Etsy shop is open!

I just opened my Esty shop.  I'm starting out with selling copies of my "Shades of Blue"  It can be found here

I'm open to customization, so if you like it, but don't like blue we can work something out.  Just contact me here or thru the etsy store

Happy Mother's Day

For Mother's Day this year, I put my artistic talents to use.  For my mother and mother-in-law, I did portrait of my brother and me (for my mom) and my wife & her sister (for my m-i-l).  Both started with a sketch and was refined until I liked the way it looked.  For my mother-in-law, the sketch was in my book:

For my mother's it was straight on the canvas (sorry no pics of that).  The completed paintings are acrylic on canvas, 8"x10" in size.

For my mom:

For my mother-in-law:

A few of my previous projects.

So each time I need a gift for my wife I try to some up with something new.  For Christmas this year I painted her this:

It's acrylic on canvas of our dog Blue.  She's a fat, lovable dog and is my usual go-to for gift inspiration.

For our anniversary last year, I painted her these:

It's us as characters in some of the cartoons we watch.  (Yes, I'm a 32 year old that still watches cartoons).  From Left to Right: Archer, The Simpsons, Family Guy and The Venture Bros. 


More projects to come.  Like/Follow/Pin/etc to stay in the loop on all my projects. 

What to do with a split entry home?

I've noticed in my area, the common house is a split entry, circa 1980.  In fact, that's the type of house my parents live in.  This is one that's for sale near me right now:

Most don't have the large V over the front door, but you get the idea.  The chief complaint about this type of house is that the entryway is small.  Usually there's only enough room to open before hitting the stairs.  From experience, a 3 foot by 6 foot space is a very inconvenient entry.  But what if you could do some remodeling and make the house look cooler and work better.

So while playing around with SketchUp the other day, I made some changes and came up with this:

- Then entryway has been pushed out

- The roof has been removed and a flat roof installed over the living room and bedrooms

- The entryway has a sloped roof higher than the rest to allow for the triangle shaped windows to let more light in.

- Floor to ceiling windows in the living room.

As you can see, I was going for a hybrid of mid-century modern and contemporary modern design.  I'd file this with a doodle/sketch.  It's not complete by any means (no lower windows, garage is missing, etc)  

But if you like the design and want to remodel you're house, drop me a line.  I'd be happy to work with you on the project.