Helen was Growing Tired of David's Incessant Chatter

Ramon and Constance Have a Moment

I've been watching a lot of old Hollywood films this week which have been a real inspiration for a few new paintings.

Les Parapluies de Portland

I had so much fun painting this last night. It's okay to be silly!

Millicent & Frederick Have too Many Cats

new painting listed on etsy today at www.vivstrauss.etsy.com

a good morning

I love waking up and seeing myself on other people's blogs!! http://sheswordy.blogspot.com/2008/05/covet.html and http://sherylguild.com/2008/04/29/dancer-dreams-unrealized/

finally finished!

This painting was a real struggle but I like it! It is in my new etsy shop at www.vivstrauss.etsy.com and is titled George & Martha's First Trip Abroad with Max and Trixi.

a couple of small poodle paintings

Francis and Pierre

Bertrand & Deirdre Laurant Jitterbugging

latest painting

my latest painting which I completed today

I'm calling it Mr. and Mrs. Basel Davenport at Home, done on illustration board with gouache.

4 new collages I did today...

I was totally blocked yesterday when I tried to work, finally gave up and took a shower. While washing my hair, I envisioned these these 4 odd collages.

new Camera Girls collages

I just listed these 3 new collages today, so far there are 3 in this series...

dolls found at flea markets

found the baby doll today in North Portland and the Not Ken but Brad doll in Alabama

a few cute pictures of our cat, LIttle Irving

what I'm reading right now...

I know I've read this book at least twice before, but sometimes you just want to read something that you KNOW is good. I emailed the author, Arthur Nersesian back in 2004 and got a great reply from him. If you want to laugh, read dogrun. Nersesian's other work, The Fuck Up, Manhattan Loverboy and Unlubricated are all great! Oh, yeah, so is Chinese Takeout.

collage series on suburban life, here are the latest

The suburbs are a strange and dangerous place. Everything always appears to be normal. The people who live there are trying too hard to cover up their weirdness. See if you can find the darker side of these collages, if not, just enjoy them!

Betty is Featured on a blog!

I woke up this morning and though Betty is still in pieces, she was featured on a blog! You can see her again at Our Great Green Globe at http://www.ourgreatgreenglobe.com/2008/05/06/vivienne-strauss/

Betty Woke Up One Morning and Found Herself in Pieces

New collage I made today. See what happens when you watch too much "Dexter"

Dexter Season One finished!

Between the last 2 sleepless nights and most of today while I worked on an embroidery project, I watched the first season of Dexter. Luckily I haven't noticed any weight gain yet but will start Season 2 tomorrow. By the way, I did lose the 6 pounds gained during my Six Feet Under binge (if I remember correctly, it took about 2 weeks to take it back off.

Six Feet Under

Last spring I watched all 5 seasons of Six Feet Under in 9 days. When I wasn't at work or asleep, I was watching this show. I think I even went 3 days without washing dishes and gained 6 pounds. I was so mesmerized by the characters on the show that when I was at work, my mind was not there, I was wondering what would happen next to Nate, David, Ruth and everyone else. In fact when a co-worker was telling me that someone was home sick (another co-worker), the name didn't process in my mind, I was wondering if this was a new character on the show...

Now this spring it seems to be Dexter....

cute poodles

part of my collection

sweet new watercolor

Veronica Loves Accessories