My Good Babushka

Hungarian Embroidery

2012-02-13T03:00:00.000-08:00

Here is my little Kalocsa embroidery. I am very happy with it. It's so colorful, it's like a party for your eyes. And below is how it looks all finished in my etsy shop.

You can read more about it at My Good Babushka!

Young Couple

2012-02-10T03:00:00.000-08:00

Portrait of a young couple in progress. Their faces are turned slightly toward each other, which makes the angles challenging. I have to redraw the woman's jawline. And move her ear. When I paint, I smudge my drawing lines, then I paint over them. I should have been more careful about measuring as I go. I'll fix that later.

Young Couple

2012-02-09T03:00:00.000-08:00

I put Best Dressed Girls on hold while I do this portrait of a young couple.
I still take commissions, and if you want me to do a portrait for you, just ask!
9" x 12".....$100.00
11" x 14"....$200.00
16" x 20"....$300.00
18" x 24"....$400.00
22" x 28"....$500.00
24" x 36"....$600.00
If you want fantasy elements and embellishments, add $50.00 to the base prices above.
Contact me about commissions at julie_schuler@comcast.net

Best Dressed Girls

2012-02-08T03:00:00.000-08:00

This painting is done-ish. I'm going to pick up the shrubbery and grass a little bit to the left of the girl in red. And I'll give the whole thing a once over to see if anything else can be improved, but I'm pretty happy with it. I love the bright red next to the bright blue. They are like happy birds!

Best Dressed Girls

2012-02-07T03:00:00.000-08:00

More progress on Best Dressed Girls. I wonder what happened to those hats?

Light and Dark Brown Scarf

2012-02-06T03:00:00.000-08:00

The scarf I'm knitting for my husband gets a little longer. I really like this pattern. It's visually interesting, but it only uses two colors, and you don't have to start and stop yarns. They just carry along on the inside of the tube. Easy Peasy.

Young Couple

2012-02-03T03:00:00.000-08:00

Painting of a young couple in progress. Usually as I build up skin tones, the features like the eyes, nose and mouth, get a little covered up and start to wander away from the places where I originally drew them. So when I am happy with the luminosity and shading of the skin, I have to go back and put the features in the exact right places, re-measuring everything over again. Here I am still working on building up the skin tones of the young woman.

Embroidery

2012-02-02T03:00:00.000-08:00

I'm still working on my embroidery, inspired by Hungarian Kalocsa style embroidery. I usually do some in the morning, before the kids have gone to school, and in the evening, until it gets too dark to match colors. My eyes get fatigued if I've done painting during the afternoon, so sometimes I just knit in the evening. Then I don't have to worry about matching the color of narrow bits of thread.

Young Couple

2012-02-01T03:00:00.000-08:00

One of my blog readers has come forward and is allowing me to paint a portrait! Glee!
Here is a happy young couple in progress. I am starting with the woman. Which is odd because I usually work left to right. But as you can see, I've decided to bring her into sharper focus first and left him a bit sketchy for now.

Best Dressed Girls

2012-01-31T03:00:00.000-08:00

A work of Best Dressed Girls in progress. The bright blue and bright red in this painting make me so happy!
I have been working on paintings on paper, and find that they are just as nice as paintings on canvas, and often easier to frame. I am going to work up a price list and offer portraits on paper along with the traditional portraits on canvas. I hope that this will encourage more people to come forward with their great vintage photos and let me see them! I would come straight to your houses and rifle under your beds and through your closets if I could, but I can't. I must coax you to let me see them!

Best Dressed Girls

2012-01-30T03:00:00.000-08:00

More progress on Best Dressed Girls. I've grown very keen on a certain era of vintage photo. Many people prefer the Victorian vintage photo with somber people in fancy clothes, but I'm enamored of the 1940s through 1970s snapshots. I like to see groups of people, relaxed, happy. I've found that since these photos aren't in as high demand, I can pick them up at bargain prices. I bought a few already and I'm looking forward to making paintings from them.

Best Dressed Girls

2012-01-27T03:00:00.000-08:00

Here is a portrait from some of my own vintage photographs. Probably '68 or '69. My sisters dressed up in cardigans and skirts that my mother knitted by hand, holding little patent leather purses! I bet they were going to church with my grandmother because that is her cedar shingle house they are standing near. I'm going to guess this is an Easter picture. I was the happy recipient of both skirt and cardigan sets a decade later, as well as one of the patent leather purses.

