Will You Be My Valentine? Some Great Valentines Day Cards I Have Found...

I just LOVE Valentines day. This holiday is centered around everything that a girly-girl loves: pink, bows, chocolate, flowers, and most importantly cheeky-sweet, sentimental Valentines Day cards that are adorned with hearts. Can it get any better then that?

When I was younger, my crafty Mom always insisted that I hand-made my Valentines rather then buy the generic ones at the drugstore. I would cut pink paper into hearts and adore it with glitter and doilies... I long for those days. I went on a Google search for the best Valentines Day card ideas and found some gems. I think I may attempt to make a cute one for my Boyfriend this year.

xx

Karlin

A Few Days Left to Win A Karlin Meehan Painting for Valentines Day!!!

Want to Win an original Karlin Meehan Painting?!! You DON'T want to miss this!! All you have to do is:

1) "Like" Karlin Meehan Artwork on Facebook

http://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=247283721951093&refid=20
(JUST CLICK THE TITLE OF THIS POST)

2) Post something on the wall!!!

A winner will be selected on the 13th and a painting will be shipped to your home!!!

Good Luck!!!!

xx

Karlin

2012 = The Year of Paint and Travel

I never make New Year's Resolutions... I break them all before the 15th of the month... but as we are already getting WELL into February, I made a mental note that I want to TRAVEL to as many places as possible in 2012. I even made a list... but as I started writing down lists upon lists of things I want to accomplish IN THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON... the thoughts kept flowing from my pen to the paper... Here we go.

* Go to Spain, Italy, France, South Africa, Australia, Maui, and Thailand because you always wanted to.

* Before you status update, Tweet, Tumble or Instagram, pause and say to yourself, “is it entirely necessary that I share this morsel of thought with my entire social network?”and if the answer is not, “yes, I absolutely must,” then step away from the Internet.

* Know which candidate I'm going to vote for in the upcoming presidential election, and know why.

* Find a way to save approximately 300 dollars and spend it on a flight to see a friend or family member who lives far away.

* DO stop liking the Kardashians, all of them. It’s not helping anyone, least of all the Kardashians.

* Spend less than or equal to the money you earn each month.

* Call someone on the phone at least once a week, and speak to him or her for at least ten minutes.

* Try that food you think you don’t like but have never actually tried, unless it’s brussels sprouts. They really don’t need any more attention.

* Cut one person out of my life who I truly do not like and add one person who I truly do. Note: not on Facebook, on Earth.

* Tell someone who I love that I love them on a more regular basis.

* Back up my entire online life (particularly my painting images) onto an external hard drive.

* In the eternal words of Tom Haverford, “TREAT YO SELF!” time for an iPhone and new computer to update my website!!!
www.karlinmeehan.squarespace.com

* AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, PAINT!!!!!!

Pinterest; Hello Inspiration !!!!!!

As a creative person, I need to look at a lot of imagery to be inspired. Lately, I've discovered that Pinterest has been a great tool for me to find artistic pictures that I love. If you aren't aware, "Pinterest is a vision board-styled social photo sharing website and app where users can create and manage theme-based image collections. The site's mission statement is to "connect everyone in the world through the 'things' they find interesting".

Personally, I just know Pinterest as my new form of addiction. Whenever I come across a design I like, I "pin" the image to a board I've labeled as "Inspiration"... Lately I've been in a rut trying to brainstorm my Summer 2012 show .. I know I want a Mexican/Latin inspired series... with lots of color and patterns... so over the past week I've been collecting images that portray that... if you haven't joined Pinterest yet... I highly recommend that you do. Whether you're planning your wedding, redecorating your house, or just need a visionary board for your creative outlets (like myself)... this website does it all... and the best part is, you can follow your friends and feed off each other... below are my pins for my next painting series.

* photos all taken from www.pinterest.com

Follow me!!! @Karlin Meehan

Food Fashion! Oh My!!!!!

I'm a girl that has a passion for fashion... But can you believe these clothing items are made from food? I had to take a close look at each of these ingenious props! I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw these pictures!


Nike Air (Hamburger)- Designer Olle Hemmendorff

Hold the pickles!!! This shoe was made from Sesame seed buns, cheese, lettuce, and meat... getting hungry? .....Dear Lord I think of my Brother Colton when I saw this... not only would he love these Nike's in real like, he is a hamburger connoisseur as well.

Beef Jerky Chanel Bag - Creator: Artist and designer Nancy Wu

Don't you think Lady Gaga needed this for her meat dress moment?

Chris March's Slimming Salad Dress -Creator: Season 4 "Project Runway" finalist Chris March

Apparently this dress was made from only $50 bucks worth of lettuce... get out the bottle spray of salad-dressing!

PETA's Lettuce Leaf Gown -Creator: PETA

PETA had 82 year old actress Cloris Leachman model a gown made from cabbage and green lettuce to promote meatless meals... I don't know what's more interesting.. the dress or Cloris Leachman?!

