Big Art

The past few months I have been working on so many fun and different commissioned paintings. One of my favorites was a giant abstract painting for Suzanne, a friend from high school, and her husband Chris, who now both live in Chicago.

Suzanne's living room is gorgeous, classic, and very neutral.  The room has lots of symmetry and clean lines, so Suzanne was looking for something to tie it all together and make a statement.  Another challenge was her extra long couch and huge amount of empty wall space.

After chatting about a few different options, Suzanne went with my suggestion of going with one very large painting.  Since the room is so symmetrical and already broken up by the four couch cushions, and the matching tables, lamps, and chairs flanking the couch, we decided that one one large piece would help tie it all together, whereas two or three smaller paintings hung together might make the room look further segmented.  Here's the plan that we came up with for Suzanne and Chris: 

I made them the fun little "digital sketchbook" page above to help them visualize what we were going for along with the colors, and size, just to give an idea of the desired effect.  Suzanne also referenced one of my Etsy paintings that she especially loved for inspiration, to give me a better idea of the style that she was hoping for.  

The painting, (huge - 48" x 72"), took over an entire wall of our dining room and wouldn't even fit on my large easel, so I worked with it propped against the wall with a drop cloth on the floor.  The piece took me about a month to complete.

Here is the painting in its early stages, with lots of gestural brush strokes and movement.  This laid the foundation for the painting, on top of which I built layers of brush strokes and color.  

A few weeks later, and with many layers of movement and paint built up along the way, we ended up with this painting - playful, bright, and dynamic! 

Here I am holding the painting, proud and ready for delivery. It's HUGE!

Here are photos of the final piece, hung and installed (by Chris!) in their living room. 

I could not be happier with the way that it all turned out, and I cannot thank Suzanne and Chris enough for taking a chance on me and letting me work on this for them.  It was so much fun, and I am so glad that they are happy with it.  I LOVE big paintings! 

P.S. - Want to help me out? Please feel free to share or pin away on Pinterest if you see anything you like! I'm trying to grow my business and would love your help spreading the word :) 

Happy Monday! 

Etsy | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

Seriously good eats

When I have time, I love to cook and try new recipes.  Charlie jokes that I never make the same thing twice, which is mostly true.  But if I did have a rotation, these recent faves would be in it:

Please try this amazingly good and tasty Pot Roast from The Pioneer Woman. (I like to add extra veggies and mushrooms.)

Prosciuttio Wrapped Chicken Thighs, so easy and tasty.

Double Roast Chicken and Vegetables.  Such good comfort food! Need to make dinner for a friend? Make this chicken, then! (One for you, one for them.)

For the best Chicken Pot Pie of all time, this one from Smitten Kitchen and The Barefoot Contessa will do the trick.

Quick White Bean Stew with Swiss Chard and Tomatoes, an old favorite, tried and true.  It doesn't get much easier than this! (Make it even easier by buying a bag of pre-cut swiss chard, kale, or other greens from Trader Joe's.)

Two crazy good soups with fun condiments and add-ins: 

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Curry Condiments from the Barefoot Contessa

Easiest Posole from Gwenyth's newish cookbook, It's All Good  

Do you ever make recipes from The Kitchn? They're my favorite! I can't get enough of these: 

Savory Sweet Potatoes Stuffed with White Beans and Kale

Socca Flatbread with Spring Pesto and Salad

Easy Potato Tacos

Want to use your slow cooker? I love this recipe for Pulled Pork from Skinny Taste. 

I love this easy recipe for Lee's Rocking Fish Tacos from goop.  I could happily eat them three times a week!

And lastly, something sweet: Hummingbird Cake.  I made it for Charlie's birthday and we've been eating it all week, as dessert and breakfast. A total winner!

Let me know if you try any of these! What have you been cooking lately? 

Photo by Clare Wilkinson

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America Dog

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Images by Clare Wilkinson for C Squared W.

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Only in Dominica...

...will you find this sign beside the airport. 

...does the water turn brown when it rains. 

...can you choose from 3 types of snake infused rum. 

...can you live in the fanciful London House apartments. 

...are the sayings on the backs of trucks this awesome. 

...do plastic drawers serve this purpose. 

...will you see a political slogan like this. 

...is this sign on display at the local credit union. 

...can you shop from a junk shop on wheels. 

...does your hairbrush grow mold. 

...is this sign displayed in your kitchen. 

...is this sign is displayed in your classroom. 

...is your friend's neighbor's house this scary. 

...is this sign on your college campus. 

...is this my favorite car.  Don't hate. 

Anyone foreigner who has spent time living in Dominica has probably come to know and love the "only in Dominica" moments. Katie put together a great post today sharing some of her favorites only in Dominica moments, so I thought I'd join her. Be sure to check out Katie's awesome post as well!

Images by Clare Wilkinson for C Squared W

Favorite Things: Travel

I'm always up for travel and love a good adventure.  I'm excited to share some past travel highlights today!