Vegetables

2012-01-26T03:00:00.000-08:00

The last few shots of my veggie still life in progress.

Here is how the painting looks on my etsy site, and here is a link to share! Still Life with Vegetables from My Good Babushka!

Vegetables

2012-01-25T03:00:00.000-08:00

My still life of vegetables in progress.

Floral Embroidery

2012-01-24T03:00:00.000-08:00

The circumference continues to blossom! It is fun to use every color in the thread box, much less sweating it out over color-coordinating, and it seems to just look better the more colors I use. My flower patterns are entirely invented on the fly, and I know they are not exactly the traditional Hungarian flower embroidery shapes, but it is still inspired by the very colorful kalocsa style of embroidery.

Darla Jackson Sculpture

2012-01-23T03:00:00.000-08:00

Here is my Darla Jackson sculpture. I got it by donating on Kickstarter to the Philadelphia Sculpture Gym. It's titled "It started at a young age...."
I love it! I have it displayed in my library/computer room next to my Russian lacquered wooden bowls.

Kickstarter is a great place to help people with project ideas. I've donated on there a couple of times. I was thinking of raising funds there myself to get a better printer so I could have more control over the size and quality of prints I sell.

Skinny Minnie on Windy Wash Day

2012-01-20T03:00:00.000-08:00

I had so many interruptions while I was working on this painting, but I've finally reached a place where I can be satisfied with it. I like the loose, flat, brushy white areas contrasting with the tighter painting on the face of the vintage young lady. Her name isn't really Minnie. She's my aunt and her name is Dolores. This picture was taken in the mid-forties. There was nothing wrong with her, she was just really, really skinny.

Veggies!

2012-01-19T03:00:00.000-08:00

I really like the texture of the carrots, the mushrooms and tomatoes could use more work.

Hungarian Embroidery

2012-01-18T03:00:00.000-08:00

I'm drawing as I go. It's fun just to make it up and use as many colors as I can. I am focusing on making my satin stitches nice and even and proficient.

Veggies

2012-01-17T03:00:00.000-08:00

I don't quite know why I have been so drawn to the photos in vintage cookbooks. They are not really appetizing, exactly. I like the nostalgic angle, and the ultra vivid colors and textures. It's a nice exercise, so just play along.

Scarf!

2012-01-16T03:00:00.000-08:00

I made a scarf with some leftover bits. I knitted it in a tube, which I think is a superior way to make a scarf, no rolling up on the edges, extra thick and warm. You can see the finished scarf at my etsy site. Roses and Cocoa Striped Scarf. It has a happy fringe!

Veggies: the Painting

2012-01-12T03:00:00.000-08:00

I didn't take a picture of an important step because my camera was on the blink, but I'll tell you- I blocked in complementary colors under each of the vegetables- I painted the carrots blue, the tomatoes green, and the lettuce red. I don't know if it will come through in the end or not, but I'm trying to think about color and it's most effective use.

Paint Your Veggies!

2012-01-11T03:00:00.000-08:00

I have always found cookbook photography interesting and strangely compelling, if not quite appetizing. Especially vintage cookbooks with their technicolor brightness. I decided to stop fighting the urge to paint my rendition of some of these beauties. I'm starting with the cover of the Good Housekeeping cookbook of vegetables, published in the 60s. I love this whole series, and I think I have all of them except the Cakes edition.

Waste Not, Want Not

2012-01-10T03:00:00.000-08:00

I'm making a scarf out of all of my yarn leftovers. This is knitted round and and round in a tube to make it nice and warm and 2-ply. It won't curl up on the edges either. It is a superior scarf design.

Embroidery

2012-01-09T03:00:00.000-08:00

More of my embroidery in progress. I am trying out my satin stitch in this piece inspired by the traditional floral embroidery of Hungary.

Winter Box

2012-01-06T03:00:00.000-08:00

I posted these backwards, beginning with the finished box and ending with the background! I made a little painted winter themed wooden box, commissioned by a friend to give as a present. It was fun. I always try my best to make something unique and eye-catching with the specifications I'm given.

