Arts Alive Exhibit 2013

Yesterday was the unveiling for downtown 101's street banners. This is the third year that I participated and it's always fun to see what our local artists come up with. Being a beach town, you can always count on plenty of mermaids, seahorses and palm trees flooding the show. So many, that I have vowed never to paint those three subjects. I will however allow myself to paint other sea life......just not those. :)

This one cracks me up. The Pannikin is on the bluff at Beacons Beach. As the cliff slowly erodes, this could well be a reality someday.
Overall, it was a decent show.....I personally think that last year was the best and will be tough to beat.
Today and tomorrow they will be hung on the posts so take a drive down old hwy 101 and pick your favorite. The online auction has already begun.

Before and After

My computer is in a bit of transition right now. Just had to have it all backed up cause...well, I take too many pictures. So now I'm organizing my million photos while trying to track down the ones I set aside for specific blog posts. I did however find these before and after's that I finished recently for the Pannikin. They are there now and waiting for their forever home:)

Sorry the picture quality kind of stinks. The after shot was taken in the early evening...but seriously, isn't this the neatest waterfall nightstand? I love that it had the original gold and lucite hardware. It looks so much better in person. If only I had a space in my house for this.
I first attempted to refinish it and realized it wasn't a blonde wood veneer but a painted finish to look like blonde wood. So after a light sanding to get rid of the wear, it looked...well...not so good. So I painted it a pretty minty-ish, turquoise-y green. LOVE IT!!

Next.....
This little square table had a beautiful inlayed lattice design that was under a dark stain and pretty worn out so you couldn't really make out the pattern. The legs are way too provincial for my taste and I almost replaced them but was talked out of it. So I decided it needed a contrasting color to give it some life. This piece took hours of sanding, varnishing and repainting, but I'm really happy with how it turned out.