Meet Irena- Russian Beauty

Irena in high-style American kitchen, East Hampton N.Y. with dog. (unhappy)


Irena in high mountain, to meet with nature, Zermatt, Switzerland (with dog)

If you haven't seen Tom's Russian collage series entitled From Russia Weeth Love- I'd check it out now! Have recently been updating the series which chronicles the tormented and passionate lives of Russian beauties in search of lasting happiness in foreign countries with animals.

cat stretch

cat stretch, originally uploaded by jamieshelman.
Cat Stretch- 5 x 6 in. Print

Doing a lot of this lately- new print now in shop! Still recovering from the trip, in the meantime really enjoying the graphics and styling in the book Jamie Oliver at home- by The Plant and the David Byrne album Grown Backwards is incredible! Check it all out!

Cat in fridge

if you really want something, you just have to go in and get it yourself.
wtf?

Back from Maryland

Maryland Countryside
Phew- drive from hell yesterday back to the Vineyard- crazy heat! Maryland offered some moments of extreme peace and extreme frustration. The countryside was so beautiful and serene I could sit under one of those big pines all day and never leave! but the highways and stripmalls were so ugly and the heat so oppressive we couldn't wait to get out! For now I think I'll have to go plop myself under a scraggly oak on the vineyard and try to think of nothing at all!

Post-race color

Greetings from the Maryland Hunt Cup! A 4 mile race, with horses jumping 22 fences across the open Maryland countryside. The race has a history of 113 years with roots in England and Ireland dating back to the 1600's. The weather was in the 90's, 20 or so degrees above normal, with a crowd ranging from the old moneyed elite to drunken standers by. After two hours in the sun and our six mile round trip walk we were as red as Maine lobsters! Worth all the sunburn and walking- quite the old world spectacle in a cyber world! Only 2 horses with riders finished out of an 8 horse field, 6 horses lost their riders at various fences along the course, all were well but this attrition rate was some what greater than usual. One of the riderless horses continued to lead the field for a short distance, even jumping the fences sans rider! Check out this short video I took of the post-race cool down here
More of Tom's fab photos to come... Hope you had a great weekend!

We're going to the Cup this weekend!

2008 Maryland Hunt Cup, originally uploaded by wpsands.

woohoo! Will report back on Monday! Have a great weekend!

Paris sneak away

planning, planning, planning, originally uploaded by caseybaudoin.
photo by caseybaudoin

I love this photo, especially as Tom and I have been dreaming of sneaking away to Paris! (The only thing that keeps us from going is the thought that we'd never come back!)

David Byrne, My Fair Lady- You Are Art and Art Will Never Change

"Lara Does Carribe" from the sketchbooks of Tom

Look, is this the real thing?
When you caught my eye
How you looked at me, from the pages of a magazine
Now you're always, always on my mind

Every color, line and feature
Never age and never tire
In my sleep and in my dreams at night
Calls to me a strange attraction
With your beauty and your passion
You are art and art will never change

Such a perfect replica
Every pore and hair
Every pencil mark
You're such a perfect imitation of
And that it seems, seems you're almost here
Every color, line and feature
Never age and never tire
In my sleep and in my dreams at night
Calls to me a strange attraction
With your beauty and your passion
You are art and art will never change

You are just an illustration
This is just a simulation
Lines and pixels on a piece of paper

You can see me slowly changing
But forever you'll remain
And you have time because you will live forever

Every color, line and feature
Never age and never tire
In my sleep and in my dreams at night
Calls to me strange attraction
With your beauty and your passion
You are art and art will never change
Take me away (x4)

We can't get over the ridiculousness of this song (and not in a bad way- it's so good! hehe)- And goes with Tom's drawings perfectly

Cat clowns on parade!

cat clowns, originally uploaded by jamieshelman.
Dancing Cat Parade- Original Painting 10 x 12 in.
New illustration now in my shop! I'm loving this new Rives BFK paper, so delicate and fine! Experimenting with lots of little dancing cats...

Happy Earth Day

bike, originally uploaded by bobee b.

Paul Smith Track Bike

Get out and ride in style!

Emily Photo Shoot

emily, originally uploaded by jamieshelman.
Spent the day with pouring rain and clouds that were so low they went below ground level... managed to get a little light for a quick photo shoot. Documenting a couple of Tom's new portraits!