I'm always open to new commissions. Portraits,paintings,keepsake boxes, whatever! I like making things for friends.

Paper Moon

2012-01-05T03:00:00.000-08:00

I'm still working on my "Boy From A Paper Moon" story. There are very few illustrations to go. Here is one of the main female character, a little surprised in her bedroom.

And if you are new to my blog, I've penned and illustrated a few odd little tales which you can find links to on the right hand side of my blog.

Laundry

2012-01-04T03:00:00.000-08:00

A little pot boiler I've been working on during the move. I feel like there were quite a lot of interruptions while I was working on this and I only got about half of the things I wanted out of it. It is simple and has the composition I meant for it. Yet I didn't reach where I needed to with the texture and detail. I feel like I missed my chance with this, and a door closed somewhere along the way...
Maybe if I leave it alone for a while I'll find out what it needs.

Hungarian Embroidery

2012-01-03T03:00:00.000-08:00

I've decided to work on my satin stitches and try out some Hungarian style, Kolacsa embroidery. This is done on some pink fabric, a blended suiting fabric of some kind that I've found either in a thrift store or church rummage sale, who knows! But it seemed perfectly cheerful for a kalocsa doily.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T03:00:00.000-08:00

I'm happy to be back to blogging after my long winters nap. I'm excited about the new projects I've been thinking about and can't wait to get started!

First, I'd like to finish up some old business. These are some pictures of an embroidery project that I started before we moved.

Here is how the finished pillow looks at my etsy site- My Good Babushka. I have added a few new things while I've been away, so I hope you will visit my shop in the near future and see what goodies are in store.

Hiatus

2011-11-22T03:00:00.000-08:00

Taking a break from blogging while we set up in our new home! See you soon at my new digs!

Retro Pink Sweater

2011-11-21T03:00:00.001-08:00

New, handknit sweater inspired by vintage patterns from the 50's. This ends-right-at-the-waist cardigan will look nice paired with a skirt. Has cute collar and buttoned cuffs on the 3/4 length sleeves. Finished with vintage pink buttons. Knit with wool/ acrylic blend that can be hand washed or washed on a delicate cycle. Tumble dry low heat or lay flat to dry. Small, fits chest size 32"-34".
See more here at my etsy site.

Retro Pink Sweater.

2011-11-18T03:00:00.000-08:00

I adapted a pattern from a vintage magazine to make this retro pink sweater. It has a really cute collar and pointed cuff details. It's just waiting on some perfect buttons. This is a woman's small.

Paper Moon

2011-11-17T03:00:00.000-08:00

Still working on my celebratory page, after the foe has been vanquished. Taking my time and making sure that each character, even though they only appear this one time, has unique, distinct features.

The Last I Saw Gretel

2011-11-16T03:00:00.000-08:00

I have given Gretel a little gingerbread man to keep her company. Below you can see the finished work as it appears at My Good Babushka.
Or click here for the listing.

The Last I Saw Gretel

2011-11-15T03:00:00.000-08:00

Misty Forest has now become The Last I Saw Gretel. I scoured some of my vintage photographs and I found one of my mother, probably from 1940 or 41, when she was just a baby. She looked sort of worried. I plucked her out of the photo and gave her some color. Now she's Gretel, the little girl lost in my Misty Forest.

Cocktail Party!

2011-11-14T03:00:00.000-08:00

Sketch on cotton canvas for a new embroidery. Sometimes I just feel like doing something silly and I'm really fond of retro graphics. So I'm just going to relax, not sweat it, and have some fun with this little piece.

Fox

2011-11-11T03:00:00.000-08:00

Progress on my fox pillow. And below is the finished pillow which has already sold!

Cool Spring Corn Maze

2011-11-10T03:00:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of us having a good time at Cool Spring Corn Maze in Mercer, Pennsylvania. It was a nice day and we had a lot of fun. Here is the link to the Cool Spring Corn Maze site. You can see the aerial view of the cornfield which was cut in the pattern of a firetruck this year. Pretty nifty.

Wash Line

2011-11-09T03:00:00.000-08:00

Another psychological portrait that seemed to spring to mind rather naturally after the last painting I did of a lone child on a swing. The working title of this is Wash Line. These are the rough bones of it.

