Grab a Taxi.

Grab a Taxi

15x30  acrylic on gallery canvas
$800.

Available at Canvas Gallery

Today I wanted to share with you one of my most recent cityscapes. I finished a few new paintings in this series a couple of days before we were off to New York. These new works are heading out to a gallery soon and I'll be sure to post pics of them all with links as soon as delivery is confirmed. In the meantime, if you have any questions or need more info please feel free to drop me an email. I'm email friendly.

New York was a blast as usual. We were in NYC for a quick drive through last summer on our way to a wedding in Long Island. And then there was this trip a few years back when we stayed at The Plaza Hotel. 

 Oh New York!! There is soooo much inspiration in every inch of that city. We stayed at a small boutique hotel just off 5th Avenue and 56th Street. Chambers Hotel. It had excellent 'walkability' , a second floor mezzanine art gallery and library, and a Momofuku Milk Bar in the lobby. That was dangerous but oh so yummy. We also did alot of driving and visited different parts of the city. Of course I took a ton of photos so there will be future posts. Stay tuned.

New York New York.

We attended a family wedding on Long Island NY a couple of weeks ago. As this was the first stop on our week's vacation (a road trip) we arrived in NYC about 9 am with only a few hours before we had to head out to the Hauppage NY. What do you do with three hours in New York City?

We toured around and took photos. Enjoying the coolness of the morning. You could tell that the day would grow hot and steamy. New Yorkers were already out and about. Jogging, walking dogs, but the city was still relatively quiet. We then enjoyed a fabulous breakfast at Barney Greengrass before we continued on our way.

I'm Mad for Mad Men.

Banana Republic, store window display

New York, 2009

This is how it all began. My obsession with Mad Men. The very highly acclaimed AMC television drama. We were on vacation in New York last summer and there he was in all his manly glory. Don Draper. Not thee Don Draper, I think I would've passed out (sorry honey!) Banana Republic had a display in their store windows and there he was in a poster, all suited up. Of course I had heard all about the show and read the reviews raving about it but never got into watching it.

All that changed when we returned home from vacation. I watched season 1 and fell in love with the show and the cast. Now when I say watched, I mean watched, in 2 days. 13 episodes. I was hooked and needing more. On to season 2. Then my DH wanted to watch also (I guess I wouldn't shut up about it) so I re watched season 1 and 2 with him. Now we are both watching season 3 and then we can finally start watching season 4 as the episodes are being pvr'd.

Please no spoilers!!!!!

I joined the group SCDP on Facebook and started following some of the characters on Twitter. Imagine my surprise and delight when Betty Draper, Don Draper, Joan Holloway, Peggy Olson and Salvatore Romano started following me on Twitter!! What do you mean they're not real?? Of course they are!! I've even started listening to 60's music while painting in the studio-I'm so far gone. If you haven't seen Mad Men yet, check it out. You'll get hooked like I did. I promise.

New Work at Canvas Gallery.

Night Sky II 30x36 Acrylic on canvas
Available at Canvas Gallery

Night Life 36x36 Acrylic on canvas
Available at Canvas Gallery

City at Night 36x36 Acrylic on canvas
Available at Canvas Gallery

I delivered my "City at Night" series of paintings to Canvas Gallery last week. I've been fascinated with skies for so long now so naturally I wanted to explore the night sky. This small series of 6 paintings came to be. I have 2 smaller paintings (18x18) available (email me if you'd like to see them) and "Night Sky I" has been sold and is off to this design agency in New York. Thank you Candescent Creative!

The Plaza Hotel, New York.

It's time to escape and take a vacation in a first class hotel. Ok, that's not going to happen for awhile, so I'll just have to remember the fabulous two nights we spent at The Plaza in New York city last August. The Plaza, built in 1907, sits on the corner of 5th Avenue and 59th St. and has a very rich history.


Our room was very opulent. A mix of high end, over the top luxury and the newest technology. There was a very large flat screen, wall mounted television, and a "James Bond" style control panel at the door.

The Bathroom was all marble and gold and was larger than our kitchen here. There was a private shower and separate water closet.


And the comfiest towels, bathrobes and slippers for us to use. Our room even came with a butler (yes, a butler).


It was the absolute best stay in New York, and yes, now I'm spoiled as far as hotel stays go. You can see more photos of my New York trip here, here, here and here.