Artists Who Blog showcase

Good morning! Be sure to check out my interview this morning over at Stephanie's Artists Who Blog Series here and check out her blog Stephanie Levy for more great art and spring in Munich!

Here on Martha's Vineyard we had 40 mph winds and sideways rain for 12 hours last night- thought we were rounding the Horn! We couldn't sleep all night, Mother Nature must be pissed off but happy earthy early day anyways!

Spring Dress

A young daughter of the Picts, c. 1580s?
attributed to or after Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues


Floral print sheets from Porthault via Domino Magazine


Topshop floral prints

I found the first image while browsing the art collection at the library and was interested to see how this floral print, circa 1580, has seemingly been replicated in modern fashion and design. Mankind/womankind have always loved nature even going to the point of reproducing the flowers that surround them and wearing them as clothing. I know I'd love a floral print dress and a dutch bike with chain guard and cruise across the bridges of Amsterdam (or maybe even NYC...) so cliche but classics never die! The found image of the Pictish tribal woman c.1580 would alone inspire me to wear florals even I had never seen them before! Celebrate the Earth- wear it and get out into it!

via ablackbike

Isabella and the unhappy costumer

Isabella, originally uploaded by jamieshelman.

Isabella

After Rubens 2

After Rubens 2, originally uploaded by jamieshelman.

aka Mrs. Brant
Tom's been reading Rembrandt's Eyes by Simon Schama which has a large lead in chapter on period paintings by P.P. Rubens. I especially love the ruffled collars and extreme costuming- it's like haute couture on everyday people (and now on my cats!)

Rubenesque

rubenesque, originally uploaded by jamieshelman.

The New World Cat

Wooed by tall grass and America

pampas_grass, originally uploaded by amdrake.

by PhotoVirginia.com

Tom and I got caught up in watching the movie The New World this morning on IFC. It made the Virginia coastal plains look Edenic. The beauty of America before the "English invasion" can only be found in slivers today amongst the heavily trafficked roads and Starbucks. If you're given to using your imagination while standing among the remaining bits you can still conjur up images of what used to be. The movie somehow captured this feeling completely of North America as Eden, a new world. The cinematography turned what are truly standing and simple fields of tall grass into a swaying green and ochre dreamfield, a constant motif throughout. This sense of the beautiful America that once was and can now be found in the imagination can also be found in The Last of the Mohichans and Cold Mountain (although Cold Mountain uses shots of Romania to conjur up what used to be the Blue Ridge Mountains in Carolina). There is also an interesting documntary on PBS right now on the formation of the Appalachian Mountains and their culture.
Spring is coming, while on this northern cold wind swept island, and our mind travels south via these mentioned movies to where it is now green green green! Makes us want to jump in the car and head below the Mason-Dixon line.

Babar and Tom Kitten

Babar at the Morgan Library & Museum



Tom Kitten by Beatrix Potter

Lately I have been so busy working hard on getting some of my cat stories together (and even though I know nothing about publishing ~!) I'm determined to get published! With this in mind I've been looking at classics which I've loved. Tom and I came across the illustrations of Jean de Brunhoff creator of Babar at the Morgan Library while in NYC- although we missed the exhibition- the accompanying book, found in their shop, is amazing! The early drafts and watercolors are both sophisticated and childlike at the same time. So loosely structured they border on abstraction. J'adore!
See the digital facsimile of Jean de Brunhoff's Histoire de Babar Maquette »
or purchase the exhibition catalogue here
And of course I love the works of Beatrix Potter, especially Tom Kitten and his balloon pants with the popped off button- a result of his kitty gluttony! Again something so directed at children but easily appreciated by adults!
I feel overwhelmed and hopeful!

Monday stretch

monday stretch, originally uploaded by jamieshelman.

Hope you had a great weekend!

Happy Easter Card for you!

Card by Tom

Let's go for a sashay

Florence-Boboli Gardens - 046.jpg, originally uploaded by Mike's Select.

florence, italy

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!, originally uploaded by jamieshelman.

Have a great weekend everyone!

And the winner is...

cards, originally uploaded by jamieshelman.

Anntje of the wide world of...all things cute and cuddly, congrats!! A little bundle of cat cards headed your way!

Meet Trouble Owl

(tp and b and e coat hanger included)