Swing

2011-11-08T03:00:00.001-08:00

A few of the last progress pics I posted against the finished painting. A psychological surreal portrait of a lone child on a backyard swing. Suspended over giant clover flowers. The imagination aroused by the sound of a mourning dove and shadows closing in on a sunny playground. Original acrylic painting by Julie Kwiatkowski Schuler. 12" x 24" x 3/4". The edges are painted and this canvas is wired, ready for display upon arrival. More picture details of the finished work can be found here.

Pink Sweater

2011-11-07T03:00:00.000-08:00

I just couldn't leave my vintage magazines alone! Here I am rewriting and knitting up a sweater based on another vintage pattern. This will be a ladies small. Here is the back about half done.

Misty Forest

2011-11-04T03:00:00.000-07:00

Getting the trees nice and leafy. It's not hard to do, just a lot of little dabs, but they are built up in layers, then I build up the shape of the trees with shadows and highlights, sometimes several times over so they get a nice look of depth.

Ghoulish!

2011-11-03T03:00:00.000-07:00

A few belated pictures of my boys at Horror Realm, that was back in September!

Fox

2011-11-02T03:00:00.000-07:00

Here is some progress on a new embroidery. A fox in a stylized forest. I'm trying to keep the colors to a minimum, but I do have four shades of green, two golden browns, an ocher and a blue for the foliage. Now I'm starting to wonder what my background filling color will be? I need some contrast. Maybe a pale goldeny-orange? I don't know. I will take the embroidery with me to the craft store and hold a bunch of different threads up against it until I find the right one.

On the Needles

2011-11-01T03:00:00.000-07:00

I am working through some yarn my mother gave me. I picked a cable pattern and just knit and knit and knit. Until I had this very long and warm wrap. It's big enough for two! Cozy up with your honey and watch a scary movie! See the whole thing here!

Swing

2011-10-31T03:00:00.000-07:00

I laid in the various locations of what will be clover flowers. I'm pretty happy with the composition. I think it has a nice feel. I am very happy with the wrinkles and shadows on the clothes. White clothes are always tough for me, they should reflect a lot of the colors of the environment, but still look like white clothes, so that's a challenge. Next I'll move over the the arm and leg on the right.

Paper Moon

2011-10-28T03:00:00.000-07:00

Oh, story! Why won't you be done already?
Here is an illustration of the celebration, after the foe is vanquished. Everyone will be happy.

Misty Forest

2011-10-27T03:00:00.000-07:00

I worked on the foliage on the right. Otherwise, not too much progress with this one.

Fox

2011-10-26T03:00:00.000-07:00

First I drew a picture.

Then I draw the picture again on the canvas. I put a blanket stitch around the perimeter to keep it from unraveling. I usually get around to whip stitching the very outside edge of the fabric, too. Keeps the threads from falling off all over the house.

Then I pick some colors and start embroidering! I used three colors for the fox and only the fox. Then I picked out three greens, a gold and a blue. I'm toying with making the background black, but I haven't decided yet. Usually I take the almost finished piece to the craft store and hold different colored threads up to it, to see what color would look best. The background takes the most thread, so I have to pick a color that's fully stocked.

Winter White with Cables

2011-10-25T03:00:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd show you what's on the needles! My mom gave me some acrylic worsted weight yarn. I picked this cable and ridge pattern and cast on 300 stitches. Just gonna knit it like this 'til the yarn runs out. Then I got some good deals from Patternworks Bargain Bin. Seriously, if you like knitting go over there right now. You can get yarn in 10 skein bags. It's time to stock up for winter knitting.

Swing

2011-10-24T03:00:00.000-07:00

I spent most of my time working on the fabric folds across the shirt and shorts. Then I worked a little bit on the shaping of the arm and leg. The swing chains are going to be a challenge and an opportunity. They will be hard to keep straight!

Swing

2011-10-21T03:00:00.000-07:00

I finally got some pictures in clear daylight. There is another barrier in front of the house now. Some white picket fence that reminds me of bared teeth. There is a little echo or resonating of the vertical lines just beyond the house. I did a lot of layering, wiping, and restructuring the sky. It is a blue sky, but also filled with shadows. It could be the undefined shady foliage of big trees, or an impending storm. I am leaving the ambiguity there. The sunlight is playing on the grass. I worked on the face of the child, which is me. Looking vaguely worried with a sort of peanut shaped head. This can't help being autobiographical in some sense, but I want it to be translatable to everyone. All children have played alone at times, and felt the feeling of the houses being shut to them. It makes me think of the wind in the grass and the sound of a mourning dove, which I always mistook for owls when I was little.

