bits & pieces...over the past few months...

Ciao everyone! 

So...I must admit, it's been quite awhile since I last posted on this here blog. Spring was a bit of  a frenzy between getting the Spring Collection launched, trying out some new markets, finishing up the school year, Spring wedding MANIA, another year of I Madonnari AND getting prepped for our 2nd year of Bellissima Art Retreats in Italy! 

To say things were hectic is an understatement. 

But, now I'm back in the bubble and rested after some down time cruising through Italy with some friends and family at the end of our 2nd retreat. 

I've got some secret projects I'm currently working on (more on that as soon as I'm able to share) and new Holiday designs are in the works too! I'm slowly collecting photos from some recent weddings as well and hopefully I'll get my newest sketchbook Sesto photographed soon. Until then, here's a quick catch up on some highlights you might have missed (if you follow along on Instagram, you've already seen most of this!).

I spent my last few days in Italy this summer sketching across Rome! Hot and sweaty and oh so much fun! 

I also was able to make a quick trip somewhere new -- VERONA!

My last wedding right before I left. This guestbook was a floral beast!

My 2017 I Madonnari piece of Burano, Italy! I'll share more about this monster soon. 

Chalk by Chels has been staying VERY busy lately!

VERY busy! These are from another friend's wedding back in May. 

I tried out the Jackalope market in Pasadena this spring too, and brought the little sis-tern along to help! 

Mural paining with a local elementary school with Arts Outreach! 

This was a dream wedding -- GEODE SLICE PLACE CARDS!! 

Some logo work for a new tasting room in Los Olivos! 

I Madonnari 2016

OOFAH! I Madonnari this year was brutal! This was my fourth year doing it, and my first year sponsoring myself. I had all my gear lined up the day before, a friend to crash with in Santa Barbara all weekend, and my photo picked out and printed out. I thought I was prepared for what the weekend would hold. 

My lovely friend, Gina Gomez (I've raved about her work before), let me use her stunning photo of a sunflower field in Tuscany. I knew it was going to be an intense piece but I felt I was up for the challenge. 

Saturday came and I drove up to the Mission to get started! I picked an 8 foot by 8 foot square, the same size that I had last year when I drew the Duomo in Florence. It was a great location too, probably the best I've had all 4 years! 

Saturday went great, even though the sun came out. I was able to finish the sky, hills and start the sunflower before calling quits. 

It was all going so well...until Sunday morning when I woke up at 5:30 to the sound of raindrops...

Not a lot, but enough to make me nervous when I drove over at 8:15. Sure enough, the Mission actually got rained on. It washed away my grid, sketches and most of the work I had done Saturday. I was too wet to even try fixing anything. 

It was a pretty somber mood at the Mission. Artists just circling and surveying the damage of all the work. Luckily, Christi drove up shortly after and we went in search of brunch and mimosas while we waited for things to dry up. 

Once it was dry around 11, we had the arduous task of fixing the damage and getting some new work done. Sunday was rough, and unfortunately I didn't finish. So for the first time I actually had to work on Monday! Che palle! 

Monday was great though. A lot of friends and family stopped by to say hello, and I even had a little visit from that bee up above! Lots of little munchkins wandered by too, saying how much they loved sunflowers. I think a lot of people took photos of me with my square because of how well my hair matched the colors and sunflower craziness! 

I worked for almost 10 hours on Monday, and I finished it just in time for the sun to set and the light to be perfect. There were lots of ladders floating about so I was able to hop up one and snap and overhead shot of my beast. 

Guys...I LOVE this piece. I thought I loved the Duomo, but this beast blows that one out of the water. It might just be because I ended up spending over 25 hours working on it or because it was a photo by someone I really admire, but I really do love how this one turned out. 

I'm excited for next year already, especially since I plan to take a photo this summer while visiting the Cinque Terre to use for next year. The countdown has begun...

I Madonnari Chalk Festival

Over Memorial Day weekend, I participated in Santa Barbara Mission's annual festival, I Madonnari. It's a giant fundraiser to benefit the Children's Creative Project. Artists get sponsors for their giant squares in the parking lot of the Mission and have Saturday, Sunday and Monday to finish their piece! The sizes range from smaller than 6' square all the way up to 12'! 

The first time I did a square at I Madonnari was back in 2007 and again in 2008. But then in 2009, I studied abroad in Italy and nearly ever summer since I've been gone during Memorial Day weekend or missed the signup deadline! 

This year I was determined to actually make it into the festival, and also do a massively difficult giant piece. I decided to do an 8 ft by 8 ft square piece of my watercolor I did of the Duomo in Florence last year. A monster of a piece and a monster of a building! 

It was such a fun, long, messy and grueling weekend but I pulled it off! I was sharing the whole process on Instagram during the weekend and oddly enough the official Instagram account of the Duomo found my piece and liked it! A Duomo approved Duomo! 

Here's a peek at my I Madonnari weekend...

The most tedious part is getting the whole 8 foot beast grided and sketched out. I got to the Mission around 8:30 on Saturday morning and didn't finish this part until about 9:30. 

I think the part I'm most proud of is that dome! Ah! I still love it! It was pretty time consuming but so worth it to spend a little extra time to get the texture right on the tiles. 

The perspective was a bit of a doozy as well. SO MANY little green squares! I probably re-chalked this portion at least three times before starting to color it. 

The final piece! My sponsor, Tri County Court Reporters, sent over a photographer to get a nice overhead of the whole square which is really awesome to have. I'm much too short to take a photo like this on my own, even with the help of a step stool. 

This is probably my favorite photo of the whole weekend since it looks like I'm surfing on top of the Duomo. I went back on Monday for some last minute touch ups and my friend took this photo. 

Now the real problem is what piece to do next year!