Laugh for the day!! hahahaha

OK, trun your sound up--this short video is guaranteed to bring a smile, a chuckle or even a bout of laughter from YOU. My sister and friend Diane were together this summer for a short while and we were being photographed by Claire's daughter Grace (7 years old)--well, we didn't realize she was shooting a movie of us until mid-way through this. Needless to say--we are giddy and silly when we get together!

What's funny is hearing Grace direct, knowing that we didn't know she was shooting a movie. Then our Mom is shown briefly thinking we are the idiots that we are. Just funny....

5 Phone Numbers You Need to Know!

5 phone numbers you need to know

OK, I'm still on my Auburn high. Todd (my husband) sent me this cool video from the Today Show that is interesting in and of itself, but includes something cool from our alma mater--the great Auburn University. Check it out!

Another reason I love Auburn is this guy's legacy...

The One and Only Bo Jackson

Bo was at Auburn when I was there. He won the Heisman Trophy when I was there. Oh my goodness! I've never seen so much toilet paper at Toomer's--EVER, than that night. No kidding, it was 2 FEET thick in the street. That is one of my greatest memories of my time at Auburn... Bo was in my school of Home Economics, and I used to work out in the same weight room as he did when I played tennis at Auburn my sophomore year. I'm not saying I knew him, but we spoke on a few occasions....(relishing the memories for a second) And I'm sure I acted like some stupid, giddy, starstruck fan too. :) He was cool. Still is. Read this great story that Todd sent me:

Bo Knows Best

Today's Great Gift Idea

This is today's "Ultimate Comfy Cozy" Gift from our gallery! It's a grouping of 3 things--a warm, soft throw blanket, an awesome book The Last Witness From a Dirt Road, and an art mug--all for creating that cozy feel and relieving the stress of the holidays. There is one more "Ultimate Comfy Cozy" gift combo that includes the throw blanket, art mug and a Sister Grace CD. Either gift package is priced at $40. Come by and see us--supplies are limited!

MM Mm mmmm...

Nothing like one of my favorites...Wynton Marsalis. He has a great site with podcasts and lots of images and discographies. Immerse yourself!

Snapshot

It's a no-make-up-sippin-tea-from-my-AU-mug kind of day. Rainy and cold out. I declare it snapshot of yourself day! Where's yours?

Awesome Auburn Weekend!

Oh my goodness--how much better can it get? You go to Auburn, graduate, marry, have kids, grow your art career and so many years down the road, you are standing on display in the window of the coolest art gallery right next to Toomer's Corner--PAINTING! Am I dreaming? Well, no, I wasn't. And it was so much fun!!

Todd and I drove to Auburn Friday and went straight to Auburn Art . Com Gallery--it's pretty new as a physical gallery, but it has been online for a few years now, growing like crazy. They have been selling my prints for about 4 years of my paintings: Samford Hall, After the Win (Toomer's Corner), and now the Momma Goldberg's piece that I did this year. We have had great success selling these canvas reproductions, and we are having even greater success due the opening and location of this awesome gallery. Look for paper prints of these paintings at Auburnart.com soon!

Frank and Ingrid Brown own the gallery and invited me to join them for the Iron Bowl weekend. James Dean was there too! (...of Pete the Cat fame. That was so much fun being with him and his wife Kim!)

Jessie and all the girls that work at the gallery were so great and hospitable too--thank you all so much! (Jessie, where were you??)



Frank's mother Jenneth let Todd and me stay at her precious cabin for the weekend. It is a work of art itself--so quaint and cute. We loved it and appreciated the warm hospitality that Jenneth and Ingrid offered to us. The Auburn-Opelika News wrote a great article about James and my being back in Auburn. Click here to read the article. See the pics:


Below is the goody bag we found upon our arrival from Frank and Ingrid. It had cool auburnart.com t-shirts, great smelling candles and chocolate candies....and they had stocked the fridge with all sorts of great things too. How sweet is that? Thanks, y'all!


After a great lunch at Momma G's, Todd and I headed out, passing the place where it all happened last night--Auburn's 6th straight win over Alabama---WARRRRRRR EEEEAAGLE!!! Just had to do that....The stadium was surrounded by a misty fog today. I'm thankful the rain held off all weekend for such a great time. Stay tuned for some exciting news! In the meantime, jump on over to the painting blog to see the 2 pieces I painted this weekend.

What's in the Bag???

That's the question if you've seen all these black bags with hot pink tissue in them in our windows! Well I'm going to tell you some of what you can purchase as hot, cool, artsy gifts from Carole Foret Fine Art Gallery.