Swing

2011-10-20T03:00:00.000-07:00

I've had the composition for this picture in my head for a while. This is a long canvas and it just seemed the right place to have a child hanging on a long swing. I like the way the swing set poles slice into the composition. I am using acrylic paint with a gel medium. I'm really trying to layer the colors and get a good, shimmery, layered look to the paint. I've dropped in this house. A yellow house. It's a personal symbol as I've always felt a yellow house is a very hospitable, warm place. The only yellow house I have in my history was the house of my great-grandmother, whom I believed lived in a yellow house next to my paternal grandparents. I never set a foot in that house, so it is strange that I associate it with home-ness. But that is just typical for me, the place I associate with warmth, acceptance and nourishment would be a place I never visited! My house doesn't even have windows and doors, it is utterly closed.

Swing

2011-10-19T03:00:00.000-07:00

I'm starting a real painting on stretched canvas which I haven't actually done for a while. I plan on doing a few of these to hang together on a theme. I am getting the inspiration from my own vintage photos. If you follow my blog, you know I've been delving into them frequently and getting lots of practice on small compositions on paper. This time I'm doing something that is more personal and psychological. I hope it will be interesting as well.

Paper Moon

2011-10-18T03:00:00.000-07:00

Did some touching up, adding the ribbons, to the first picture. Laying in the groundwork for the next illustration, where everyone is happy. Yay!

Paper Moon

2011-10-17T03:00:00.000-07:00

Here are two very important illustrations for my story. As you can see in the second picture, my heroine cuts the ribbons and the mysterious, changing creature dissolves into a pile of bones from small animals.

Paper Moon

2011-10-14T03:00:00.000-07:00

More illustrations for my Boy From a Paper Moon story. I think I am starting to burn out on this thing, but since I have less than ten illustrations to go, I've got to buckle down and finish it.

Misty Forest

2011-10-13T03:00:00.000-07:00

Here is the same picture I was working on yesterday. I laid in a few trees and tried to make them get faded and melty into the background. Also, I started to put some yellow-greeny shoots coming up from the deep orange leaf litter.

Misty Forest

2011-10-12T03:00:00.000-07:00

I almost never use purple, but this time I dug way into the back of my paint drawer and used some layers of purple in the sky for this painting. I love the rusty red leaf litter and how the purple takes on a cold aspect against the warm reds of the ground. This is a very unusual color combination for me, but I like it so far. Forests don't have to be green.

Folk Dance Embroidery and an Alligator Head

2011-10-11T03:00:00.000-07:00

Some pictures I took as I was finishing my "Circle Dance" pillow. You can see the finished pillow at my etsy shop. I got some really nice pictures of it in a woodland setting (under the tree outside my apartment!) My Good Babushka

I picked up this alligator head with red glass eyes at the flea market. Sometimes I put it in front of my fish tank. I hope it makes my betta feel more like its out in nature. I was thinking I could arrange the alligator head with some other interesting odds and ends and make a decent still life out of it.

Portrait of Tina

2011-10-10T03:00:00.000-07:00

I was really really happy with the way this little painting turned out. I think the contrast between the lights and darks are perfect. I think the loose brushwork of the grassy areas and the hints of dark tree branches are a good complement to the tighter brushwork in the portrait. You can get a better look at it here at My Good Babushka.

Portrait of Tina

2011-10-07T03:00:00.000-07:00

I have a little black and white vintage photo circa 1965 of a baby in a dress standing at the side of a house. I'm going to colorize and stylize it a little bit and see what happens.

Summer Swinging

2011-10-06T03:00:00.000-07:00

A little painted sketch from a vintage photo circa 1970. A couple on a swing.
You can see the finished work here at My Good Babushka.

Paper Moon

2011-10-05T03:00:00.000-07:00

Now my golden serpent has turned into a rather over-sized golden rabbit. So in case you haven't guessed, my monster is a bit of a shape shifter. It is trying to coax our protagonists to come closer!

