grandpa ed's restaurant chair, gas can on a rug with graffiti apparently the work of my little bro. it was perfectly staged and grabbed my eye .. perfect example of beauty in anything.

beauty in the little things

i try to find beauty in the little things

half through my day at dad's i wandered off in to the yard to capture the surrounding nature.. at first glance you see spider webs, stickers in the grass, guy junk, i.e.: bikes, old broken chairs, well organized heaps of "junk" or maybe treasures...

i've had a fascination with trees for about a year or so. i LOVE photographing trees and can't wait to plug in my memory card and play. intensifying the contrast, the color saturation. this is of a tree in my dad's yard, contrast and saturation x two.. i love the colors it pulled out.

i took pictures of many more things that i plan to print and mat for my dad for a gift later down the road. i know for some it's hard to see past the organized mess, to relax and see the good in things when things are down. this tree to me resembles my ability to.

c

the quiet one... privacy in the backyard.. sweet intimacy... cute whispers..

i saw them from inside the house and had to snap this one. you can only guess the content of their conversation, i see it to be beautiful

sisters.. although we hardly see eachother the forever bond is there. 1200 miles apart isn't nothing when compared to the long winding road we have traveled, while lliving together and apart. circumstances out of our control but learning tools for future prosperity and inner-peace. strength.. pride.. inner and outer beauty to compare with no other. love you.

happy fathers day dad..

early sunday i got a call from my sister jj and met her rach, lil d & c for brunch at the crystal palace with dad. it was a fun time. we laughed, joked and ate too much. three of my favorite things..

later that afternoon we packed up the kids and went to my dad's to take the girls swimming and bbq for dinner. i barbecued andouille links, chicken/bell pepper links, carne asada, zucchini and yellow squash. we added a little parmesan cheese to the veggies after pulling them off the grill. it was a great day full of laughs and best of all my dad had all his kids in the same place. what more can you ask for??

photograph by christina sweet : sweet designs

i'm an artist. i've always found it hard to admit or title myself as such. i consider the word 'artist' to be of the highest honor and held with a high level of respect.

i've painted since i was 10, my mom came in to my barricaded room one day and found that i had painted donald duck on my wall, after her initial shock we ended up with alice in the kitchen and living room and snow white and her little guys in our bathroom along with many more canvas pieces around the house. my mom's encouragement and down right demand for more has helped me get to where i am today. my first mural job was at age 15. it was 23 characters on a nursery wall, walking down a long road from a castle. i look back at pictures of it now and cringe. i see all of the errors in my youthful technique. everything sold colors, no shading and all outlined in black. the typical child colorbook style art.

i've traveled a long distance from the castle steps, evolved through time and experience to find art in my own write and learn to appreciate my ability for what it is.

artwork by christina sweet : sweet designs

beautiful dancer...

last night i attended an exhibit at the basement named 'fields and foreclosures.' the show was put on by BECA (Bakersfield Emerging Contemporary Artists) the topic was life as you see it in bakersfield. the exhibit was held in the large room of the gallery, the night was filled with spectators, beautiful art, and original entertainment.

i studied the curator's efforts and movements. i saw alot of my self in her, remembering the stress of putting on past events, all the last minute loose ends and unnatural yet self emposed stress. ;) the price you pay for perfection. i only hope my 7/3 show is as successful . congrats ladies of BECA...

photograph by christina sweet : sweet designs/art by Jen Raven and many more very talented Bakersfield artists

childhood memories new and old

sunday i was blessed with a visit from my oldest childhood friend and her family. we were estranged for about 5 years... maybe 'estranged' isn't the word... better yet, disconnected-without-intention. she holds an important place in my heart. i couldn't have asked for a better gift than her presence.

the last we saw eachother her daughter was a couple years old and my little miss hadn't been born yet. she has since had another little girl; okay i'll come out and say it! i was a tearful mess~~! i made it through the initial hug and then had to take a trip down the hall to my room to try to pull it together...

she of course had the initial shock and awe at how much my M looked like me as a child. haunting in a way... i took many pictures of all of our brood playing in the yard together, on the swings, hammock and slide.

we had dinner and a small birthday celebration for her daughter L and laughed about how all the teenagers were acting, comparing them to our early teen adventures, all the while praying they will not mirror our mistakes and mistrusts in boys... had to call them off the roof tops a couple times.. :)

we took some long overdue pictures together which i will attach tonight. her beauty and strength amazes me. she is a sincere and devoted mother and wife who has had her fair share of struggles, she left me with a heavy heart last night. i cannot wait to plan a trip to CO to visit her very soon.

t&c forever...

c

first friday flop

i participated in 'first friday' this month downtown last week. i think i approached it as more of a swap meet than an exhibit as some of the others did. i was close to the corner of 19th and eye streets and did not do well. i brought down my little paintings that really hold no interest of mine... not thinking they may have the same effect on others... :) needless to say i only sold two of my photos, no paintings...

