Picking this weekend- the big art show

There were so many good sales this weekend with great art. The sale I purchased the most from was the Estate of Barbara Evans. I have known of her work for many years and from the article in the Birmingham News in 2008, she lived a life as colorful as her art. These paintings span her trips to Europe and the High Sierras.

I am excited to own this collection! I think I might keep at least one of the six pieces I purchased... but how to pick just one!

Etsy team: Cat Pope Fine Art

One of the great things about etsy, beside the ability to run your own online and international business, and all that entails, is things like "teams". I am on a few teams, one of the most active is the Alabama Accents. We are currently promoting each other businesses each day in March.

Today, we are celebrating Cat Pope Fine Art! He creates fantastic paintings that can be found in private collections. You can click HERE to find his shop.

Here is a collection things I love from Cat Pope Fine Art- it's all about the lush colors in oil!

Etsy team: Colorphine

One of the great things about etsy, beside the ability to run your own online and international business and all that entails, is things like "teams". I am on a few teams, one of the most active is the Alabama Accents. We are currently promoting each other businesses each day.

Today, we are celebrating Colorphine! She creates great custom notecards, announements and artwork. You can click HERE to find her shop.

Here is a collection things I love from Colorphine!










                                              Custom logo designs, too!

Whimsical characters- best of the web

Nature gives us the most inspired shapes. We alter, glorify and celebrate the natural world by bringing it into our homes in the form of figurines, wall art and sculpture. Here is my best of the web- whimsical characters, the animals of the web. Enjoy!
These modern characters are from Design Within Reach and as they are on sale, they are in reach at $24 to $31!

I love fiveoeight's whale wall art with it's damask pattern and blue tail. At 16 inches by nearly 6 inches this medium size makes a whale of the statement on your wall. Need more whale? The super size is nearly three feet long. Beach house here we come! You can find more at www.fiveoeight.etsy.com!


Is it me, or is a Snake Bouquet hard to resist? When you care enough to send the very unique. Mixed messages maybe, but all whimsy! www.WoodDoodle.etsy.com brings us this great collection of folk inspired snakes.




Though these are teethers, they are also sculpturally beautiful. I would add these to a collection of small hand carved boxes or sit on top of a dimensional box-type painting. These three teethers comes from www.SmilingTreeToys.etsy.com.



Twisted Fish 132... need I really say more? This is one of the fantastic pieces coming from Fig Jam Studios out of Sarasota, Florida. You more whimsical creature can me found at www.figjamstudios.etsy.com. With a price of under $70, you can afford a school of Twisted Fish!

Playin' Hookie

Summer is the perfect time to play hookie! How else will you hang up all those beach towels, straw handbags and for all you Austen-ite those flowers and herbs you're drying?

Here is a selecting of fun hooks I found on Etsy- the best place for handmade and one of a kind items... then again I am rather partial having a few stores there myself!

This gem is from the Shabby Shak, and perfect for the beach house, boy's bedroom, or sun porch!

I love the humor of an antler hook! This set, from the door stop, is actually cast iron, not real antlers.

Though silverware as hooks are not a new idea, these are particularly well done! From jjevensen, this set comes if a variety of silverware patterns!

Honoring the artistry of the blacksmith, this hand forged hook from SemiosisForge is only $15!

As you can see, hooks can make a statement whether something is on them, or not! They can express a theme like lodge style with antler hooks, or nautical with the anchor hook, without being overt. Rooms are best when they are layered, like people. A cottage chic room, can also be a white room and a nautical room or a cottage chic girls lodge! The forks can be cottage chic kitchen, cottage chic folk art dining room. Or, they can add the whimsy to a formal room with out loosing the formality, since they are silver. Once you have the bog picture of a space with wall colors and furnishings, then you can look to specifically chosen details that relate to the big picture, but add a secondary and tertiaries layer, dare I say theme, to a space.

stylish storage- external hard drive

I have been on the hunt for a hard drive... a stylish hard drive. I know the considerations should be size and price, but if I spending the money, I want something that looks good as well.

I narrowed it down to two brands, one speaks to my green side, the other on purely aesthetics and the parameters of around $100 and a terabyte of space. My green option was the [re]drive by Simpletech from Hitachi. the exterior is made from bamboo and recycled aluminum and it is energy star rated boasting a USB drive which is 25% faster than USB2.0.

Pretty snazzy!

LaCie was my other brand of choice, they have produced some of the coolest electronic gadgets with reasonable prices. I was first smitten with the LaCie Golden Disk designed by Ora-Ito. It looks like water reflecting a sunset or a morphed Chanel quilting bag. And, I what other beauties do they offer... Who knew the beauties I would behold! The Lacie Grand Disk with the subtle face reminding me of a Paloma Picasso design from Tiffany's, it's as if the hand drive could really have a brain.

Golden Disk on the left and the grand Disk on the right.

Then I found the one, the one that makes your heart sing, well is anything Phillippe Starck makes your hear sing... which it does mine! Below is the LaCie hard drive designer by Starck.

It contrasts the smooth front of the Grand Disk with the aluminum hard case of the [re]drive and adds a lighted orange Starck logo as the"on" indicator. And, features a touch sensitive front. I had to have it! All are available on Amazon.com.

Tip Day- Buying art at an outdoor art show

Though some artists in larger cities might look down upon artists that show at outdoor shows. In the South, it is quite common for our gallery artists to also be at outdoor shows. Often times, their prices are better outside of their gallery cities.



So, some tips on buying outdoors:

1. know what you need-
take measurements for all the walls you will be buying art for. And, make notes of
any locations you might like 3-D pieces.


2. set a budget-
though you cannot know exactly what you will spend for each spot, set a hierarchy
for what spots are more important and spend accordingly.

3. buy only what you love-
Don't settle for less... in anything! Just because you would like to fill a certain spot,
do not buy for it until you buy the perfect piece. You will have buyer's remorse and
think about the hasty purchase every time you pass the piece.


4. buy for others-
Keep a list with you of the people you still need to buy for for Birthday's or the
holidays. Make notes on the list as you buy for people, so you will not forget what
you have already purchased. And, consult the list before you set out for the art
show, you never know how much gift giving you could find there!

Bluff Park Art show... coming up!

This Saturday is the Bluff Park Art Show, one of the best art shows in the Birmingham Area. Intimate in scale and large on talent, this small park, nestled in the Bluff Park community of Hoover, is so small that the attendees are bused in from 5 different parking lots around Bluff Park. I usually pick up the bus on the "North route", which includes the parking lots of the Bluff Park United Methodist Church, the Piggly Wiggly shopping center and the Shades Mountain Independent Church parking lot, to name a few. There are signs all over the Northern half of Hoover directing you to a parking lot. The bus drivers are friendly and I've never had to wait longer than 3 minutes to catch the bus.
I love finding one-of-a-kind gifts, as well as, art glass I can't live without. Last year, over 20,000 people joined me at this one day show of beauty and cleverness. And, it promises to be a great show again this year. The weather should be lovely and I'll be tweeting during the show and posting a review afterwards! I look forward to seeing the park transform into one of my favorite Tent Cities of Talent!