Paper Moon

2011-10-04T03:00:00.000-07:00

Fleshing out my second snake illustration. Making it nice and shiny and foreshortened. So it looks like it's attacking! Don't be too scared, this one has a nice ending.

Paper Moon

2011-10-03T03:00:00.000-07:00

More exciting illustrations from my Boy From a Paper Moon story. Giant snake! Aaaaah!

Missing Pieces

2011-09-30T03:00:00.000-07:00

Here are those progress shots that I couldn't find yesterday! Lucky me. This piece is certainly about red and green. And look at that faux marble floor! This picture was taken in the modest home of a southwestern Pennsylvanian Polish steelworker. Did they really fool anyone into thinking that they had marble floors? lol.

Portrait of a Lady in Red

2011-09-29T03:00:00.000-07:00

I missed the in between steps, so this is the first and last of this particular portrait. This is the same young woman I painted before 5"x7" based on a vintage photo circa 1957-8.

I have been working sort of fast and loose for a while, and I would consider these interim, small pieces a sort of limbering up exercise. I am looking forward to doing some larger pieces soon, and exploring a new direction with my painting that will build upon these little portraits.

Portrait of a Lady in Fur

2011-09-28T03:00:00.000-07:00

Very quick little painted portrait, 5" x 7", of a young lady ready for her date. From a vintage photo circa 1957-58. Here it is about 3/4ths done.

Folk Dance Embroidery and a Bathing Beauty

2011-09-27T03:00:00.000-07:00

A work of embroidery in progress of little dancers in a circle surrounded by many embroidered flowers. A sketchy little painting from a vintage photo of a young girl at Ocean City- about half done.

The Betta Blues

2011-09-26T03:00:00.000-07:00

I am not very good with fish. I killed several goldfish. Then I got this Betta fish in January because it was supposed to be a hardier breed. Everything was going great with us. We had a minor snag with some live aquarium plants that weren't to his liking, be we got over that. Then, all of a sudden, he got fin rot! I don't know why, I clean his tank exactly the same and do the partial water changes on schedule. Maybe you can see that some of his fin has gone raggedy and sloughed off. I have been treating him with Melafix for about two weeks now and keeping up with the water changes. His tail isn't currently falling off, but I'm always afraid it will start again. Poor little fishie. I hope some of his tail will grow back.

The Summer Swing 1975

2011-09-23T03:00:00.000-07:00

Picture in progress of my parents sitting on a swing behind my grandmother's (my mom's mom) house. I like the little vintage car on the street behind, and the subdued, humid, hazy greens in the picture. It's the kind of summer you have to wring out. I was mostly working on the background so far.

Sofa Cheat

2011-09-22T03:00:00.000-07:00

Some of you might remember when I reupholstered my sofa- over a year ago! What I didn't tell anyone until now is that I totally cheated there, at the end. I made the cushion covers, but didn't put the zippers in them. I just safety pinned them shut and put them on the sofa that way. So here I am, coming clean, and finally putting my zippers on. It's still not entirely done. I want to put extra fabric around the bottom back of the sofa, with cording through it for a little extra designer touch. But since the sofa is against the wall, I will probably not do it any time soon. Maybe next year!

Raggedy Ann and Andy

2011-09-21T03:00:00.000-07:00

There is a lot to contrast when you compare today's painting to yesterday's painting. This one is looser and brighter. It has a shimmery effect in some places, but overall, I don't like it. Maybe because it's too symmetrical. If something is so symmetrical that it lacks dynamism and tension, then you paint it all in uniformly bright colors, you pass up the only way to make contrast and interest. I think maybe this symmetrical composition would have been better with more shadow and a definite light source. Live and learn. They can't all be blue ribbon winners, people.

Girls on a Pony

2011-09-20T03:00:00.000-07:00

A picture of my sisters on a carousel prop horse, posing for photos about a decade before my picture on a similar carousel horse. As Seen Here. This brushwork is a little tighter and the colors are more subdued, but I really consider this one a very successful little piece. See the finished piece here.

Teddy Bear Picnic

2011-09-19T03:00:00.000-07:00

The final touches on Teddy Bear Picnic. That should be creepy enough for anyone.

