Miss Amy Keller

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With her porcelain skin and manicured lip, Miss Amy Keller is such a lady to me. One of my favorite secrets about Amy is that she doesn’t have Internet service at her apartment, opting to actually disconnect from work and the world when she goes home at night, choosing instead to read books of poetry. How lovely is that?!

When prepping for this shoot, I began by referencing paintings from the Edwardian era with its nods to society, social standings, fashion and luxury, taking inspiration from works like Giovanni Boldini’s “Portrait of Princess Marthe Bibesco” and John Singer Sargent’s “Lady Agnew of Lochnaw“. Amy reminds me of King Edward VII, a leader of the fashionable elite and style-setter across Europe – as director of digital strategy at Linda Gaunt Communications in fashion public relations, she has her hand in creating the image and vibes of fashion brands like Hunter, LL BEAN, Trina Turk, Talbot Runhof, & Stila Cosmetics. She’s often emailing with ManRepeller or Into the Gloss, pitching story ideas or helping them with product information. Amy has dressed me for unforgettable events and took us up to Maine to learn about the iconic American brand L.L. Bean Signature. Aside from fashion and beauty, she even influences language trends – I learn all of my “fashion girl lingo” from her… “Totes”, “That’s my jam”, “Break it down”, and “Obvi” to name a few.

So here is my portrait of a lady, floating on a painter’s canvas, poised and beautiful, lovely as ever, just the way I imagine her in those Madison Avenue power meetings.

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Perfect day in New York?
Open the curtains, matcha, run through Prospect Park, head to my City + walk North, bump into friends I love, take pictures of things I’ll post nowhere and window shop everything!

Favorite trait of New Yorkers?
Resilience.

Favorite NYC secret?
Does this city still have secrets?

*above Amy wears Lela Rose // below in Talbot Runhof*

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Fashion is…
Costumes.

Women are…
beautiful works of art.

Favorite poem?
“He who binds to himself a joy
Does the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity’s sun rise.”
– William Blake

Continue reading “Miss Amy Keller”

Kingston Wine Co.

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Some years ago, I made friends with a couple of charming New Yorkers – Mike Drapkin and Theresa Berenato – who have started a new chapter in their life since getting married: Kingston Wine Co, a charming wine store in upstate New York, just on the other side of the Hudson River from Rhinebeck. I am dying to get up to the shop and see what these two amazing souls have created but in the meantime while we entertain our busy lives, we are enjoying Kingston Wine Co.’s wine share program. This amazing package of wine that gets delivered by mail to you, curated by Mike himself (which, if you know Mike, you know he lived on a farm in southern France and worked as sommelier for a decade in places like Balthazar and Vestry Wines in Tribeca, so you KNOW it’s going to be good). Included in the package is the history of the wine, its grower’s story and a recipe suggestion by Mike and Theresa to enhance the experience of the wine. We love it. So cheers to you, friends, and thank you for the little package of love that arrives each month…I HIGHLY recommend it.

PS- Remember when I photographed Theresa in gowns? or when Mike made recipes for the blog?

photographic recreation of Jean-Siméon Chardin’s still life “Still Life with Bottle, Glass, and Loaf

 

 

With His Hands

I am mesmerized with people who can create beautiful art with their hands, so it’s no wonder artist Andy Espinoza and I would become friends. When we go back home we always pay him a visit and talk for hours about art, working in the creative field, and our passion for vision. There is such a softness to his work; the same way I feel when I watch a ballet. When I look at his pieces I hear the sounds of an old music box playing and I’m transported to this quiet world of feminine beauty that only he can create. Last time we were at his studio I snapped a few photographs while we talked, and our dream is to one day collaborate on a project – hybrid photo painting?… someday.

P.S. – he is also one of my FAVORITE Instagram follows.

While I was there, Andy took my portrait for an illustration, which was such an honor and will live forever on my wall.