copy

i copied an image of a painting from a magazine
that has been displayed above my studio table for many years.
all of a sudden i just had to paint it.
it's a view of coit tower
from russian hill in san francisco.
i wish i knew who the original artist
was so i could give credit
but i didn't keep that info with the little image.
do you know who the artist is? i'd really like to know.
i took the photo right after i finished painting
so the shine of wet paint makes it look unlike the original.
also the colors are much more vivid in real life.
i love oil paints!
this was fun.

Liberty Redo

I sliced up a Liberty of London for Target
girls dress and made it into a skirt.
That's a lot of Liberty fabric for $16.
I've gone a little crazy
over all the Liberty offerings at Target.
It's a dream come true for a rabid Liberty fan.

Valentino

I love this movie
Valentino: The Last Emperor
For anyone who has ever created their own clothing,
especially of one's own design,
you will appreciate peeking into the world
of a one of the finest designers ever.
I loved seeing the design process
and production of his iconic dresses.
Not to mention gorgeous chateau, gardens,
Puccini, Roma, Venezia,
and plenty of beautiful people.
It is a gem of a film.

now available

"Bice Light"
original oil painting
by Towhee
now available at my Etsy shop

cake

i followed the recipe exactly,
including using the correct pan size,
yet the batter cascaded all over the oven floor.
what a mess!
it was quite a job prying the layers
out of their pans once they had cooled
since they had mushroomed over the brim.
after some surgery the cake was salvaged.
recipe from Fanny at Chez Panisse.
Happy Birthday baby.

Hummer Check-in

I just visited Phoebe, the Channel Island Anna hummingbird, again to see how things were going for her and saw that she has laid a new clutch of eggs since the last time I checked in on her. Watch for a while if she's on the nest and eventually she will fly off for a bit and you'll be able to see her eggs. When she returns to the nest she rotates the eggs and repairs the nest. It's really a beautiful thing to witness so closely.