“people of the sun”

last week i had the pleasure of attending the gallery opening for my friend + local artist ramon matheu at west annapolis art works!

i met ramon at last year’s honfest where he took second place in the “what is a hon?” juried art contest. i absolutely love ramon’s vibrant and inspired work which he describes as “a combination of radiant black outlines and vivid colors that put a fun spin on the various subjects” that he illustrates. his style is “distinctive post-pop” and i think it’s simply fantastic!

check it out and enjoy!

the artist, ramon matheu.

i *loved* meeting up with meghan vince a few weeks ago in baltimore for a very fun lifestyle session! we started in federal hill and worked our way across town to fells point, just in time to catch the sun setting on the pier. love that golden light! meghan was so great to photograph – her energy + excitement were amazing, especially since she was surrounded by everything she loves most! i captured some quick headshots for her new photography business { meghan lynn photography } and then photographed her + her boyfriend jim and their two awesome dogs, zoey + izzy! big thanks to meghan + jim for sharing their evening and their love with me!

enjoy the things that meghan loves…

meghan loves her boyfriend.

meghan loves her dogs.

meghan *loves* her camera!

are YOU ready?

the blonde creative is gearing up for this weekend – 2 days of fun in the sun with hons on the avenue in hampden – oh yeah!

click HERE for more info!

meet leigh + scott. this amazing couple is bound together by love, creativity, and laughter. a few weeks ago i had the opportunity to meet up with them in downtown philadelphia to celebrate their 8th wedding anniversary (woohoo!) with a fun, impromtu photo session!

the entire shoot was so wonderfully serendipitous – leigh is the genius behind LL2B – the fabulous + renowned maker of all sorts of goodies, most notably these custom lip balms! she contacted me a few days prior to the session to inquire about a shoot and see if i’d be in the philly are anytime soon. i was already planning on heading up on the 19th for two engagement sessions and was excited to squeeze her in – especially when i found out that the 19th was their actual anniversary date! so perfect!

in addition to LL2B, leigh + scott have a sweet studio + exhibition space in the city – basekamp – that showcases large scale collaborative projects by contemporary artists. we met at the studio and then walked around town, weaving in and out of parks, courtyards, and the oldest cemetery i’ve ever seen. we made our way back to basekamp and did a few shots on the roof and inside of the studio. i got to learn about their newest project and was absolutely fascinated by the projects they work on! if i ever hesitate to refer to myself as an “artist” it is because of tremendously talented and creative people like leigh + scott. to me, they are the coolest kind of artists – using visual and philosophical methods to explore dynamic sociological issues and truly living a life entrenched and influenced by art, creativity and knowledge. i really enjoyed spending the morning with these two and can’t wait to visit them again soon. 

enjoy!

i couldn’t be more excited to share the most awesome news with everyone – the blonde creative is here! hooray!

the blonde creative was an idea i came up with forever ago to help promote the amazing artists that i know, as well as the people and ideas that inspire me. i wanted to create a virtual collection of amazing talent that i could share with anyone who wants to be inspired. beyond this simple idea for essentially a collective art blog, i knew i wanted it to be an umbrella organization that could connect people – a place for aspiring artists to find mentors, for working artists to collaborate with other artists across all mediums, and for potential clients to seek out photographers, designers, and more! it’s very much a project, not a company – it’s an organic, non-profit creative group that seeks to help artists and benefit all. as it grows it will be a fantastic resource for promoting art appreciation for everyone it reaches. what could be better?

however, i’m getting ahead of myself. right now the blonde creative is a brand new venture – still mostly a concept that will function as an art blog maintained by me, with the help and input of my favorite artist friends. as it grows i hope it will become a source of daily inspiration and a fantastic resource for art lovers + makers alike! furthermore, i plan on debuting the blonde creative at this year’s honfest (see previous post honfest 2009!) where key members of the blonde creative will be representing this new art initiative!

most importantly, the blonde creative would still be one of the many fanciful ideas swimming around in my head if it wasn’t for my amazing friend and blonde cohort quinn peyser who gave the blonde creative its killer logo, brand new blog, and facebook fan page! even more, she convinced me to start twittering! so now you can follow the blonde creative tweets!

and here’s a little blurb from the site – i’m sure most of you will recognize the names of the initial members!

the blonde creative is a project initiated by blonde photo that aims to promote + share amazing creative talent across all mediums of art. focusing on, but not limited to, photography + design, the blonde creative will showcase individuals who are creating unique + fabulous work.

* * *

the inspiration behind the blonde creative

jessi ringer, 5ringsphoto
quinn peyser, quinnep doodles
mary kate mckenna, mary kate mckenna photography
kim seidl, kim seidl photography

* * *

i am so excited to announce the public launch of my newest project the blonde creative at honfest 2009!

honfest is an amazing festival that takes place on the streets of hampden – one of the most fabulous neighborhoods in baltimore! hampden is home to tons of inspiring artists + characters, and lots of just plain good people. the annual honfest is much more than a local tradition – it is truly an international craze! the classic baltimore (bawl-mer) term of endearment, hon (short for honey), is at the root of this exuberant celebration that honors the honest, hard-working, fun-loving women of baltimore. yeah hons!

last year i was the official photographer for honfest – resulting in two full days of awesome hontastic images! i had a blast capturing the action on the street, the countless musicians that performed on both stages, and the main stage events, including a little miss hon contest, the crowing of the 2008 hon, and even a hon wedding!

this year i plan to bring even more energy + excitement to the festival with an amazing booth for the blonde creative! the booth will feature some of my favorite artists + best friends who will be joining me over the two day festival – quinn peyser of quinnep doodles, jessi ringer of 5ringsphoto and mk mckenna of mary kate mckenna photography! in addition to all sorts of surprises + fun, there will be raffles + giveaways, and a super-fun photo booth to capture the hon in everyone! in fact, there may even be a lifesize hon doodle in the works from quinnep doodles…i can’t wait! *PLUS* mamasita will be there again this year along with a number of other guests + friends, so mark your calendars for the weekend of june 13-14 and get up to bawlmer, hon!!

*click here for more details and to join the event on facebook!*

gtdubb creative is a boutique design studio based in southern california that specializes in print + online media. i absolutely love everything gtdubb creates – especially the inventive + original logos and branding! the mastermind behind this studio is the super talented and uber hip g. tyler ward, who created the logo + design for the wedding invitation below. my very best friend is tying the knot this spring and i simply adore these invitations! i love the unique look, the chic + relevant logo, and the way that it captures the casual feel of the wedding as well as the personality of the couple. bravo!

check out more of gtdubb creative’s refreshing designs, unique logos and funky photography at gtdubbcreative.com.

photo by meggie velasco, doodle by quinnep.

i am *so* very excited and wanted to share this awesome project that i worked on with the super talented quinn peyser! i approached quinn to create a doodle for our awesome friend jessi. we chose one of meggie velasco’s amazing photos of jessi’s daughter and quinn set to doodling! after she created the the *new* image we printed it through canvas on demand and wah-lah!

best.thing.ever!

we are so happy, jessi *loves* it, and quinn and i can’t wait to start working on more doodle projects soon! do have a photo you want doodled from one of our sessions? or even just one of your own? contact quinnep asap!

here are some of the awesome shots i snapped of the canvas before we sent it to jessi in tennessee!!

signed by the artist!

my favorite doodling designer quinnep is having a super sale! quinnep is offering custom doodles at 15% off to all clients – simply click on the sale announcement below! quinnep is the talent behind the above blonde doodles, and my fabulous holiday postcard! she will custom doodle anything your heart desires! her specialities include unique save-the-dates, adorable baby announcements, and fancy invites! but don’t just take my word for it: check it out HERE! 

a feature on musician dave ihmels appeared in today’s LIVE! section of the washington post. i had the pleasure of hearing dave perform at melinda + tim’s awesome post-wedding bash where i shot the above photos. i was thrilled when he told me that the washington post was writing a piece on his work and honored to contribute a photo to the story, which appears online HERE. more importantly, you can catch dave playing music from his independently released CD Expandable, TOMORROW at fireflies in alexandria with linda sublett + todd baker.