One of our most popular items is our art mugs which feature Carole's original paintings of 2 places: the Athens Square and the Huntsville, Alabama skyline. Both mugs are the grande size mugs made of ceramic, and they can hold lots of coffee, cocoa, tea or whatever your beverage of choice. Perfect by the fire snuggled up on your sofa! During the holidays, they will be sold with our favorite--a pack of cocoa. These are priced at $15, and that includes tax, but not shipping. They are microwave and dishwasher safe, but we recommend hand-washing for best color retention over the years....One of my favorite things about these mugs is that your hand fits easily handling them. My husband likes these for that reason too!

Another item I'm excited about is my Dad's book. Yes, my father Bill Hunt, is an author and is becoming quite well known for his book, "The Last Witness From a Dirt Road" which he has performed lectures, book readings and even theatrical book readings from. It is a PERFECT book for the holidays. Written in the voice of Billy, this is a fictionalized memoir, written in Billy's 12 year old voice. Billy lived on a sugar cane plantation in Bunkie, Louisiana in the 40's--you must read the book and enjoy all that Billy experienced in his relationships during that time. This book has been compared to "To Kill a Mockingbird", but I say, impartially, that it is better. Others have said the same thing....Pick it up in the gallery--$12. Look for more writings as Dad has finished several short stories that are simply awesome! Read more about the book....

Another gift you may purchase at my gallery is a Sister Grace CD or tee! Yes, you can find our CD locally at my gallery as well as online at iTunes. Give the gift of ministry this holidays season!
What genre is our music? Well, we've been called "blue-eyed jazz," folk, indie-sounding--I believe we have a sound all our own. Read more about Sister Grace at their site. Oh yeah, I am one of the girls in the band--if you didn't already know! :) $15

Since this post is becoming very long, I will stop here and show more in the next day or so--including the ULTIMATE COMFY COZY artsy gift. Check back to see that!

Art House!

Art House was so much fun last Saturday night--we got to visit with some great folks who came by to network and share their art. Redwood Hill was AWESOME! They have such a beautiful bluegrass sound. This is a shot of Sister Grace playing with Redwood Hill--I see a cool concert coming after hearing us all sing and play together. Stay tuned for that. :)

Stay tuned, too, for the next Art House coming in the next couple of months or so. Check the blog often to hear when!

Glory Glory to our Auburn!

Well, it's Iron Bowl week, and you'll just have to pardon me if you're not an Auburn fan. I'm really looking forward to being down on the plains game day Saturday at Auburnart.com Gallery meeting people and painting on site and promoting my Auburn prints of Toomer's, Samford Hall and my latest one, Momma Goldbergs. James Dean (of Pete the Cat prints fame) will also be there promoting his cool prints, and I can't wait to hang out with him. Plan to meet us there--this gallery is so nice! It's new and right in the middle of all the action and next door to Toomer's drugs (great lemonade!) These "posters" above I snagged off AuburnArt.com's blog.

Spirit of Athens Site!

We are live!

www.spiritofathens.com

Check it out!
As many of you know, there is an organization revitalizing our greaty city of Athens, Alabama into a more awesome place to live. I think Athenians are so happy and excited about all that has been going on. It is evident just walking the sidewalks of our downtown square!

The site was done by us as one of our website packages that we offer to clients who are a good fit with the templates we purchase. The biggest part of the package is the professional photography that makes any site look so nice! Inquire further if you wish to find out if YOUR business is a good fit for us to do a site for you.

12 Days of Christmas!

Since Christmas is right around the corner--I know, Thanksgiving is first, but you can't start early enough on your Christmas shopping, now can you? Here are some of my personal suggestions and favorite things as well as a few things that are on my wish list! So, let's see what we have:

• J. Crew Coat-one I don't have. Feed my coat fetish....
• Very Sexy Lip Gloss (the best!) by Victoria's Secret
  
• Airline tickets to St. Paul, MN to see my sister
• A new VW Touareg since my daughter is going to inherit my current one
• Dillon Rogers gifts-like these imprinted leather bracelets!
• Garnet Hill boiled wool slippers-my favorite!
• Michael Buble--umm...concert tickets!
• Very soft robe from Bath & Body Works
  
• Auburn Football 2008 Season tickets
• A new sock monkey for my old one to play with
• A spa vacation!! (notice 2 exclamation points)
• Dinner at Hot & Hot Fish Club in Birmingham, AL! mmmm!

Share with me the top 3 things on YOUR list!

Art House Saturday Night!

Like art? Collect art? Create art? Art being painting, photography, cooking, graphic design, dancing, poetry, sculpting, music! Yes, there will be live music by Redwood Hill a cool folk band that you'll love. Sister Grace will be there too among others. We just need YOU to come. So enlarge the flyer that Leslie designed and show up. We wanna see you!

