ah, and I love this Q/A between Reckless Bliss and artist Nathan Rohlander:
RB: What advice can you give to budding artists?



NR: Keep the dream alive! To do that you must never give up. Excellence is the result of hard work, practice and experience. A person who is willing to work hard will out perform a person with talent who isn’t. Focus on surrounding yourself with inspirational people and images. Embrace passion! Be gregarious and feed yourself with museums, galleries and travel. Create boundaries for yourself and within those boundaries try to break free. A decision is better than no decision at all. Worry not about what to create, respond to the world around you and produce!

Now if I can only apply that advice.

Reader, I hope your November is off to a sweet start!