Teddy Bear Picnic

2011-09-16T03:00:00.000-07:00

To be entirely honest with you, I did this painting in July, but am only now getting around to posting how it came together. I needed some new stuff for Horror Realm and Zombie Fest, which I'm at right now! Sept 16-18 at The Crowne Plaza Hotel in South Hills Village. I will bring you back some pictures, for sure! Keep your fingers crossed for us, that we have a good, remunerative weekend.

Paper Moon

2011-09-15T03:00:00.000-07:00

A few more updates for my story illustrations. I think the golden snake is coming along well, I like his shiny skin.

Paper Moon

2011-09-14T03:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a hodgepodge assortment of story illustrations. They boy and girl have and exchange wherein she gets possession of the scissors. The boy battles a golden rat. The mystery creature is a golden snake that is menacing the children it took from the picnic when it was a golden pony. I think the last picture is a little bit scary!

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The Folk Dance Embroidery

2011-09-13T03:00:00.000-07:00

I began work on a new embroidery. This one has stylized folk dancers dancing in a circle. There are also lots of flowers. I am going to use lots of different colors.

Dancers

2011-09-12T03:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a little painting, acrylic on paper 5" x 7" of two girls dancing. I am the girl on the right, and this was my sixth birthday. The photograph was very dark, but I reinvented the the colors to keep the scene sort of light and airy. I let a lot of brush strokes be, and rubbed through in some areas to let a pinky-beige background show through. I like the loose brushwork that grows more tightly knit together around the focal points of the two faces. It's something that I'm still experimenting with and working on.

The Party People

2011-09-09T03:00:00.000-07:00

I'm working on a small painting 5" x 7" based on a vintage photo, but this time I'm reinventing the colors. This is a style I've decided to call "candied vintage". Grandma helps out with a child's birthday party. I framed this little artwork in a lovely little vintage frame that I painted to match. Available for purchase here- The Party People at My Good Babushka

Paper Moon

2011-09-08T03:00:00.000-07:00

The Boy from a Paper Moon studies a book. There is something lurking beneath the table.

The Boy from a Paper Moon recounts how he tried to escape his former home and was stalked by a golden-eyed rat. Two more installments in my Boy from a Paper Moon story.

Paper Moon

2011-09-07T03:00:00.000-07:00

Two more story illustrations in progress. The Boy from a Paper Moon and our young heroine share a dance under the cherry trees, yet there is a new crisis afoot! Also a flashback to the Boy from a Paper Moon perusing a book in his old home, where he had a very unusual room mate.

Haunted Honeymoon

2011-09-06T03:00:00.000-07:00

Several weeks of work compressed into a few photos here. Lots of filling in stitches.
You can see the finished work here. It's available for purchase at my etsy shop. Haunted Honeymoon at My Good Babushka

Haunted Honeymoon

2011-09-05T03:00:00.000-07:00

Hand embroidered work in progress. This one is pretty big. 9" x 14" Inspired by Mexican Day of the Dead artwork and especially, paper cutting.

Miscellaneous

2011-09-02T03:00:00.000-07:00

Here is an embroidery I've been working on- an art deco-ish inspired bit of a fancy dressed lady looking up at the moon through her telescope. The background is plain cotton, and not filled in with embroidery stitching, like the ones I do on canvas. So this one went pretty fast. The finished cushion is available at my etsy store. Astronomy Pillow at My Good Babushka

My friend Jenny from Jenny's blog Off On My Tangent sent me this really kooky yarn and I've been trying to think of just the right thing to make with it. It's really furry and muppety. It reminded me of the fluff on the cats in the classic carnival game, the cat rack. Sometimes the dolls or targets are painted as clowns, and you have to knock them down with a ball. I always wished that you could win the fuzzy target, instead of the stuffed animals that were usually the prize. So I am going to make my own cat rack target dolls and use the kooky yarn as their furry fringes

Here is my first one. Available now at my etsy shop. Cat Rack Carnival Punk at My Good Babushka

Spinning!

2011-09-01T03:00:00.000-07:00

I decided to try my hand at spinning. It is very easy to do, but it is very hard to do well! You can see my yarn is a little bit thick n' thin and doesn't quite stay the same all the way through. Still, I think this is good for a first try, and I can't wait to get some more roving and try again.