New Mixed Media Paintings in Red Banana's Shop

Brooklyn Bridge 6x6 mixed media on board
click here to purchase

I'm still in a New York state of mind even though it's been months since we were there. Out of my memories (and the dozens of photos I took) came this newest mixed media piece now available along with 5 other new pieces in my shop. It's been a crazy week with lots of paintings being delivered to various galleries, new ideas making their way onto paper and canvas, dreams being dreamed, coffee and creative dialogue with the beautiful Sherry, and squeezing in time for a few power walks to enjoy the colors of the season. I'm looking forward to a quiet weekend. Hope you have a great one.

The TV Tour Part 2

Do you watch this show? Seinfeld is one of my faves and watching it still makes me laugh. It's become part of our daily lives here and we can recite the lines to more than a few episodes. Of course we had to drive to the upper west side to see Tom's Restaurant. We even had lunch there. I ordered what George always ordered. Tuna on toast, coleslaw and a cup of coffee. I bet the waitress gets that all the time!

"NO SOUP FOR YOU!!"

Mad Men is used here in a window display. I'm taking the next couple of days as "vacation" to watch all of season 1 and season 2. Then I'll be all caught up for season 3.

30 Rock has been nominated for 22 Emmy's. I was sort of expecting to see Kenneth running around while we were on the tour. Yes, I know sometimes I'm living in a TV fantasy land!


We didn't get to pass bye any of Carrie's haunts from Sex and the City, but we did stay in the Plaza, in a room similar to the suite Carrie and Mr.Big stayed in. You can see some gorgeous photos of them here.

The TV Tour Part 1

I'm a TV addict. Ok, there I've said it. I need my fix of favorite shows daily (dvd's make this habit easy!) and sometimes I have it on to listen to while I work. So it was a lot of fun touring around New York and seeing how many TV related places we could find.


The Ed Sullivan Theatre where David Letterman does the Late Show. He had the week off while we were there, but honestly it was so hot, I don't think we would've waited in line to see the show tape live


The famous Hello Deli. Just around the corner from the theatre. If you watch Letterman regularly, you've seen Hello Deli and it's owner included in many skits and pranks.


Here's Rupert Jee himself. He was nice enough to pose for a photo. We only bought 2 bottles of water.


I've always had the Today Show on in the mornings, but it was just chance that we decided to do the "top of the rock" early in the morning to beat the crowds. We stopped in at Dean and Deluca for coffee and breakfast and watched the crowds trying to get on the Today Show. Al Roker, you were so close and yet so far!.

After seeing Manhattan from the top of the Rockefeller Center (well worth the trip to the top) we went in to the NBC store to check out the goods. My son bought himself a Dunder Mifflin hat and I had my picture taken with Matt Lauer (The cardboard cut out).

The Big Apple

Here are some more photos I took while on our trip to New York City. I could tour around for hours looking at all the wonderful architecture. A fabulous mix of old and new.

Times Square was even more exciting after dark when all the lights came on.

The Chrysler Building is one of my favorites. I just love that art deco design.

We went to see Arcadia Gallery in Soho. This is the best gallery if you like contemporary representational art, which I do.

Inside the Apple store. Needless to say this store was packed with shoppers and tourists alike.

Back to Reality

Today is an odd day. I'm feeling somewhat disoriented and stuck under mounds of laundry. Last night we returned from a weeks vacation and I'm easing myself back into it slowly. Last week I was in New York City on a whirlwind for 4 days. The last time I was in NYC was 22 years ago and to say it's changed is an understatement. It was hot, muggy, crowded with tourists, noisy, a little smelly, and so full of beauty that at times I almost cried. I love New York and if I could afford to live there I'd move in an instant. I had big plans of contacting people when I arrived. Seth and Jill are both based there. It would've been the perfect opportunity to meet these 2 wonderfully talented artists from Inner Works, the altered book collaborative that I've been working with. I was thinking of you both even though I didn't get in touch. Sorry!! I was under pressure from the moment we arrived. I only had 4 days to do everything on my list of about 250 places, galleries, stores, museums, tours etc. that I wanted to do and see. I didn't get very far on my list but that's a good thing, that means I'll have to go back very soon. I'm sure in some past life I was a native New Yorker. The t shirts are right. I Love New York!!!!