Fabulous Friends Friday, Feb. Edition!

Switchin' it up a little this month. The super talented friend this month is Bradley Wollman. But instead of showing you all his beautiful and unique photographs, (which you should still go check out on his website link above) I'm going to plug a product! 

I don't have a smart phone (come on? I know. I'm the last person on earth, apparently) so I'm going to tell all of you, who probably do have awesome phones and iPads, to go download the app that Bradley and a friend of his have created! It's called "Meowch!", I'm hearing amazing things about it, totally addicting and fun times!

Click here to download from iTunes App Store.

Here's the story: "Take control of three runaway cats and guide them to freedom. Can you maneuver down the roof of a brownstone while evading the clutches of the cat lady? Or from the the heights of a skyscraper without a gust of wind blowing you off course? And don't forget, Animal Control will be waiting on the ground to snatch you up unless you find a place to hide... Meowch! 

Navigate 36 unique levels through three stages, each with new challenges and a distinct visual style. Meowch!^TM is a universal app with interactive menus and environments that will keep you tapping. Play casually or compete against the clock and your friends on OpenFeint. See you on the leaderboard! Nah-meen?"

Now go mess up some felines.

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Fabulous Friends Friday! Jan'12

This Friday, I'd love for you to meet Robert (Bob) Grusczynski ! 

© RWG Photography. Shot in Southport, CT.

Bob is another fellow Hartford Art School alum, where he was traditionally trained in documentary photography. Based in Fairfield, CT, he explores a wide breadth of different fields along with his documentary photography, such as portraiture, product, and event photography, to name a few.  I love to follow his blog, RWG Fine Photography, where he shares a new photo (sometimes several!) every single day. It's a great way to enjoy a little extra bit of beauty each day with one quick click. I'll let his photos speak for themselves, take a peek!

© RWG Photography. Norwalk Aquarium, Norwalk, CT. (I love this shot so much!)

© RWG Photography 

© RWG Photography. Concours d'Elegance, Westport, CT.

© RWG Photography. Norwalk Aquarium, Norwalk, CT.

© RWG Photography. Nick's Pride, 2009.

© RWG Photography. Wedding event, 2009

He also has a kickass girlfriend named Steph. You'll meet her one of these Fridays soon, I'm sure! :)

© RWG Photography. Event candid, Steph and Tommy.

Visit his website here to see more of his work and find contact information: http://rwgfinephotography.com/home.html

or click here to find RWG Photography on Facebook.

and here for his daily blog

And be sure to "Like" my Facebook page for the full list of posts!

Fabulous Friends Friday (Belated!)

OOPS! I've been so buried under my current book project that I totally spaced on Fabulous Friends Friday last week! So here it is, one Friday later!

This month I'd like you to meet my oh so very sweet friend, Toni Walton!

Toni and I sat side by side, or rather, back to back, in our senior illustration studio at the University of Hartford. She's one of the most genuinely nicest and happiest people I have ever known, and I'm so excited for her right now because she just opened up her very own BAKERY! We would often chat during our long days and late nights in the studio about our admiration for cake decorating, and love of shows like Ace of Cakes, and how fun it would be to apply design and illustration talents to cake design. Luckily for Toni, not only can she draw and paint and has an amazing eye for design, but she can cook and bake like a maniac!! Shortly after graduation, she was hired at Carlo's Bakery in NJ, where she worked as a cake decorator and could be seen on their reality tv show, Cake Boss. It was so fun to see her creations, and now she and her sister have opened Sweet T's Bakeshop in NJ. I wish it wasn't an eight hour drive, or I'd be there in a heartbeat devouring scones and muffins and cupcakes and pies and....yikes, drooling, better stop. If you're in the area, be sure to check it out!

Is that breathtaking or what? 

There's those illustration skillz!

Visit her website here to see more of her specialty cakes and full menu: http://www.http://www.sweettbakes.com

or click here to find Toni's bakery on Facebook.

And be sure to "Like" my Facebook page for the full list of posts!

Bon Appetit!!

Fabulous Friends Friday-Christina!

Oops! I'm a day late. I'm sure I'm not the only one who November snuck up upon!

This month I'd like to introduce you to my fabulous friend, Christina Rodriguez! 

We were roommates at the University of Hartford, and studio-mates in the illustration studio. We were always among the last to leave in the wee hours of the morning senior year, working hard and motivating each other to stay and paint paint paint! She's one of the hardest working people I know, and she has a really unique style that's always full of life, texture, and vibrant colors. She works with oil paints, primarily, and has a clear love of painting animals. This woman will literally want to paint each strand of hair on a ferret, and every feather on an owl. She's got patience, that's for sure, and it shows!

All her distinctive techniques can be seen in her brand new children's book, ¡A Bailar! (Let's Dance!). 

I'm so excited for her new book, and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of my own! Not long ago, she was faced with a terrible hardship, when her apartment (in New Jersey) caught fire and burnt down. Thank god she and everyone in the building were okay, though she lost just about everything, including almost all of her artwork, which as an artist, we all have certain attachments to after spending countless hours on our work. But in classic Christina style, she didn't let it destroy her. She got right back up, and got right back to work. She's a strong and wonderful lady, and I'm so proud of her! 

Visit her website here to see more of her work: http://www.crodillustration.com

And be sure to "Like" my Facebook page for the full list of posts. 

Fabulous Friends Friday, October!

October edition!  And O is for....

OLGA!

"Island Friends" © Olga Levitskiy 2011

Olga Levitskiy is an incredible illustrator whose work I simply adore. Based in New Jersey, and another fellow Hartford Art School Alumni, Olga's drawings and paintings are always so full of character, warmth and charm. She has two published children's books, "Mr. Groundhog Wants the Day Off" and "Team Dawg: Trevor's Bully Problem". She covers a wide range of subject matter and styles, from cozy and comical little characters, to perfected figure and anatomy studies. You may even recognize her work from the winning image for a recent Strathmore drawing paper pad competition!

I went out and bought three of them!

© Olga Levitskiy 2011

Yup. I'm a big Olga fan.

Be sure to check out her website here, as well as her latest endeavor, LLC Events (party planning, invitations, decoration, etc)!

Visit her website here to see more of her work: http://www.illustrationsbyolga.com

And be sure to "Like" my Facebook page for the full list of posts.