April 2010

Client Profile: Jessica Burke

There's something about Jessica Burke's work that just makes you smile. She has the uncanny ability to capture the spirit of her subjects on canvas; it's pretty amazing.

Jessica's paintings are so expressive because she often gets a chance to spend time with her portrait sitters in an initial photo session. She shared this story with me about one of her favorite portraits :  "Olivia's mom had dressed her carefully for the portrait, but it was the little girl's dad who brought her to the studio. She had fallen and scraped her knee on her way, and had insisted on wearing a band-aid. When her mom saw the initial sketches of the portrait, she was exasperated with her husband about the bandaged knee at first, but then realized that the portrait had captured the contradictions of her four-year old daughter's vibrant personality so perfectly that the band-aid needed to stay.  It turned out to be one of my favorite portraits."

Jessica is a portrait artist working out of the Pacific Northwest. Her work has been shown throughout the US and internationally in Italy, Holland, and most recently in London.  You can see her work in the upcoming exhibition Vintage Vices at Artspace in Richmond, Virginia this fall. 

See samples of Jessica's portraits here.

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Special Offer: 15% off your custom Facebook Fan Page

So just about everyone's got a Facebook Fan Page these days (even Peppermint Patty from the Peanuts Gang has her own fan page), and if you're like most people, you've probably added a couple of photos, pasted in your website url,and left it at that.  If so, it's time for an update! 

Facebook offers many ways to customize your fan page that can really set you apart from the pack and let you highlight areas of your business that your Facebook fans might otherwise not know about. For instance, using FBML (Facebook's version of HTML) you can create static pages that resemble those on your website, complete with image or product galleries (see the new RLH Creative fan page for an example).

Refer to coupon code FB0410 to receive 15% off your custom Facebook Fan Page (regularly starting at $299). Hurry, offer ends May 15, 2010.

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Mystery lovers take note...

If you're like me,  there's nothing better than curling up with a new book, especially on a rainy Sunday afternoon (which occurs often here in the Pacific Northwest).  For me, nothing beats a good mystery. 

Lately, I've been drawn to books set in the South, and Sara Rosett's mystery series is one of my favorite new discoveries (and clients, for full disclosure).  Set in the Pacific Northwest and the South, the Ellie Avery series is smart, engaging, and just plain fun to read.  The latest in the series, Mint Juleps, Mayhem, and Murder is out in hardcover this month.  

From the book jacket: "For military wife and professional organizer Ellie Avery, the hardest thing about hosting her husband Mitch’s rambunctious Southern family reunion is remembering everyone’s name. But this summer, her backyard bash is shadowed by menace after a killer shows up without an invitation…"

I can't wait for the next rainy weekend to dive in to my copy; I know I won't have to wait long.   If you enjoy a well-crafted, cozy mystery, it's recommended reading. 

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