The Homeless Finch Makes It's First Rescue

Another Upcycle, but of a different nature

A little over six months ago, we were on our way out of town to see my adult kids in Los Angeles.  As we got to the edge of town, this little sweetheart of a vintage truck came rambling by in the opposite direction. Almost giving myself whiplash, I swung my head around just in time to see a 'For Sale' staring at me from the back window.  Conflict ensues.... Do I keep on the path to be on time to see F.G. and Mimi? Or do I turn it around and chase this rusty crusty red pick up down and inquire.  Well, my kids would have to wait and I hoped they'd still love me.

The chase!

I've been accused of being impetuous. I'm okay with the moniker because I have found that whenever I go with my gut and run in the directions of my crazy ideas, it usually works out very well...most of the time. (wink)  This was no different in my mind.  We chased old rusty down driving all around Ojai trying to safely catch up and take a closer look.  Within an hour, I had negotiated a deal, gone to the bank and snagged her for my own and took off to meet up with my kids! They forgave me the moment they saw the pics!

 Over the last half year, we have spent a few dollars getting a few things fixed on her, but have come to the decision to take her renovation to the next level.  There is a guy here in Ojai, C.J., who can help us upcycle this truck into a very usable vehicle and we have decided to send her off for surgery.  Currently, we are searching for a 'donor vehicle.' It's kinda like a donor organ, only more involved like putting a new body on a beautiful face. Sounds gross... Let me re-state this.  We are searching for a discarded/totaled old Chevy Suburban type vehicle in order to harvest it's engine for our little red gem.  Once we locate it, C.J. will begin the renovation. 

Once the transplant has taken place, we will be commissioning her to represent The Homeless Finch as our mascot truck. We are both super excited about this endeavor and I will update you on our progress. 

This past weekend, The Homeless Finch made it's first acquisitions for the new shop.  Today, I will start to sort through the finds, design and plan for their upcycle and jump right back into making this dream happen.  Onward....

The Start of Something New for The Homeless Finch

"All life is a journey; which paths we take, what we look back on, and what we look forward to is up to us. We determine our destination, what kind of road we will take to get there, and how happy we are when we get there." - A Little Book of Happiness

I started this blog in 2011 with the idea that I would be able to share my ideas and give inspiration and instruction to whomever might be interested in the same things that I was...art, upcycling, re-newing that which is vintage, exploring flea markets, gardening and surrounding myself with the things that I love and in which I found value towards making a life well worth living.

After many years and several life changing events, which took me away from blogging, I now live in beautiful Southern California; a dream of mine since I was a teen. I bought a circa 1928 Spanish Style bungalow in the Ojai Valley and am hard at work renovating, decorating, redesigning and loving my new creative and peaceful life here. I've met a wonderful best friend and partner, Eric.  You will be meeting him soon too since he will play a major role in the future of The Homeless Finch.

For those newer people in my life, I haven't addressed 'why The Homeless Finch?'  I am a serial upcycler and re-purpose-aholic, vintage maven, fixer upper. I have the compulsive need to rescue all that is homeless. The funny little lost and discarded treasures I find bringing them into my life to make new again... or to which I give new purpose.

Today, we opened an account and filed for an official limited liability corporation in the State of California, The Homeless Finch LLC.  The goal is to open a small retail space (brick and mortar and online) sometime within 2018, but we have a ton of work ahead of us to plan, build an inventory and scout out an appropriate location here in Ojai. We are also in the middle of rescuing this wonderful 1956 Dodge pick up to use as our company vehicle!

The Company Vehicle!

I am excited, after a ton of research and heartfelt exploring of myself, to embark on this great new adventure along with such a wonderfully talented artistic partner. We plan to merge our art, my passion for upcycling, gardening and the work of other Ojai Valley artists and artisans into a jumbled mix of whimsical, useful and fascinating arts, gifts and furniture. 

Nothing should be homeless. Everything is renewable.  At almost 54, I am going to renew myself too...again. Join me on the journey...

Simple Little Work of Art for Someone Who Means the World to Me

My week has been a little trying and I haven't had a ton of time in the studio. I also haven't had the time I would want to read some of my favorite blogs. So if you haven't heard from me, I apologize. Life gets in the way sometimes. Regardless, I wanted to post a mini-project that I did last week.  It was fun, quick and a delightful gift to give to my bestie.

I took this pic...well, I actually stole this pic off of my friend's Facebook page. He posted it a few weeks ago with a caption that read:  Happy Dog.  This is my best friend's Maltese, Missy chilling out at their beach house in Florida.  The overall feel and soft tones in the photo made me want to use it.

I popped it into Picasa and played around with some of the settings and then reduced the photo into a pencil sketch.

After printing the pencil sketch version out on a piece of 8 1/2 X 12 watercolor paper, I washed the different areas of the images with gouache.

As I worked with the medium, I made subtle changes to the image, changing the lines and direction in the foreground, creating a little more drama in the atmosphere and intensifying the depth of the ocean color.  This was a fun, relaxing project and I had a blast delivering it to him at his new art gallery that is under construction as this time.

It's fun to create something for someone you love.  There is a certain nervousness that is involved in such an endeavor, even with something as simple at this little piece of art.  In the end, I think he loved it. After all, it has his sweet Missy in the image.  Who wouldn't like something like that?!  

***

Linking this to 

Paint Party Friday