Cream Puff Wedding Dress -Creator: Ukrainian pastry chef Valentyn Shtefano

More than two months and 1,500 cream puffs later, Shtefano's wife had a wedding dress made completely out of cream puffs — and it only weighed 20 pounds

Bedtime Bread Slippers -Creator: European designers R&E Praspaliauskas; sold at DADADA Studio

Now wouldn't these make a great midnight snack...? They'll only cost you €22 and they are all yours!

German Chocolate Bubble Dress -Creator: German bakery group Lambertz

This dress is made entirely out of Godiva chocolate, it was worn by German model Alena Gerber for an annual show in Munich in January 2010.

Elegant Artichoke Heart Gown -Creator: Photographer Ted Sabarese with designers Daniel Feld and Wesley Nault of Project Runway fame

Delicious Details: In the name of art, this model stood for six hours as the designers sewed together each individual artichoke leaf covering her body.

* pictures credited to MSN

Portraits of Dogs (Shaking Off Water)

Anyone who knows me well, understands my obsession with dogs. Big, little; it doesn't matter. In fact my Brothers (all 5 of them).. Send me images on their phones of dogs whenever they see a cute one on the street. They know I'm particularly fond of French Bulldogs (and its only a matter of time before I get my own). They usually anticipate my response of "OMG sooo cute!!! Get me that Dog!!!".

So, When I came across Photographer CARLI DAVIDSON, I was delighted!!! She had taken snapshots of dogs while they were shaking off water. The end result? Pure comedy! I absolutely love these pictures....

My desktop is a picture of my family dog Jazzy. I had tortured him in wearing sunglasses for a minute... and yes, I thought it was funny.

Want to Win a Painting for Valentines day?!!!!!

Want to Win an Original Karlin Meehan Painting? It's pretty Simple!!!

If you haven't already....

1) "Like" Karlin Meehan Artwork on Facebook

http://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=247283721951093&refid=20
(JUST CLICK THE TITLE OF THIS POST)

2) Post something on the wall!!!

A winner will be selected in the next three weeks and a painting will be shipped to your home!!!

Good Luck!!!!

Snow Sculptures

I was a Bitter-Betty this holiday season. Why? ....... I was out of vacation days.

For decades its been a tradition in my family to go to either Sun Valley or South Lake Tahoe for a week of skiing and snowman-building after Christmas. And this year I was stuck in an office.

However this season, I came to learn....there was NO SNOW anywhere!! To my selfish delight I was secretly happy; I wasn't missing out. However, as time has gone on I feel bad that 2012 has been such a bust. I can remember past years where there was so much snow, we couldn't see out of our cabin's windows! Small children could easily be lost in the backyard!

So, in honor of fresh powder (and wishing for more of it).. I thought I would post some of the best snow sculptures around... Unfortunately these works will eventually melt, but like they say "All good things must come to an end."

Abstract Artist Helen Frankenthaler Dies At Age 83

The art world lost an important person today. Abstract painter Helen Frankenthaler died at the age of 83.

Born in a wealthy family, Helen was a New Yorker who was heavily influenced by Clement Greenberg (whom she had a personal relationship with), and Jackson Pollock. "In the early 1950s, Frankenthaler started painting with her canvasses flat on the floor after seeing Jackson Pollock do it. She liked the gesture and the attitude of working on the floor, she told NPR in 1988, "but I wanted to work with shapes in a very different way."-NPR News

Many Critics agreed that Helen's work was merely "pretty" and pleasing to the eye.."But Earl Powell, director of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., rejects that charge, by writing,"It is not cloying," Powell says. "It's not pretty in a pejorative sense. But it really rises to challenge the best work of her time."

Frankenthaler did not consider herself a Feminist, just an Abstract Expressionist Painter trying to make her way in the Art World dominated by Men.

Her creations will be that much more valuable, and her influence on art will be missed.

Lana Gomez

I love learning about other young artists ; particularly painters. Painting I feel, is becoming a lost art form. With technology tailoring creative minds to become Art Directors, Web Designers, or Advertising agents... "Painting" sometimes feels like its losing its influence on young people.

So, I was truly happy to come across upcoming PAINTER Lana Gomez. This abstract artist uses large canvases and fills them up with drippings and blotches of color. Her abstract work is sophisticated as it is chaotic. I love that.

She most recently had a showing at Roseark Gallery in West Hollywood and has a young following of admirers and celebrities clientele alike (Lindsay Lohan included).

Her work is to me inspiring, and a true testament that painting is still well alive and respected.

To visit her website, please click on the title of this post!

Whoa Baby! Warhol painting sells for $662K as Elizabeth Taylor auction continues

An Andy Warhol painting of Taylor sold for more than $662,000 at the auction in New York on Wednesday. The painting was part of Christie's auction house sale of items from the collection of the late actress, who starred in "National Velvet" and "Cleopatra."

All I can say is that's a nice chunk of change for the lithograph!!!