Three Women in the Kitchen

2011-08-31T03:00:00.000-07:00

Portrait from a vintage photo. Three women in a kitchen. The top picture shows the finished portrait. The bottom photos are various shots of how the painting tied up at the end.
I am a painter with over twenty years of experience.
If you want a portrait my rates are as follows:
For a straightforward portrait-
9" x 12".....$100.00
11" x 14"....$200.00
16" x 20"....$300.00
18" x 24"....$400.00
22" x 28"....$500.00
24" x 36"....$600.00
If you want fantasy elements and embellishments, add $50.00 to the base prices above.
Contact me about commissions at julie_schuler@comcast.net

Three Women in the Kitchen

2011-08-30T03:00:00.000-07:00

Here is an update for my 9" x 12" painting on canvas in progress. Taken from a vintage photo. Three women in a kitchen. It is my understanding that the woman in the blue dress is the daughter-in-law of the woman in the orange dress, and the woman in the orange dress is the daughter-in-law of the woman in the black coat. I love the cosy, homey, kitchen scene.

If you want a portrait my rates are as follows:
For a straightforward portrait-
9" x 12".....$100.00
11" x 14"....$200.00
16" x 20"....$300.00
18" x 24"....$400.00
22" x 28"....$500.00
24" x 36"....$600.00
If you want fantasy elements and embellishments, add $50.00 to the base prices above.
Contact me about commissions at julie_schuler@comcast.net

Paper Moon

2011-08-29T03:00:00.000-07:00

Illustrations 21 and 22 from my own story called "The Boy from a Paper Moon". The boy and girl and the baker bring delicious pastries to a town picnic. They are celebrating the cherry blossoms. The children are taking pony rides through the cherry orchard.

Haunted Honeymoon Embroidery

2011-08-26T03:00:00.000-07:00

I am starting a new, larger embroidery inspired by the papel picado ornaments of Mexico,mashed up with some Hungarian floral embroidery traditions. It is a skeleon horse and carriage driven by a dapper skeleton with a skeleton bride in the window. They are driving off in a flourish of flowers under the skull-faced moon.

Birthday with Grandma

2011-08-25T03:00:00.000-07:00

I pared down this vintage photo to two subjects, I decided to leave out the people that were partially cut off. This is a little acrylic painting on paper 5" x 7" of a grandmother and granddaughter from a vintage photo circa 1978. If you would like a 5" x 7" portrait on paper from your new or vintage photos, contact me at julie_schuler@comcast.net
I also offer portraits on canvas in larger sizes. Contact me for rates.

Kennywood Photo

2011-08-24T03:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a little portrait on paper 5" x 7" of myself when I was four. Getting my picture taken at our local amusement park. I think everyone of a certain age in the Pittsburgh area probably has a picture of themselves on top of the same carousel photo prop horse!
If you would like a painting- 5" x 7" on paper made from your own new or vintage photo e-mail me at julie_schuler@comcast.net $60 includes shipping for the 48 contiguous states!

In The Yellow Forest

2011-08-23T03:00:00.000-07:00

Decided to start a mysterious little forest painting again. I'm not sure what diabolical tableau will play out yet. Come back and find out.

TV Nite!

2011-08-22T03:00:00.000-07:00

Here is my fun tribute to graphics of the 50's and 60's finished. And below is the finished cushion. It is here at my etsy shop.

TV Nite Embroidered Pillow

2011-08-19T03:00:00.000-07:00

I'm starting a new embroidery project. It's an homage to the kicky graphics of the 50's and 60's. Especially the Good Housekeeping cookbook illustrations of Lou Peters, which I adore. Here is a hip young couple with their little dog settling down at their pad with atomic age cocktails to watch some TV, maybe The Twilight Zone?

Skulls and Flowers Embroidered Pillow

2011-08-18T03:00:00.000-07:00

I'm getting much quicker at my embroidery!
Here you can see the finished piece

at My Good Babushka.

Snake Charmer

2011-08-17T03:00:00.000-07:00

Here is my portrait of a turn of the century snake charming woman. Next I will put it back in the vintage oval frame I picked up at Goodwill. I think I will also get this scanned and have some prints made to take to Horror Realm this year. It's not too far away.