A Little Family Gatherin’

I haven’t been slack! I was just away for a family do in Taiwan. It’s really wonderful seeing relatives and friends I haven’t seen in eons and indulging in some serious eating because, when the humidity reaches 1000%, you don’t do anything but sit in an air conditioned room, Jabba the Hut style, and stuff your face full of delicious food.

Even though I took the art of eating to a whole ‘nother level, I did take the time out to sight see on a ride I desperately hope to own one day all over the City of Tainan.

I know, this isn’t the coolest ride in the world, but I always wanted one…especially now that I’m living in a city with so many retirement communities about. They came out with a two seater a few months ago and even though it cruises at a slower pace, it still rocks.

I also managed to stop eating long enough to show my niece Leah how to let her inner rock girl out.

She’s got that snarly rock star thing down!

I have to admit I overdid it with my eating and started gnawing on my little nephew. Nom nom nom!

Taiwan was all kinds of fun…I picked up some interesting supplies from the most unexpected places for dolls I’m experimenting with. But before I can get on with it, I need to get on my bike and feverishly whittle away the extra layers of fat I didn’t manage to sweat out!

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Moonrise Kingdom Double Quintet

One of the best things about staying at my parents’ place in NY is that it’s just a quick hop to the movie theater. Not only that, if you present yourself at the box office before 4 PM on weekdays, you can see a movie for $6! During my stay there, I got to know the staff at the cinema quite well since I was always there to see the newest and the latest. It’s a shame that I won’t be there for the summer because there are a ton of great flicks coming out!

In any event, I did manage to catch a sneak preview Moonrise Kingdom before I left for Oz. I don’t know about you, but I found this movie to be a little less enchanting than the other ones—but that might be because I was exhausted and there’s an unpleasant individual at the theater who insisted on leaving his mobile phone on. But New Yorkers, I’m proud to point out, aren’t afraid to speak their minds because quite a few people had some words for the twerp with the offending phone.

The movie did have enough visuals for me to unpack my paintbox as soon as I got home. There was no question it was going to be a double set. There are just too many characters for me to stick to a traditional one.

Sam Shakusky and Suzy Bishop.

Suzy’s set consists of:

Clockwise from Suzy: Dad Walt Bishop, the narrator, Commander Pierce, and mom Laura Bishop.

I didn’t want to do Wes Anderson wrong by omitting all the little details he so painstakingly included in his movies:

The little cat in Suzy’s basket purse,

Suzy’s borrowed record player and suitcase filled with stolen library books,

And her little beetle fishhook earrings!

And no, I didn’t leave out the plaid hood of the narrator’s rain jacket!

Now for Sam’s set:

Clockwise from Sam: Scout Master Randy Ward, Social Services, Cousin Ben, and Captain Sharp.

Here are some close ups of Sam’s merit badges:

This set was slow-going since my studio was, at some point, overrun with dogs. While Bo was content to just sit at my feet and snore into my paintbox, these gals insisted on sitting on my lap the whole time while I worked no matter how uncomfortable it got.

At some point the big one sat on the little one and they were both all right with that. I enjoyed having the girls over, but was not terribly upset to see them go!

The Pygmy Hippo Proprietress

I have a ton of admiration for small business owners largely due to the fact that my math skills are so appalling. I’d probably run my business to the ground within weeks, no, days, of opening.

This is Emi, the owner of the cutest little tchotchkes place in LA called The Pygmy Hippo Shoppe. I’ve never been there, which is probably a good thing, because my wallet would certainly take quite a beating if I ever set foot in there.

Isn’t it adorable? You can just imagine what its proprietress look like! I thought it would be apt to have miniature versions of her sitting in there because she fits right in!

Here’s a parade of Emi and her adorable doggies (one of them is an English bully!)

I was all set to paint the fruit hat onto the head, but that just wouldn’t do! The box o’ Sculpey came out and here it is!

There we have it! A gal with class AND taste! She makes me want to trade my 20-year-old T-shirts and barrel into Anthropologie for some kicky threads!

There’s No Place Like Home

Boy, don’t I wish I could just get back home to Oz with a couple of clicks of my flip flops!

But I’m home now and armed with an arsenal of art supplies and ideas and a brand new Kindle Fire so I can take my passion for reading penny dreadfuls to a whole ‘nother level!

My stay in the Big Apple had been interesting, and I’m sad to say goodbye all over again to the parental units, my friends, and of course, my Bo! He’d been such a trooper that he would take little naps with his head on my paint box as I worked.

You can’t ask for a better mascot than this!