Florida, Instagram, Handmade Acquisitions, and SPRING!

 

Hello, hello!! I know it has been a while, so hang in there because I have a lot of photos to share.  The last month has been absolutely busy around here, but the kind of busy that's wonderful and exhausting all at once. While I was away, it also became SPRING in Omaha, which is especially shocking since we had one last bout of snow just a few weeks ago. 

Before I forget to mention it - I have also upgraded to a fancy new phone and subsequently entered the world of Instagram. This is a new adventure for me and I'm just getting the hang of it, but I'd love to have some followers! My name is stubborndogartwork. I promise lots of pics of new art, flowers, and Scout as we head into Summer. :-)

 At the end of April I had the opportunity to steal away to Florida for a week and join Brad while he attended a conference at Disney World. We headed down a few days early and took some time at Cocoa Beach, which was fantastic. Here are a few pics from there, as well as some of the beautiful gardening work at Disney this year. I'm a true lover of all Disney Animation, so these make me incredibly happy.

April also included Modern Makers, a very fun art show put on by Handmade Omaha. Here's a shot of my setup, and below are some of the wonderful handmade things I've picked up this Spring, between that show and other places. Links below to their shops. 

 

 

pretty feathers laptop bag - lizannnecessities

clock brooch - loreliekaydesigns

butterfly brooch - airportlovestory

butterfly bobby pins - rachel o's

screen printed cards - violaceouspig

green cuff - sadly I can't find the artist's name right now, but I picked it up at oddbirdcollective 

lovely, lovely purse I've been admiring for forever - bookhou

 

And as always with Springtime, we're all about the "new leaf"." Scout got a haircut and is again reduced to all legs. Brad and I are being adventurous with our cooking, which for us means a lot more vegetables and seafood, a lot less red meat, and an exciting amount of new recipes. We tried our first attempt at homemade sushi (nothing really raw - lots of veggies and prepared fishes), which actually turned out okay! The Omaha Farmers Market is open, so we snatched up some great things last weekend, and our own seeds are sprouting, which is very exciting. 

 

 

This weekend will be my first one with some down time in a while, so I'm thrilled to have the chance to PAINT! New work soon. ;-)

Thanks for your patience with me and hope you're enjoying the change in season as much as we are!
-Ashley

This is a Great Day!

It's another painting weekend around here, with lots of prep work going on for Modern Makers show on April 20th and 21st. I'm really trying to have a selection of original pieces there alongside my prints, which means that I need to keep working! The barn owl is something I've had in mind for a while, so here's the first sketch. I'll take pics throughout my progress so you can see how he comes along.

I know I seem pretty acrylic focused lately, but I haven't forgotten the watercolors. I have a few commissions I've been working on in watercolor, as well as some peep designs. I hope to share those soon! 

Other things of note:

Miss Lucy has become a pretty devoted studio cat. It's the sunniest room in our house, which means there are lots of stripes of sun on the carpet for her to lay in.  Apparently she's undisturbed by my music choices.

Also, I've made a few recipes from my ever-growing Pinterest board, which I'd love to recommend to you. They're perfect for spring.
1.) A super delicious Spinach Salad from This Midwest
2.) Cilantro Coriander Pesto  from Femme Fraiche

Both are excellent.

Shop Update!

Phew! I just updated my shop with a ton of new listings, including 7 originals, 9 eggs, and a variety of new prints, including the Great Horned Owl that a lot of you have asked about.  The original isn't for sale because I'm doing a series that it's part of, but there are two sizes of prints, and I have to stay he's pretty handsome in 9x9. I'm putting one up in our house. :-)

I did shuffle things a bit from the front page to showcase a variety, so if you're looking for something particular, I encourage you to use the sections tabs to get the newest items on top.

Have a wonderful week!

Happy Easter!

Hope you have a wonderful Easter! See you tomorrow. :-)

Flight Behavior

This weekend has been about wings. Mostly moths, but also peeps and butterflies. The painting spree started last Thursday night, and these aren't even all of them, so expect more soon. Also, purely by coincidence, I started reading Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver when my hands needed the break for the night. She's one of my very favorite writers, so I didn't even read the summary inside the cover before jumping in. It turns out that it fits nicely with my winged theme and I love it already.

I'm very excited that our schedule is winding down a bit. This week I should have even more evenings - and all of next weekend! yay! - just for painting. I'll be listing some items this week too, so I'll keep you all posted. Happy Spring, even if it snowed. Crazy March.