Kali Ciesemier: Illustrator extraordinare

I have to give a loud shout out to Kali Ciesemier, who is not only an incredible person, but an extraordinary artist.  She is making the big-time right now in Baltimore, but being published all over the map.
She has been featured on the front of so many magazines!
These are some of my favorite illustrations that she's done:

Check her out!   (she's my cousin-in-law!!)
http://www.ciesemier.com/
and
http://kalidraws.blogspot.com/

Here are some of my favorite illustrations:

Awesome portraits!

 Bowie...genius.

Hey!  It's Me and Adam!  That's right...she did some caricatures for our wedding...she's a badass.

I love this one!  It is so mysterious and eerie.  It may be my favorite of hers!

This is her latest work of art:

These are treasures.

 She creates these masterpieces on her computer!  Down to the tiny details.  Check our her blog and website to see how it's done.  MAD PROPS Kali...making the world more beautiful with your creativity and artistic genius.

Sketchy Fashion

I love sketching...lately I've been trying to put a twist on the human face..make it something unique with a pen and one or two colors.  These sketches give oober inspiration...
I think I googled fashion sketches and stumbled upon these...as well as the amazing illustrator Sandra Suy:

Sandra Suy

Sandra Suy

Christmas Cards!

With so much time on my hands, I decided to use my hands for something productive.
Well, Christmas is almost here...and I love crafty stuff.  So I went to the local hobby lobby, picked up some ink, grabbed the brightest greens and reds, and the most important component Modpodge.
It took a lot of time, but here are the results!

Baroque Books

I LOVE ART HISTORY...thinking about taking more art history courses for fun...maybe seal the deal on a minor. I'm more than halfway there...we shall see.
Mother dearest recommended me these books...

Girl With a Pearl Earring
by Tracy Chevalier
(Already read this one, in about 2 days...Very easy read. Way better than the movie.)
A cool book about the mysterious life of the artist Vermeer.
AND

The Lost Painting
by Johnathan Harr
A journey in search of the missing masterpiece by Caravaggio, The Taking of Christ:. About to start this one...excited to learn a bit about this artist..he was one of my faves during Art History in college. LOVE--
Narcissus:

Elephants

I found this photo online. I LOVE IT. The plan is to make a rough sketch and see what the best medium should be. I'll keep ya posted on this!


I found this quote written in calligraphy on a poster board in my parents home. My Mom
wrote it in college and had it on her wall ::
To be calm. To be serene.
There is the calmness of the lake when there is the calmness of a stagnant ditch.
So it is with us.
Sometimes we are clarified and calmed healthily, as we never were before in our lives.
Not by an opiate. But by some unconscious obedience to the all-just laws.
So that we become like a still lake of the purest crystal and without an effort our depths are revealed to ourselves.
All the world goes by and is reflected in our deeps.
Such clarity!
Obtained by such pure means!
by simple living, by honesty of purpose. We live and rejoice.
Thoreau



Segovia, Spain. This is where I studied abroad in college. This gorgeous Roman aqueduct went around the center of town. My walk to school along this stone structure is something I could never forget.
These giant historical sites have such a presence in front of you. They produce a sense of wonder and awe in the air.
The photo below was taken in La Plaza Mayor de Segovia. The ancient Catholic cathedral has spires that remind of Gothic time periods...incredible.
My lungs fill with an air of ancient times. The first stone was laid in 1525!
This is another view of La Catedral. How classically Spanish! Photo of the Day

Morning Specials

My favorite Salvador Dali painting. Another side to a mind we've only glimpsed. A hint of calm in a storm of chaos. I like to think it's early morning, she has her coffee in hand. She is alone but not lonely. This window is her chance to escape the daily tasks that may await her.
I saw this painting in a museum in Spain and could not believe it was Dali...I liked his work before, but after seeing this, a relationship ensued.


AAAAAHHHH meet CODY AND BRUNO. Two good ole boys...Doesn't it feel like morning in this picture? When Bruno (Right) first wakes up, he looks like he's been in 8 hours of REM sleep even if it's only been a 10 minute nap. These guys make so many things possible...


A good morning cup of joe, a knit cap due to the crisp cool air and a stroll through an eerie forest. A nice way to start the day. Cosmically Sanctioned of course.

Desktopography

http://www.desktopography.net

They just updated a 2009 exhibition.

Probably the coolest cosmically sanctioned imagery I've ever seen...check it out!

Français

Photo of the Day
This old couple was standing in the courtyard behind Notre Dame feeding the birds. She, in her fur coat and he, in his beret are classically French. I love them, and the pigeons.Notre Dame

Most of the time I spent in France was walking around Paris, with the company of my thoughts. It is a very enchanting city; romantic, magnificent, larger than life. The history seems to be sculpted into every corner from cobblestone to cathedral.
FRANCE!!!
In honor of a recent visit from mon ami (my friend), Mr. Thibeaut Janneau du Vanneau, France...His first visit to the USA!


This bird was perched just so, that it almost looks as if the woman and child are reacting to their feathered friend. I love it when birds land in all the right places.


AAAH the Eiffel Tower. I wasn't anticipating the chills that would raise the hair on my head when I approached this iron tower of global proportions. It is a sight that we recognize from the time we are 2 years old. To see it in person, in all it's magnificence, is breathtaking.
The first was taken after I walked for about 2 hours and finally got my first glimpse...seeing it from a distance, peeking over the city, it always looks closer than it appears. So it was nightfall. But the photo is so eerie! I love it!
The second pic is at midnight. I was under the Eiffel Tower when the clock struck midnight on January 1, 2007. A fantastic way to ring in the new year...the entire tower sparkles with magic!

Merci, Au Revoir !

Reflect

I was walking through the streets of London around 7 in the morning...street sweepers were out, a few stragglers...I found a local theatre where Les Miserables was the feature...Love this reflected window, as a passerby...unable to resist.
Photo of the Day




Smith Rock, Oregon reflected in the river that runs through it...If this pic had mega zoom you would see about 100 climbers on rope scattered along the rock walls.



Oh a pic with personality...This was taken my freshman year in college above a puddle in a dorm parking lot. It was my newfound best friend Melissa and I...hippies at heart.



This was taken on one of the most gorgeous beaches on earth...and it happens to be reflected in my monster mosquito sunglasses. cool eh?! click on the pic for a closer view.

Reflection photos!! These tend to pass us by when we don't notice. Photographing a reflection can turn out quite beautiful.

"Beauty is a primeval phenomenon , which itself never makes its appearance, but the reflection of which is visible in a thousand different utterances of the creative mind, and is as various as nature itself."
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe