Swiss Bliss...

A lot can be said for being able to escape the summer heat in Texas...

And when you add to that possibility the cool, mountain air in Switzerland...

What you have is Swiss Bliss...!

I am so fortunate to be in that situation... especially since I have never acclimated to the Texas summer heat, even though I grew up there from the age of one!   Summers before air conditioning were the worst for me!  Basically, I have always had a lack of tolerance for extreme heat or cold...but the heat reduces me to a lifeless, dizzy, fair skinned fille.

So...I can't complain when I have to add a few layers of clothing to counter the mountain chill...but it is usually pretty perfect between 50-80°f.   Just right for walks into town or spending time at my easel...

These are some of my recent paintings while here in Switzerland...hope you enjoy...

My continued journey has given me the opportunity to combine my past disciplines, work, and passions ...into my current pursuit of creating at my easel...

My work is divided between my living 6 months of the year in Texas and the other 6 months in Switzerland.  My work is represented by figurative paintings...influenced from my life as a dancer and later as a fashion illustrator with the respect and beauty of the human body...

Hope you are enjoying your summer...

Wherever that may be...

Looking Forward to The New Year...!

Wall Grouping with items I purchased from the Round Top Antique show and which I had custom framed

See Full Project Photos on HOUZZ

Happy New Blessings

Happy New Inspirations

Happy New  Desires

Happy New Goals

Happy New Creations

Happy New Friends

Happy New Relationships

Happy New Challenges

Happy New Adventures

Happy New Beginnings

Happy New Year!

I would like to extend my appreciation
for being acknowledged by HOUZZ
enthusiasts for the 

"Best of 2016"
Design


I believe this is a positive start to the new year
and I look forward to many more exciting
design project opportunities!


You can view several of my
design projects
on HOUZZ 

Segreto's New Fabric Collection at Houston's Fall Market

Fall is my favorite time of the year...and I love reconnecting with all the local design activities when I return from summers in Switzerland.

This past Tuesday was the Fall Design Market

at the Houston Design Center

To get the events started, Leslie Sinclair of Segreto Designs unveiled

her latest business savvy design venture...a hand-painted fabric line with Coleman Taylor Textiles 

represented by the Ken Kehoe & Co. showroom.

Leslie Sinclair (left)  and me in front of the fabric wings of her new fabric designs

The new fabric line is really beautiful.  I anticipate seeing the new fabrics incorporated into spaces with Segreto's custom wall finishes to coordinate with the fabrics.  All the designs and colorways are timeless...but it was the dark, dramatic fabric grounds that really drew me in right now.  Maybe it's just that time of year!

I really admire and respect Leslie.  She is an amazing business woman...and the talent that comes from her and her staff is endless!  I wish her the best of luck with the new line.

I have made it easy for you to go directly to Segreto's fabrics at the Coleman Taylor Textiles website to see all the different and interchangeable color selections...

just click on the tag line under each photo below.

Reticolo Classico by Segreto Designs

Versailles Antoinette by Segreto Designs

Arabesque Frieze by Segreto Designs

Versailles Josephine by Segreto Designs

The keynote program of the Design Market featured Phoebe Howard of the Mr. and Mrs. Howard duet from Atlanta and Interior Designer Timothy Whealon.

Most people are familiar with the two speakers and know of their successes and talents...
but, speaking for myself,  the experience was rather strange...almost as if something behind the scenes was going on.

This was especially true with Phoebe, who appeared to be thinking that she would rather have been somewhere else.  The biggest take away from her story and her comments during the Q&A was that she began her career because she was a bored housewife and that she attributed most of her success to dumb luck.  She claimed to have no knowledge on how designers should approach licensing of products...because she herself had a failed QVC experience and a failed rug product line.  She really had little to offer to the attending designers in way of tips or suggestions.  She, however, is obviously excellent at merchandising for her stores and surrounds herself with young talent that she has given a lot of free reign.  Her honesty in what she wasn't able to share was...well, interesting.  She obviously did not feel the need to impress.  

Equally straight forward was Tim Whealon.  He is very talented and his eye for design is natural and enhanced with his background and interest in the fine and decorative arts.  He maintains a small staff in order to keep his overhead more manageable.  His "intimate" discussion after the main event was much more interesting where designers had the opportunity to discuss some of the nitty-gritty of having a design business...like billing...and when or if a bad client is worth the time... 

I bought a copy of Tim's new book as an addition to my library, which is nicely done with beautiful project photos.

The last program of the day was a panel discussing "Branding"...a much talked about topic these days...something that keeps evolving as a business continues and requires much attention.  I appreciate the time that was given by each of the attendees, but my perception was that 

the collective knowledge and experience was running a little short.  

The whole discussion lacked energy and enthusiasm.  

Oh well...there's always the Spring market to look forward to...!

AS SEEN IN...Martigny Switzerland

Matisse in His Time

The 2015 Major Summer Event for the Foundation Pierre Gianadda 

The Foundation Pierre Gianadda puts on two major exhibits each year...and this summer's exhibit is another well curated collection in collaboration with the Centre Pompidou in Paris and Swiss private and public collections.

The main idea of this exhibition is to show Matisses's work in a new light...that of his relationships and exchanges with his fellow artists.  The show includes works by Picasso, Gris, Braque, Derain, Bonnard and others.

Depending on the style or art movement, my observations show a strong similarity in color palettes between the various artists.  Matisse, born in 1869, had a career that spanned several styles/periors till his death in 1954: Class of Gustave Moreau, Fauvism, Cubism, the Odalisques, Figure and Color, the Studio, Modernism, and his final phase which he did little in the way of painting was "to draw in colour field" which involved color cut-outs.

An interesting comparison of his changing style is with his series of the Pont Saint-Michel.  The first painting was rendered in 1897, the second in 1900, and the third in 1912.

I particularly enjoyed his "Odalisques" paintings, which reflected his time he lived in Morocco.  He brought back with him oriental carpets, fabrics, ceramics, and clothes to decorate his studio for the odalisque paintings...which display the bright colors and ornamental patterns in exotic and luxurious interiors.

Matisse's "Grand Intérieur Rouge" 1948, was one of his final painting on canvas before his last period and his death.

Also seen in Martigny...

Lunch on the square was a perfect ending to the afternoon where the fun and colorful plastic wine coolers caught my eye...along with the colorful metal industrial style cafe chairs (which I recently used for a breakfast nook project) in bright colors, that were mixed with various other styles of bistro chairs.  Inexpensive ways to add color to an interior...or exterior...

50 Shades of Grey...

Like a fine, hand developed photograph...

the shades of silvery grey from the heavy frosty mist are breath taking...Switzerland 2015...the scene can change several times within a single day as the clouds drift in an out ...playing hide and seek with the mountains in the near background...

,

 

 

Winter Whites at their perfection...

 



Sunday's Point of View...

A brilliant day today for my walk into town center

 

for fresh baked bread from the boulangerie...

 

 

And keeping warm and cozy by the fire...

 

with a huge cup of potato-leek soup

 

and

 

my fresh loaf of pain de champagne rustique...

 

 

 

 

 

Have a great Sunday where ever you are...!

Venice...what's not to love...

During  my stay in Switzerland this past summer...

one of the destination spots I enjoyed visiting was Venice!  

 

Venice, or Venezia, is a special place, like no other... so it is no wonder that this was the location that George Clooney and his fiancé chose for the celebration of their love for each other.

This is a place where you want to experience it with a special person...who is equally enchanted by the essence of the city...!


I attempted to put the photos into a slide presentation to make you feel more like you are experiencing the stroll through the streets and riding in a water taxi or gondola first hand...but instead you will find the photos at the end of this post...I hope you enjoy them!

The Caffé Florian, right in the St. Mark's Square was a real treat!  The Florian is recorded as the very first coffee shop to exist in history, established in 1720.  It was patronized by the best of philosophers, poets, politicians and artists of the time.  I wrote a blog some time ago on coffee shops that you can see here with additional information and photos.  Today it is still a vibrant and important part of Venetian life...

 





Another post I did based on Venetian tradition and inspiration of the "Carnevale" is here.  Everywhere you go in Venezia there are gorgeous displays of masks and costumes that one can wear for the event or make a treasured memento...



Venice is about a five and a half hours drive from Crans-Montana Switzerland.  To make the destination even more special...we had lunch on our way there at Da Vittoria in Brusaporto, Italy...just outside of Bergamo on a beautiful country estate.  Da Vittoria is a 3-Star Michelin Restaurant...you can find information about their menu and amenities on their website here 

 



what's not to love...!

 



Awe....Venezia...!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ciao...