After moving furniture, sweeping, mopping (and mopping again), dusting and scrubbing, my studio is in order. This is by far the biggest studio I’ve ever had. Actually, it’s an entire classroom. Tucked away up on a hill in West Homestead on the south east side of Pittsburgh, I now occupy a room that decades ago was filled with schoolchildren. Today there’s a sign making business on the first floor with artist tenants scattered around the periphery, including Pittsburgh legend, Bob Qualters.

I feel like I should be doing cartwheels in my new space because, well, I can. Guests are welcome since there’s room to sit in my “living room” and glance across the room at my paintings.

Thanks to Bonnie for featuring me on the ImageKind blog (ImageKind.com is the service I use to sell prints of my paintings).

Fresh from my studio: three new holiday paintings (each about 8″x10″ oils on board). Notecards with all three images are ready for order for $24 (or £15) per set of 12.

The original unframed paintings are also available for sale for $250 each, just email me at ashley.cecil@gmail.com for inquiries.

10% of sales of holiday cards and the originals will go to the Coats for Kids Foundation.

“You never know what you’re missing until it’s gone.”  I’m a believer in this adage.   For example, I never realized how convenient it was to show up to a studio class in college and a model was there waiting for us.  It’s a little trickier when you’re on your own, or it was until I moved to a big city.

I’m a little hesitant to keep looking for things to do in London because I’m afraid my creative ADD will run wild.  Wednesday night drop-in figure drawing class, check.  Daily art museum guided tours, check.  Free exhibition lectures, check.  It’s like having all of the resources of a college student with a city-wide campus.

I love that my website attracts requests for touching commission requests such as the one below:

Ashley,

The better part of last year I spent in surgery, chemo or having double radiation for cancers. So far I am in remission and doing very well.  One of the many wonderful caregivers with a daunting task is a trainer for Fitsteps For Life, a free program designed to make us chemo and radiation patients get out of bed and work out and not allowing us to become bedridden.  The program that I am enrolled in is hosted by the generosity of Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas.

Our wonderful trainer lost her young mother recently to cancer. Her mother lived and died at home in Jacksonville, Texas. Hours before she passed on, she told her family of a bird that had started inhabiting her garden and for them to understand that things in this life are not as they seem. The bird was there that day and the family got a look at the bird, the Painted Bunting. She told her family that when she left them, there would be two. She died several hours later and as the family wandered into the garden, there were two of these beautiful birds on a branch in their mother’s garden.

Needless to say, the bird is now a huge symbol in the lives of that family. As a gesture of profound gratitude for this caregivers service to me and many others I would like to have you paint a small oil of this beautiful bird that she may receive anonymously for Christmas.

I assure you there is no better way to feel good about your work.  I was incredibly honored to paint this colorful bird for my client and mail it to the recipient.  How’s that for holiday cheer?

I’m crossing the pond for good (or a few years at least). London shall be my new home as of January 2010 and none of my finished paintings are coming with me.  That’s great for you, because I’m selling everything at prices I haven’t listed since college.  That’s hard to stomach, but it’s working because there aren’t many left.

About 10 paintings are still available.  You can click here to see the PDF of my remaining inventory (disclaimer: I may not be able to keep the list updated immediately as things sell, so have patience). Please keep in mind that these prices do not include shipping.  If you’re in Louisville or Cincinnati (or somewhere in the drivable vicinity), we can arrange a face-to-face delivery.

So, got any London tips or people you want to introduce me to?

Heck, why not partake in a little gloating?   Louisville’s Velocity Weekly recently profiled me in their “What I’m Into” column.  One more thing for my grandmother to laminate.

If you’re in Louisville, you should be at 1330 Cherokee Road #6 tonight.  I’m having a show of over 50 paintings, mostly from ’07 (wow, even I find that impressive).  I’ll also be collecting household items to be donated to Kentucky Refugee Ministries.

Clearly, I can’t sell paintings in two places at one time.  Well I actually I can, and I have, and learned the hard way when two people bought the same piece.  Therefore, no online purchases please until tomorrow, the 7th, at 10pm east coast time.

I hope to see you tonight!

Tomorrow will be a long day of interviews, tours and appointments at several Seattle nonprofits.  I’m most excited about interviewing a elementary school teacher who has become so heavily involved with the plight of the homeless that she has come to spend many of her nights not nestled in her own sheets, but at an outdoor, mobile homeless shelter.  Such shelters, called Tent Cities, are a bit of a Seattle novelty and have offered this teacher the deep understanding of homelessness she was after.

There is no lack of controversy over whether the Tent Cities do more harm than good, and I’m looking forward to discovering an insider’s view (albeit an loving “impostor”) on what strategies most effectively combat this age-old issue.  I certainly will be asking what her thoughts are on prison reentry programs, rehabilitation treatment, cost of living vs minimum wage, and more.  I welcome your questions if you can get them to me before tomorrow afternoon (ashley.cecil(at)gmail.com).

After we have dinner, we’re heading to one of the Tent Cities nearby to meet some the residents.   A few of these folks will be fielding questions as well, so please send any thoughts or questions you would like me to ask them (Colleen, I know you have something to add!)

I’m en route to Seattle today for a 2 1/2 week stay. As always, I would love to hear your suggestions of blog worthy topics, causes, organizations and people I should have on my agenda to cover.

I only stopped at home, in between the camp in Paducah, Kentucky and St Louis, Missouri, long enough to wonder why I unpacked at all. So without preparation for visiting the latter location, I’m now at square one here in St Louis discovering what organizations to highlight. I got a little sidetracked with celebrating the 4th of July at a Cardinals baseball game last night (well worth it).

My artistic reach has been stymied by being beholden to my travel-mate for transportation, so my inspiration has started in the backyard of my hostess’s home. Although, we have been in the city exploring multiple places I will be revisiting to share with you via paintings. Nonetheless, I want to exploit one of my greatest proven resources, you, to provide me with leads. I’m dying to hear about any St Louis groups, organizations, individuals, stories, events, etc that your have to offer.

From time to time I get fan mail, invitations to events, and sometimes gifts. There’s nothing like coming home to a package on your doorstep from someone you’ve never met, who took the time to put together a care package for you. This gift though, takes the cake. Painting Activist admirer, Millie Fennig of far away Dallas, TX, hand-crafted this piece of wire art of my initials. I was blown away and had to share it with you. I wish she had a website I could direct you to, but in lieu of one, I’ll gladly take orders for her.

Thank you Millie!