Christmas paintings

These two will be in a show coming up in December. Come check them out at the Gresham City Hall building starting December 8. Artist reception (food and live music!!) will be December 15 from 5:30-7:30. You can purchase these there... or let me know. They are at a low price of $109 and $119 framed and ready to hang!

Red Ribbon #2
10X8
oil on canvas
$109

Red Ribbon #1
7X12
oil on board
$119

sock monkey liam

my monkey
7X5
oil on canvas board

I'm back...

I finally got back to the painting world after a couple months of hanging out with my baby boy. He sure is entertaining! This painting is my submission for the Different Strokes challenge. I can really tell that I've been away from the paints for too long. This is really not as good as I was hoping for this photo. I will paint more regularly and, hopefully, get back to improving my paintings.

Traveling

8X8
oil on paper
$25

New blog

From now on this blog will be dedicated strictly to art. For those who are interested, Mike and I have created a new blog for our family. Go here: mc-brady.blogspot.com to see that.

I have a portrait to post soon and I hope to get back into the different strokes from different folks challenges. I've had a bit of a break from painting- for obvious reasons- but I'm excited to get back into it.

painting for Jake and Stefeni

I finished this painting for some friends a couple of weeks ago and haven't posted about it yet... Jake is Mike's former roommate and Stefeni is Jake's wife. They got engaged on this bench at Red Butte Garden, so they wanted a keepsake of said bench. This is a larger painting than what I normally do, but I really liked the finished product.

Red Butte Bench
30X24
Oil on canvas

38 weeks (almost)

Okay... officially 37 weeks and 5 days, but we're coming right along. Had a baby shower today and got some really cute things! Thanks to everyone involved- you are all so great! Afterward, we picked up a few items we were still needing and I think we are mostly ready for Liam to arrive. (Well, ready with stuff for him- not ready emotionally. I don't think I'll ever be "not freaked out.") Then, tonight, a couple of friends came over and helped me "nest." It's fun to organize baby stuff!

My mom was wanting to see the latest belly shot, but Mike wasn't home to take the picture. So, here are a couple of myspace-style baby belly shots...

Not really sure what the deal is with the point. It's kind of a weird shape. Ah well. Oh, AND... you can see the awesomely BLUE bathroom. No, we didn't choose that color- we actually don't use this bathroom much because we have to fix the fiberglass in the shower. Some day it will be pretty and not... smurfy.

Latest painting

Today was supposed to be a day of getting some paintings packaged and shipped and some cleaning done... Well, it's turned out to be "one of those days." I did some laundry early in the day, got some cleaning done, and called a few places to find some boxes to ship these paintings with. Well, last time I had no problem finding a box. This time, however, I've run into problem after problem- poor customer service mostly. Anyway, it kind of put me in a weird mood where I don't really feel like doing anything. I notice more today that I'm super tired, that my belly hurts, that when I am on my feet the baby feels really heavy... so, I'm trying to get the ol' blog updated. That's bound to put me in a better mood, right?! So, here's the latest painting (besides the ones that are going to be shipped soon.) I quite like it. Though, I think it looks better in person.

8X10
oil on canvas
$90

Rufus won!

I forgot to update you on the art contest I entered. Rufus won! Thanks for all your votes. The person who put the contest together posted the top 3 winning images on his site. Check it out. You can check out the other entrants also here.

Baby bedding

Here's a bad picture of the baby bedding and other arts I've been working on lately. I'll get better pictures when I get batteries for my camera. The quilt front and back are pretty visible, the bumper is to the left on top of the sheet, which is the solid turquoise fabric. You can't really see the skirt- striped fabric with sage green trim. You can see most of the mobile and the monogram wall hanging in the background. I hung two shelves on the other side of the room and I am going to be painting 3 square paintings to go above the dresser/ changing table. I also want to do something for the window- I'm thinking a painted wood valence with some neutral fabric panels. I keep finding little projects to do, so I'm sure there will be more to come!

Vote for me...

I entered Rufus into a contest through Fine Art America. There's not really a prize or anything, but I thought it would be fun. So go here and vote for me!

35 week baby belly...

Here's my huge belly today at 35 weeks... you're welcome.

Lots to catch up on....

I will attempt to go in chronological order, but I'm having a hard time remembering everything in order. I believe first was the trip to Idaho for the baby blessing and baby shower. It was really great to be there for the blessing. Kevin did a great job and little Kinlee sure is a sweetie.



I already went out of order because the day before I left to go to Poky we celebrated Mike's birthday. Well, first we had a BBQ with some people in our ward on Thursday. Friday night Mike's sister, Kristen, and Keith surprised Mike by coming into town and meeting us at an Indian restaurant downtown. We had delicious curries and lassis and a stellar time.

