2nd line parasols

 I had a customer the other day that requested a parasol for her. She's part of a Jazz club and she wanted a second line parasol. After some research, and giving her some options, we settled on this design. The gold at the bottom are in reference of the iron work found in so many locations in New Orleans. The balconies and gates and fences. Then we alternated masks with the flur d leis. The colors were traditional Mardi Gras colors of gold, green and purple. Although the parasol looks blueish in the photo, it was really purple. I ended up doing two, one for her and one for her friend.
  In looking at some of the 2nd line parasols out there, well, thy are REALLY out there! Feathers, beads, ribbons and sometimes 3-D items on them. I left her plenty of room to add any of that she wishes, either along the bottom or along the spines separating each panel. I hope she has great fun with her 2nd line parasol.

Names- a brief overview

  One of the most interesting things about the job of parasol painting comes when it's time to put the names on them. This is the last thing we do, and the hardest part of the job for me. 

 

 I am left- handed (which will need it's own entry someday) and I put the umbrella at my angle to write and just write it in cursive, with a very few embellishments.

 

  Names fall into a few categories.

1. traditional family names

2. traditional names with a twist

3. names that make me think their parents are old flower children

4. names I can't pronounce.

5. trendy names.

 

There are names in each category that make me want to say, "poor kid".

some examples in each category:

 

1. Eleanor, Emily, Lily,Corra,

Evelyn, Rebecca, Elizabeth and Emma

 

2. Emilee, Emaleigh, Emilea,Lilly, Lilie,Ashleigh, Mirandah , Jorja , Abegaylle

and anything with Lynn added to it.

 

3. Eden, Karma, Serenity, Midnight, Genesis, Electra, Journey, Lorelei, Verity,

Stormie, Destiney, Fantasy, Cougar, Sparrow  and Hendrix.

 

4. Haarika, Kajah, Evhya,Cabela, Arya, XoXo, and  Xochitl (I mean, really, how do you say that?)

 

5. Nevaeh ( heaven backwards) , Kennedy, place names like Jersey, Georgia, Cheyenne, Dakota, Ella (and none of them have seen the movie?) , and to my ever-loving shame, Delaney is  making a strong showing in the trendy name category. My only defense is... my husband picked it 18 years ago. She's ahead of the trend.

 

 

Fun for everyone

 

One of our customers posted this picture. Isn't it adorable?

Their young daughter bought this mini parasol with the angels on it and then, when they got their new kitten, she did this.

Special requests

  Occasionally,  I get to do some special requests and, along the way, I get to hear some interesting stories.
  So, the other day, a little girl loved my puppy parasol and so her family bought it.

 

Then her brother wanted one too - of HIS dog. It had to be just like his dog too. So, Dad found a picture of him on his phone and I proceeded to sketch out the dog on paper. The little boy was quite involved in the process and didn't hesitate to correct my drawing until it was acceptable.

While I was drawing, I got to hear about how they got the little girl's dog. Apparently, it was a recent acquisition, I mean they just got it on this vacation trip. Where did they get it? Well, they "found" it on the side of the road in Arkansas and decided to take it because it was dirty and had a lot of fleas.  In fact, they stopped at a gas station and washed it before they travelled very far in their car with it.

 I don't know about you, but at this point, I'm listening in horror that they just took someone's dog. Dogs in the country are still allowed to roam, rarely have collars and, as such, rarely are flea-free. Most people from more urban settings are so used to all the rules and restrictions (as well as health issues) for proper dog ownership in a people populated location, that they can't imagine a dog being able to just have daily adventures at will and come home for supper.

  I hope there's not a little girl in Arkansas that is missing her dog.