Ashley Cecil

I recently ordered a new batch of note cards to send along with the paintings I sell as a thank you to my clients. While I still have an abundance of these mini-paintings, I thought I would offer them to both my buyers and yet-to-be-buyers in exchange for word of mouth marketing.

Email a friend about this blog, cc me (ashley.cecil@gmail.com), include your mailing address, and I’ll send you a note card. By all means, feel free to email all your friends, and encourage them to do the same. I will send a note card everyone who keeps it going! Hmm, this sounds like a chain letter. So be it! Help me help the organizations I blog about (of course, it works well for me too!).

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6″ x 9″ watercolor, $70 ($10 donated to Water for People)
SOLD
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Yesterday was World Water Day, “an initiative that grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro.” The theme for 2007 was “coping with water scarcity.” Many of us in developed nations have no concept of what water scarcity means on a personal level. I certainly got a sense of the problem while I was in Venezuela. I had to pack my drinking water with me for my stay in the country, and avoided nearly all vegetables so as not to eat anything washed with unclean water. Even in the major capitol city of Caracas, clean drinking water was an issue. Multiple factors such as overpopulation, poor infrastructure, and lack on funds contribute to the United Nation’s estimate of over 1.1 billion people currently without safe drinking water.

World Changing posted an excellent list of resources, projects, and events that address water scarcity. It’s worth a glance.

Happy belated Water Day!

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What was I thinking when I assumed that I would be able to post new paintings while in Venezuela trekking through rural communities and cities void of WiFi?

I´ve found a crowded internet cafe where I could squeeze in a quick heads up to everyone that I will be back in the States early next week with enough material to work from for a long while.  I´m gaining an amazing amount of insight and clarity about political, economic, and social issues related to Venezuela and the US.  I´m looing forward to sharing it very soon!

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30″ x 48″ oil on canvas
SOLD
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I thought with my sly ways I could tag this commissioned painting with an article written as an afterthought to make it “blog-able,” and you would never be the wiser. Maybe it’s my pocket PC blinking at me with a laundry list of things to be addressed that has taken precedence over crafting such a story. So honesty wins, and in the impostor article’s place I’ve opted for a list of some the great small businesses illustrated in this painting of Louisville’s Douglass Loop.

This area of town has done a commendable job of preserving its “mom & pop” heritage and keeping all signs of corporate big-wigs, like Walmart, at bay. These days, pocket spots like Douglass Loop are needles in a haystack (I blame my recent trip to Houston for this pessimistic outlook on the boom of strip malls and an insatiable use of concrete).

Although, this certainly doesn’t include them all, here’s a short list of shops (beware dieters):

• Heine Brothers – Fair Trade, organic coffee, or maybe just as well known as the place to hang out and be seen. They also display local artists’ work for a very low commission fee (but don’t get too excited unless you’re willing to sit on their waiting list for well over a year).
• Desserts by Helen – I start to drool within seconds of visiting the bakery’s delicious website.
• Twig and Leaf diner – I remember it as the one restaurant that was open in the wee hours of the night as a teenager. And who doesn’t want waffles and eggs at 2am?
• All For One – “This is a very good, funky, but clean secondhand store run as a charity on behalf of HIV hospices here in town.” – thanks to Jim at yelp.com.
• Graeter’s ice cream – “The French Pot method swirls our secret recipe of egg custard and fresh cream…whips air out of our ice cream…which accounts for an extremely dense pint of that weighs nearly a full pound!” It puts Baskin Robins to shame (and your hips).

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8″ x 10” oil on canvas, $220
SOLD
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This piece, like yesterday’s painting, is another Manhattan shot. I’m very pleased with the amount of photos from the trip earlier this month that I’ve been able to put on canvas.
I have several commissions going right now, but I’m anxious to have a clean plate (hopefully by the end of the week) so that I can execute work for the next topic. So far, most of the paintings I’ve posted have lacked narratives of grand importance. I’m incredibly excited about getting this rock rolling! See my “about” page for a new description of my mission.

New ideas, sketches and paintings are on the way…

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8″ x 10″ oil on canvas, $220

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There is a companion painting to this I will be working on tomorrow…

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11″ x 14″ oil on masonite
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I spent a short 2 days in New York City this past weekend and collected some terrific urban street scene shots. Although, much to my surprise, it was more challenging to find images that fit into my new social activism theme. I suppose Soho is not the place to find impoverished people mingling among the wealthy shoppers. Of course the streets were infinitely full of eye candy for a painter, and I do plan to have 3 or 4 more pieces from this trip. This first image took priority as I did like the juxtaposition of the street vendors each resting under a pricey cocktail dress. I wonder how close the price tag on one of those dresses is to all of their merchandise put together. Personally, I prefer to buy the $5 scarf from one of these gentlemen, and save the glitzy store for a restroom break.

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20″ x 48″ oil on canvas
SOLD
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My four weeks in Brisbane are quickly coming to a close. I have been fairly productive in intermittently painting in between catering to the kids’ needs. Actually, art and childcare have merged several times and the children have created some beautiful artworks themselves. As for my work, the first painting from this trip was a street scene of Paddington, a charming neighborhood in West Brisbane. Sights to be seen are an eclectic mix of clothing and book stores, cafes, antique malls and stunning view of the city from atop a San Francisco-esque hilltop.

16″ x 20″ oil on masonite
SOLD

My second painting was commissioned by a friend of mine who is property developer. This house is his latest project. The original portion of the house was lifted up on supports and another floor was added below it. It’s in unique neighborhood in that you might see an occasional racehorse and rider trot by passing to and from the nearby racetrack.

My third piece is in the works and will most likely make its debut when I’m back home. Until then I will be soaking up the pilly lillies, aussie hospitality, and outstanding Laska soup!

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