I think I'm off again. At some point Mike's other sister, Yuki, and her family came to visit. I'm pretty sure that was before Mike's birthday... yes, I think that's correct. It doesn't look like I was a very good photographer for that trip, though, because I can't find any pictures. Likewise, Mike's mom came to visit just after (or just before--> ugh! I wish I had a better memory) Yuki's visit. Again, no pictures. But, we had a really great time visiting with family the last few weeks. Oh, and- even before all that we bought a house! I remember to include that now because we knew we were having people over right after moving in, so we got everything put away and looking like a home in just a few days. We bought a townhome with 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2 car garage, and lots of storage! We have a place for all our stuff and room to grow. I don't think I have pictures of our house, either- man, I'm not very good at this blogging stuff! We painted many of the rooms a pretty neutral color called water chestnut with white trim. I got to choose the accent wall colors and, let me just tell you, I'm not afraid of color! I chose a color called citrus punch for the wall between the living and dining room and a color called granny smith apple for the kitchen. I'm working on getting the baby room done in the next few weeks which will include a hand painted something on the walls and some other little paintings and things. I am also making all the bedding- just figured out exactly what I'm going to do yesterday!

Oh, look at me go... now I've really gotten out of order! Let's get back to my trip to Idaho... We spent a lot of time crafting! It was really fun for me! We made cards, helped Kambree with her Father's Day present for Kevin- a really neat, sentimental calendar, made a quilt (!!), and just had fun designing and creating things. We went to a movie or two, played games, ate delicious food, and just enjoyed family time. On Saturday while I was there my sisters threw a baby shower for me, which was so nice! They did a great job and I appreciate all the work they put in! I have the best family in the world! I couldn't transport a diaper cake in its entirety, so I did take a picture of it to show Mike (and you all!) what it looked like. It was from Yuki, who drove all the way from Salt Lake to come to the shower. April, Mendy, and Stacy also made the drive. What great people you all are!
I got lots of other really great things from really great people at the shower. I'm a little more prepared for the wee thing's arrival than I was before.

Okay, a few days after I returned home from Pocatello we had Mike's brother, Danny, and his family in town. We did some fun things with them, too. One day I went to the coast with them and we went to the aquarium. Here are some favorites from that trip:
And this one of Ian (and Anna on the back horse) on the carousel at the shopping center at Seaside:

I did pretty well documenting that trip, huh!? Well, next item of business, I believe, is Girl's Camp. I was a 4th year unit leader for our Stake GC this year. I am also 7.25 months pregnant! It actually wasn't too bad... we had mattresses to sleep on, showers, toilets, and delicious food. I definitely was totally fine! It was a little tiring walking around camp all day and just being in the sun.

We had a really great group of girls- 13 4th years in one cabin should have brought a lot more problems than it did! They were silly and fun and friends with each other. It was really fun to be with them all.

The theme was Bloom Where You're Planted and each of the units chose a name which fit that theme. Our girls decided on Soil as their name, amidst other units with cutesy flowery names like Forget-Me-Nots, Hibiscus Hotties, Cabbage Patch Girls, etc. Our girls were definitely more the Soil type, which was great for me!

Each unit does a skit for one night of camp and our girls definitely stole the show! They did a poetry reading thing with goofy poems they made up, or primary songs dictated dramatically, with drumming and guitar chords backing up the lyrics. It was hilarious and really suited the personality of Soil!

Tali

Each day the stake leaders went around for cabin checks. The cabin who did the best at keeping their place neat and tidy won an ice cream party at the end of the week. Well, Soil was a different sort of breed. They didn't care about ice cream. They didn't care about cleaning. They completely trashed the cabin for the main cabin check and this is what the stake leaders had to walk into:

Needless to say, they didn't win an ice cream party, but they definitely gave the whole camp a good laugh! They stuck with their theme of soil through it all! It was a really fun experience and I'm glad I went.

I think I might be ending this novel now... In most recent news my belly is getting big and the little guy is moving all around. As I said earlier, I have many projects to be working on to get ready for his arrival. I will try to remember to take pictures as I complete things.

Oh- here's a cute picture of baby Kinlee from a week or so ago:

Kinlee Bree

This is my new niece, Kinlee. I went to Idaho last week for her blessing and to spend time with the family. I will post more on that later, but for now just enjoy this beautiful face!

Veggie painting

Here's my latest painting for the DSFDF blog. I haven't painted in like 3 weeks or more, so I felt pretty rusty with this one. I think it turned out okay, though. I will probably be off painting again for a week or two because I get to go see the family! Remember the cute baby I posted a few weeks ago- Kinlee Bree- well, I finally get to go see her. And, my sisters are throwing a baby shower for me! Should be a grand ol' time with the fam-a-lamily! Until next time...

Summer Veggies
10X8
Oil on canvas board

Birthday time

It's that time of year again... Mike's getting older and deserves a celebration. Come on over if you're in the area.