1. Charlie and I spent our honeymoon traveling around France and visiting close friends. It was amazing! 

2. I love traveling with my mom! She took us on a family trip Rome and Venice when Frannie graduated from college. 

3. We took another trip to Italy a few months ago to visit Margaret while she was studying abroad in Rome.

4. The bachelorette weekend we had with my dear friend, Sarah, in Charleston was awesome! 

5. I traveled with some close friends from Dominica to Barbados last year. We stayed at the Almond Resorts and had a great time! 

6. Recently we threw a bridal shower for one of my island besties, Kristen, and spent a night at Rosalie Bay here in Dominica. Oooh la la!

7. Chincoteague, on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, is where Charlie and I were married. {Misty of Chincoteague, anyone? This is the spot!} Chincoteague is a cute little town with lots of B&B's, a national park, a beach, lots of history, and wild horses.  We loved The Watson House, the little B&B where we stayed! 

8. We spent 4 months living in Freeport, Grand Bahama at the start of Charlie's medical school experience back in 2010. We loved living in our cute, beachfront condo at Coral Beach and would love to go back and visit sometime. 

9. The Eastern Shore of North Carolina is just as charming as Virginia's Eastern Shore. We spent a weekend in the New Bern area with my family a couple of years ago while visiting Margaret who was working at a summer camp nearby. We stayed at a cute B&B and had fun riding bikes along the water, eating seafood, and exploring the colorful little town.

10. We have a handful of French islands just a quick ferryride away from us here in Dominica. We can actually see Guadaloupe and Les Saintes from our porch on clear days. I'm pretty sure that if you can see an island from your porch, you need to visit it...

11. Also nearby is Martinique. Some friends went recently and were raving about the food and culture: "It's like an island version of France. But you need to speak some French." I'm in! Charlie, too. And for $100 you can buy a round trip ferry ticket! 

12. Guyana, South America, where my sister, Frannie is currently serving in the Peace Corps. We'll be there visiting her this time next month! 

*See that pretty peach building with the coral roof? That's where Katie lives!

13. As far as travel essentials go, comfortable shoes are a must. I have basically lived in Rainbows since college. They are the best flip flops! 

14. TOMS. Love 'em. I wore them all over Italy and raved about them in my travel shoe blog post. 

15. I love my little camera. The Nikon Coolpix is high quality and perfect for carrying around in your purse. 

16. Lightweight scarf. I never travel without a few of them. They can dress up an outfit, keep you warm in the evenings or on the plane, and they never fail as a beach sarong.

Fonts used: 
Impact Label from dafont.
Pea Whitney Rae by Kevin & Amanda.

Image of Martinique by The Kurz Family. 
Image of Guyana by Casey Grenier.
Other images by Clare Wilkinson for C Squared W.

Dominica Beach Bag

Today I am guest posting about life in Dominica over on This Lovely Life while Brynn is off on her summer travel adventures.  Check out my favorite things for a beach day in Dominica:

Now, head on over to This Lovely Life to see the rest of the post! 

Thank you, Brynn, for letting me share a little bit about island life on your blog! Also, thank you to Lauren for the wonderful blogger beach bag idea!

Fonts used:
Rochester
AW Conqueror Inline
Type Keys

Thank You Notes

Growing up in the South, it was always important to write thank you notes after Christmas, birthdays, and other special occasions.  My thirtieth birthday is no exception, so here goes... 

Dear Besties who happen to be ridiculously awesome cake masters,

Thank you for the amazing, chocolate, big-headed ant cake. It was so weird and so delicious. I am pretty sure it takes the cake (hardy har har) for my best birthday cake of all time.

To my sweet Doctor in Training, 

Thank you for taking me out for a fun evening and for the creative gifts from the Chinese Store. I'm glad you ripped the plastic bows off of my new, red, jelly shoes; they are so much cuter without them.

Lovely Island Friends,

Thanks for spending my birthday with me. We had some fantastic adventures. Y'all are the best!

Dear Chen of Chen's Tattoos and Haircut,

Thanks for the free henna tattoo on my birthday, that was so nice of you! Also, your baby is really cute.

To Tomato's and Tulip's,

Thank you for the free birthday drinks and pizza {Tomato's}; and for putting on the Nicki Minaj DVD at my request, even when a basketball game is on {Tulip's}.

Dear Bruno,

I'm sure you already know this, but you are our favorite driver. Thanks for letting us drink mimosas and mix drinks n your bus. Also, you are the best because you blast the air con for us and you let my friends transform your van into da party bus for my birthday.

Dear Owl Buddies,

Thanks for making cameos for my birthday all weekend long. Love ya!

To friends and family near and far,

Thanks for all the birthday love! Y'all seriously made my day!

Resources
Blank Polaroid Frames from Fuzzimo.

Washi Tape:
Southern Stumble

Twist + Snag

Sara Shmutz
jessicaNdesigns

Photos courtesy of Kristen Morgans.
Other photos by Clare Wilkinson for C Squared W.