i did make two new friends one, gabe, a fellow artist. AMAZING portraits, life like yet slightly abstract. he just picked up a brush for the first time 3 years ago.. to look at his work you think surely he went to art school, but no.. just a natural. another, kevin, wasn't an artist (nor a great karaoke singer-just poking fun! :) but i think he has a passion for the arts and the atmosphere. i met a group of girls in BECA (Bakerfield Emerging Contemporary Artists) very cool rockabilly style, tattoos, the whole bit.. the image i want but my day-job is not the right place for it. the leader N is also a tattoo artist. for this the show was worth it.

my exhibit is fast approaching, 7/3. i'm trying not to let friday's disappointment bring me down. all i can do is grab the jesso, erase the evidence of the 'not-so-inspiring' pieces and start them over, fresh, new and hopefully fabulous.

feeling small but stretching for the stars,

c

stay on your toes--

stay on your toes...

i've been struggling to get the art business off the ground. i've created a LOT of pieces, paintings and have shot a lot of photos...

my first photography exhibit was 5/5/09 at the basement gallery, 19th street, bakersfield, ca. being my first show i felt anxious, didn't know what to wear, didn't know how things would be displayed... the night was wonderful. papa and nana doe traveled in from the coast, i showed my family around the floor and after they went home, i spent the majority of the night with my friend 'Anne' catching up and living the artsy downtown life----for the night. the atmosphere was urban, barefoot, bohemian, with acoustic and folk music. people were sitting on alfghans on the floor of the studio... after all my worries of appearance, the lead singer of one of the bands (a real local underground music celebrity) approached me saying he loved my dress and hoped we enjoyed the show. it was the highlight of my night.

i have an exclusive show coming up on 7/3. just me! paintings and photography... i again feel anxious but in a way relieved that it will be only my work and i won't have to worry about my pieces not meshing with others'..

now for the rush to price everything based merely at this point on feeling-- arrange the pieces hopefully find some musicians to play and get the word out! i hope this event to be my breakout point. to get my name and work out to new people atleast locally for now... there's no better feeling than making a stranger smile.

you can find a lot of the work on http://sweetdesigns.etsy.com for sell.

this little dancer picture was taken in the garden of papa and nana doe's on the coastline. i've adored the statuettes for some time and saw this image in my mind as soon as i traveled outdoors to snap some shots. enjoy..

photograph by christina sweet/sweet designs

beauty in the old fence

in taking photos i try to usually find three or four colors in inanimate objects. tooling around the backyard my fence caught my eye with it's veins and grooves, shadows and colors... i played with the contrast for a few minutes while editing and found this. there's something about the colors, lines and sharp contrast that i love. hope you enjoy...

photograph by christina sweet/sweet designs http://sweetdesigns.etsy.com/

in reflecting on my first blog the focus was on the oldest and youngest of our three sweet girls... smack in the middle of 'little miss' and 'ms raine' is 'M.' our dark beauty... her eyes deep dark chocolate, almost black, reminding me not only of color but shape, of both her great grandmas opal and carol sue.. which she regretedly never met. they left this earth before her birth, yet i have no doubt they are in her and with her... peering through her -old soul- eyes.

this photo was taken on the beach last weekend, i studied her as her aunt took the picture, M even noticed it half between the pose, yet looked back out to sea as if in prayer or deep far away thoughts, never losing the pose nor her sincere expression and gaze.

she tells me, "mommy when i grow up i want to be a singer and a dancer and a cheerleader." her beauty knows no end nor does our love for our three girls... strength, encouragement and confidence are my daily gifts to her... she will do and be all that she dreams of...

--c

photograph by jana souza - rooted in style -- http://rootedinstyle.com/

well my first blog...

last weekend was a whirlwind of important events, my oldest--14, graduated the 8th grade, my youngest--5, graduated pre-school and my dear grandparents-in-law renewed their vows celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary at their home on the california coastline...

to watch ms. raine move closer to her freshman year was emotional to say the least... i remember being her age and the excitement of the first day of highschool; the boys; the mean girls; the pressures to look your best and impress all you can. you have a long and winding road ahead of you ... stay strong and true to yourself and those around you will follow.

when little miss crossed the stage of the church to accept her diploma, that sweet turn to face the cameras, chin pointed down and cheeks raised for her sweet smile... kindergarten is around the corner. going to school with big sis will be fun. live it up for all its worth...

and last but certainly not least, 50 years of wedded bliss, mr and mrs nana doe -- hats off to you both for all you have accomplished and the love you have grown. one can only hope to be as in love as the two of you half a century later... your strength and faith never falters, the school-kid crush glances and warm embraces... during the ceremony I found myself breathless and in awe...

--c

sweet designs

photography by christina sweet/sweet designs