Happy, happy May 1st! Here is an image of my latest painting. It is oil on canvas at about 14" by 36". I've been recently inspired by formations of rock, sand, and water in nature. I am enjoying the challenge of putting a surreal aspect into the pieces.

Next up for me is the Market presented by Avenue for the Arts. I'm getting together some original, smaller, functional, and affordable pieces. The event will take place in June on Division Avenue downtown Grand Rapids. You will find myself and other fellow creatives from 820 at a booth. Exact location TBA :) Thanks for checkin it out.

Behold, new studio space. Photograph taken with the iPhone 5. Good things to come from within these walls!

Hey all! It is a lovely, rainy day here in Michigan and also a perfect opportunity to update the blog. I have some exciting things going on for spring. Firstly, I wanted to mention that any of my work is available in print format. All you have to do is send me an email at Margaret.Larabel@gmail.com for a quote. It's best to check here for any updates on upcoming work as my website is a more 'formal' representation of my portfolio. My blog is where you can see any in-progress work in addition to whats in my permanent collection.

Speaking of staying up-to-date. Make sure you follow me @mega_bel on Instagram. I know I've already mentioned this smart phone app but I cannot stress how much I really think this tool is incredibly handy for artists and art fans alike for seeing what all of our peers are up to around the world. A huge part of being an artist is being informed about our industry and Instagram is one of my favorite ways to do so. I am constantly posting sketches, progress shots, studio stuff, and completed works. DO IT.

Which brings me to my next point... new studio space soon that I am beyond excited about. I am feeling pretty fortunate to have found not only great studio mates, but now a great space. Once we get all settled in I will probably post some pictures and hopefully links so you can check out my fellow work space buddies.

 Lastly! art.downtown is quickly approaching and yours truly is a registered artist. The oil on wood painting below is an in-progress shot of one of the three pieces that will be on display. I will be posting again soon as that work comes along and as April 12 approaches. I don't have a venue yet, more on that later! The oil painting on canvas also posted below is a commissioned piece- in progress. Thanks for all the love and support. Happy Sunday.

Here is a progress shot of the oil painting I'm working on! It has surpassed the, "hm. I'm not really sure where this is going but I'm just going to keep working on it" phase, and is now in the "starting to come together" phase.

In other news, I'm completely obsessed with Instagram. Yes, I bought the new iPhone 5 about a month ago, and its crazy how much it affects the everyday nuances of my life. About Instagram though, I love how you can follow your friends, or creatives, and its all completely visual. I am also a sucker for 'vintage looking' things and the photo effects are reminiscent of 60's and 70's film photography. Ok, I know I'm late on the Smart-phone train but heres my insta-grammed photo :) When the painting is finished I'll show it minus the affects.

As part of the Avenue for the Arts, the Free Radical Galleries are open all week long on Division Avenue. You can see my work at Vertigo (the record store), called "The Feminine Taboo" dealing with the language of societal expectations of women.

I wanted to post about other work that I viewed at the 601 Gallery. Most of the works there were objects and artifacts originally intended for Found Magazine. For one, I am a big fan of the written word- traditionally. I'm talking pen and lined paper. I have a pen pal that we've been writing letters back and forth for probably 3 years now. I'm also a hopeless romantic and have been thinking recently of how I can weave these things into my own work.

As I post these three letters I'm reminded of how they all struck a certain chord with me the moment I read them. It reminded me of a time when love was really innocent, it reminded me of my first loves and how love and relationships morph and change with each new phase of your life. It reminded me of young love. And then there is the letter about a marriage proposal. The way it's written is so simplistic and honest and relevant to this time. How the dynamics of family and marriage and dating have changed and still are changing- very rapidly- is something I think about all the time. It astounds and scares me and is exciting to me all at the same time. It really made me think, and maybe it will do the same for you.

This is a picture of me holding up an idea for next painting project, its oil on illustration board. Yes it's abstract. Yes it's totally different than anything I've done in awhile. And this took me 4 hours to complete, if you must know. I took a little advice from an experienced graphic designer who told me 'Always log your hours!'. This sounds like the most mundane, tedious, boring thing to do. However, I've learned the importance of tedious mundane things thanks to a (rather boring-but learned a lot from) desk job I had for a brief moment in time.

Sometimes, you have to crunch numbers to access certain valuable information. Ok, enough about crunching numbers, I'm kind of feeling like a geek on a Friday night blogging about time tracking and new studio spaces. Peace out!

Oh, PS- I'm also at my new studio in this picture!

Finishing touches for the San Chez Bistro ads.