Veteran's Day--a time that I thank those who serve and have served our country and her freedom with such devotion. You soldiers have a right to be proud for that service! Thank you so much! The image below is on the MSN page of several great photos of our soldiers. It depicts the Desert Storm veterans from 1991. My brother-in-law Tom may be in the photo--are you, Tom? Tom was in bomb disposal in Desert Storm....

NEW YORK—A parade for the troops that served in Operation Desert Storm, 1991.

© Susan Meiselas / Magnum Photos

The McKenzie Sisters!

I had an awesome shoot with a group of sisters--I loved working with these gals! We shot at the beautiful convent in Cullman Alabama. The scenery was so beautiful and my subjects, so much fun! Thank you, Angela, Tricia, Jan and Sister Lynn for letting me do this. I really enjoyed lunch at All Steak too! ;) Hope you enjoy the slideshow!

Newsletter Coming Soon--Join!

I have a great number of people on my email newsletter list who receive valuable information on what is going on at my studio/gallery as well as valuable coupons when I'm offering a special. If you would like to receive this beautifully presented newsletter (with photos) in YOUR inbox just sign up and be in the know! Of course, if you keep in touch with this blog on a daily basis, then you're in the know already....I'll be sending one out in the next few days! Join us and find out some holiday specials!

Autumn Glory!

I just love this time of year for the COLOR in the trees, and I marvel at God's creativeness that He shares with us as the seasons change. His work is almost unfathomable to me at times--like this morning after taking my daughter to school, I couldn't resist stopping to shoot some of the trees in the historical district here in Athens as well as in my neighborhood. The last image of the very red tree is from a neighbor who was great about watering all summer. I am so thankful that we have some color this year since I feared we wouldn't due to the extreme drought we've been in all summer--the driest we've been since 1925 I heard....Just wanted to share.

Awesome Clients

I had the opportunity to shoot some great clients (and friends) of mine several days ago, taking advantage of the beautiful color popping up around our town. The Mings (Bill, Susan, William, Elizabeth and Sarah) live in my neighborhood in a beautiful home which was the backdrop for our shoot. Their home (just an FYI) houses many of my paintings that they have collected over the years--making them probably the greatest collectors of my work. I appreciate them so much! Aren't they one handsome family??

View my updated site and see my new "Gallery Favorites" Gallery which are some of our picks from the last few months shoots. Also, sample our new music on our site too and let us know what you think! Hear the awesome Michael Buble, French girl Carla Bruni, and German guy, Oren Lavie--they're awesome!

Last fm

Lastfm is so cool. In paying bills, doing laundry on this Monday--my "day off" I was listening to my "radio" on lastfm and discovered a new music artist. I love finding new talent! Her group is called Tok Tok Tok, and they are this woman who sings and a guy who plays sax--the sound is very jazzy and loungy. You've got to check them out....I've purchased several songs from iTunes already.

Just an FYI, you can access Sister Grace (my Christian Band) on lastfm now! You may already know that SG can be downloaded on iTunes and ordered through CD Baby too--just go to our site & blog for those links.

Have a great Monday and an awesome week!

Ahhh, it was great....

Under the Christmas Tree was great!! I'm home. Relaxing and about to get to bed shortly and chill. Thank you to Randolph School and the VBC in Huntsville for being so gracious, hospitable and so organized for all of us vendors--you made it great. Also, my current and NEW clients, thank you so much for your business. I will post some new photos soon. But for now, I'm pooped and am just listening to some great tunes and chilling out. Catch what I'm listening to on my lastfm widget on the right!

At Under the Christmas Tree

We are having a blast at Under the Christmas Tree--the awesome kick off event for the holidays season. It is sponsored by Randolph School in Huntsville, and boy, do they know how to host. They have been so hospitable, very organized, and so sweet! They have been doing this now for 23 years, and it has grown to be such a beautiful event. I'm showing my photography and paintings. I brought a few of my sister Claire's work too--the cow is a hit!
We will be there from 10-7 today and 12-5 on Sunday--so come out and see us and all the awesome other vendors there!

We are happy with our booth--going with our black and pink theme that I've switched to the last few weeks. We're also running our Showit Slideshow in full screen mode to advertise our photography on our Mac cinema--got to love the clean look of Apple products! Check it out!



The greatest thing about these kinds of events is meeting new people and visiting with friends and clients. These 2 beautiful girls came by early, and it was a joy to reacquaint myself with Sabrina Query and meet Susan Cooper. Sabrina is off to NY today--I hope she has a great trip! I'm jealous....


I had to shoot this shot of Leslie--really selling our Seniors photography. You can see through the paper the awesome ad that Leslie designed. Work it, Leslie!