The humble onion -- Updated!

I was visiting my mom and dad's house this evening, and noticed that there were some irises and other flowers in bloom around the 1-acre lot. So I grabbed my camera and went crawling around in the grass, looking for interesting angles and/or critters.

The stunning flowers in the photos below belong to the humble onion. You know, the standard yellow/white onion you get for salads/burgers/sautee? Who knew they produced such a cool flower! I'm so glad my dad never got around to harvesting them from the garden.

I took lots of other photos, too, but these were my favorite, and I'm fairly certain at least one of them is going to be made into a painting for my paint studio, a Brush and a Beverage.




















4/29 Update! What did I tell ya? I had some free moments at the studio today and set to work on painting my humble onions. This painting looks a lot better in person, and I love it :)

Feature in the Burleson Star

Many thanks to my alert friend Susan, or I might have missed this completely! Apparently a feature article on me and my studio ran last Wednesday in the local paper. I knew it was coming, but I didn't know it was already done.

At right, I've cut and pasted the article together into an 8.5x11 size (I'm gonna frame it!). The interviewer didn't quite get facts 100%, but the gist is right on. I'm extremely pleased.

Click on it to see it bigger (and read it). Please keep in mind that I am SOOOOO not photogenic, particularly with worn-off makeup and fluorescent lighting more suited to painting.

Dog on dot

Just a quick share... I've got my chihuahua with me in the studio today. She's already put lots of nose prints on the front doors about eight inches from the bottom, and now she's claimed one of the two round orange rugs. So cute.

Melissa & Armando

I had the honor of photographing an expectant couple today, Melissa and Armando. Maternity portraits are always special, and today's were no different. Lots of fabulous photos; I had a really difficult time narrowing it down to just three to post here.

This couple wasn't afraid to tell me what they wanted. I LOVE when clients do that! The best portraits are a creative collaboration between photographer and photographee(s). The last photo in this post is going on my list of favorite photos ever, and it was his idea. Yay Armando!

She's a rock star

Wanted to share three photos from a quick portrait session today. Trying some new backdrop ideas, and playing with lighting and postwork techniques. I thought it was a rock-star-looking set, so she dressed the part :)

More hats

It's a momentary creative kick, I'm sure. I'll get bored within a week and not touch a crochet hook again for months or years. But at the moment, hats are the perfect size keep-the-hands-busy project to stuff into the visiting-the-hospital bag, easy to take out when the visitee is sleeping peacefully, and put away quickly when needed.

Yesterday I sat with my grandmother in the hospital (who isn't doing so great--prayers are appreciated) for much of the day, and got almost all of the blue/green hat done--just added the pompoms when I got home. It's probably 6-9 months in size

The brown one has a detachable pompom for two separate looks. The pink/orange hat is probably sized 9-12 months, the flowers are on clips, so can be used or not.

I didn't use a pattern for any of them--ooh, except for the flowers.

Hats for newborn sessions!

One of the promotions our studio offers is free newborn sessions. Yesterday I was thinking on ways to market that aspect, and new ideas for newborn photos. I've had more than a few inquiries from expecting moms, one of whom is due within the next three weeks. So I went cruising over to Etsy, a fabulous place to get über cute handmade items for kids (and just handmade items in general, but the kid stuff seems to be the most impressive). Not only are there some fabulous PHOTOS of newborns, but also really cute hats and whatnot as well.

And I was inspired.

Not to spend money, though. I got looking at quite a few of the photos and thought to myself, "I can do that." So I gave it a shot since I already had materials on hand. Figured if it turned out that I actually could NOT do that, I could always go the 'spending money' route. As it turns out, I think I did okay. Made two very different hats.

The green one shown took a couple of hours, just 'cause it's essentially single crochet (scattered triple-crochet stitches create the bumps). By the way, I used this pattern for the green hat. I'll probably forever associate it with Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, because I was listening to a few Stuff You Missed In History Class podcasts about her while I crocheted.

The ear-flap hat took only about an hour (double crochet goes a LOT faster!), not including the braids and weaving in the ends of yarn pieces. For that one, I started with this basic hat, and elaborated on it... while listening to 'How the Taiping Rebellion Worked.' :) Multitasking.

Why Photoshop will always be in my toolbox...

I had a two-year-old in the studio yesterday, and her mom brought along a baby boy she watches. So in the 'break' times (when said 2-y-o was not keen on being in front of my camera), I turned my lens to the little guy, who was very agreeable and all smiles. Mr. Handsome has itchy eczema pretty badly on his face and head, which did not in any way dampen that killer smile. However, my friend said she wasn't sure his mom had ever gotten 'real' photos done of him because of his skin.

So this morning I was sifting through the photos and couldn't help 'fiddling' with the photos of Mr. Handsome. This is why I love Photoshop (original on right, 'shopped version on left--click to see larger):