Starbucks custom commission
225 4th Ave. & Union-Brooklyn NY, 11215
"Gowanus - BK"
4ft x 4.6ft, Watercolor & Ink on Paper, 2018
Custom 4x4’ Starbucks Gowanus Map /
abbie zuidema
Potters in Protest - March 11th, 2019 /
A Charity Event by Helen Levi and Vinegar Hill House.
Monday, March 11th, VHH will be hosting a charity event dinner-Potters in Protest. This sumi ink painting was created especially for this occasion. I am happy to donate my work to a great cause! Seatings are available from 6pm to 9pm. You can buy tickets HERE.
“As people who give a shit, we are coming together in an effort to support organizations who stand for human rights. We will be gathering for a humble meal of beans and homemade bread by Rick Easton to eat out of your chosen ceramic bowl, graciously donated from ceramicists around the country. Wine will be provided by Wenzlau Vineyards.
Proceeds will be donated to the organizations UnLocal and Showing Up For Racial Justice”
23K Gold Leaf for Walter Foods, Williamsburg BK /
Check out this rad time-lapse video of yours truly captured by longtime (7+years) Walter Foods regular Kirk Balden. A tremendous thank you to him for literally spending hours filming this. He time-lapsed my process of hand lettering & water gilding 23k gold at the Williamsburg BK restaurant, Walter Foods. The Mercow looks fabulous!
VHH Foods Dumbo Brooklyn /
VHH Foods & Vinegar Hill House
Red ribbons & logo watercolors for Vinegar Hill House. Happy Holidays!
December is upon us and VHH commissioned me to create custom work to ring in the season!
VHH Foods is an all day cafe in DUMBO with yummy takeaway. They make delicious food that I always want to eat by Jean Adamson. Paired with an incredible view of the Manhattan skyline, waterviews & Jane's Carousel, it's an adventure worth having.
Quality food without the formality of fine dining.
Artist portrait~Randy Ryandi /
Photographer Randy Ryandi recently shot my portrait for his artists series. Using a Hasselblad & real black and white film, he graced my Bed-stuy studio with his presence. He's a delight. Thank you Randy, it was a pleasure.
See more of his work on his website http://randyryandi.com/. He's not on Instagram - its too mainstream ;)
Mango! Mango! Mango! /
Ode to a family recipe~
Champagne Mangoes are my favorite. It was a delight to paint & collage these golden fruits. This family recipe was handed down from mother to daughter. Vivid colors of India enliven ingredients to compose this mouthwatering accompaniment. This is why I love what I do!
Wowzer! I'm in Manrepeller! /
Celebrating 20+ years of waitressing! The time flew... I'm featured as one of the 5 servers in Man Repeller. Telling tales from my times at Aquagrill, Diner, Il Buco, Vinegar Hill House & currently Cherry Point. Pretty wild to reflect on all those years.
Thanks to Haley Nahman for bringing all the stories together & Man Repeller for the opportunity to tell my tales. Big thanks to photographer Patrice Helmar for capturing me at Cherry Point.
Huzzah! A Cherry Point Restaurant Recipe Collaboration~ /
Illustration by: Abbie Zuidema
Hey all!
Just submitted this recipe to :They Draw & Cook
Super nice people and a very cool thing to be involved with.
Nate Padavick and Salli S. Swindell are a brother/sister design and illustration team known as Studio SSS. They have created hundreds of magazine and book illustrations, thousands of greeting card designs, and, of course, many super tasty illustrated recipes!
Here is the illustrated recipe and the description. THIS is what I want to do. I love food so.
Honey Crisp Apple & Dunbarton Blue Salad
Recipe by: Julian Calcott & Ed Szymanski
This recipe was inspired by Cherry Point Restaurant, a bright star in Brooklyn newcomer eateries. Dreamed up by Julian Calcott & Ed Szymanski of Cherry Point, this salad is deceivingly “simple”. It was a delight to illustrate all the elements of taste that make up this lips smacking dish.
TDAC make books with many of the submitted illustrations, which informs the layout of the recipe. Imagine a gutter in the middle of the page for a book. My map of Montauk was in their book last year of maps, so I know the routine. You can buy it on Amazon HERE.
I am excited to make more recipe illustrations with favorite chefs! More to come . . .
THIS Thursday, July 28th! Picture Farm Gallery Benefit for the South African! /
"South African" 2016, 11x15" watercolor on Fabriano
Friends & Family,
Mark Beukes, aka the South African, was diagnosed with MDS, Myelodysplastic Syndromes, and will need a Bone Marrow Transplant. Yes, this is very serious; but it can be cured with a successful bone marrow transplant and a lot of will power. A bone marrow transplant is expensive and has a long recovery period (usually a full year) which is why a fund has been created to raise money and support to help cover some of his medical treatment and living expenses. Click to learn more & contribute to the fund.
THIS Thursday, July 28th, Picture Farm Gallery will be hosting an art auction to benefit Mark Beukes. There will be an amazing array of art on offer, over 30 local and international artists. Preview & bid on art before Thursday.
My contribution was a custom map of South Africa, which is where Mark is from, also why we call him the “South African”. I teamed up with Mark Firth to come up with some significant spots and memories. They hung out in the Northern suburbs in Sandton and Rosebank, near Johannesburg, but made regular forays into Hillbrow for the night clubs. Mark and Mark would meet at 2 am at the Hard Rock Cafe after their shifts. South African, as we all call him, attended Wits University, or University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Those years were spent working, smoking pot, and drinking Castle Lager to the album, Cold Fact, by Rodriguez. One can only imagine the kind of mischief those two must have gotten into back in the day! Ihope that this map celebrates that moment in time, and the South African, before we even met him. To this day I can’t hear Rodriguez, and not be magically transported back to my Diner days in 2001, and the South African leaning on the bar.
Lovebirds-Happy May! /
I love this painting.
Extreme Kids & Crew Gala Commission /
Donate to dance!
When you give to Extreme Kids & Crew you get invited to the Felix Award Gala! Extreme Kids & Crew is a welcoming community center where children with disABILITIES, their friends, and their families, socialize, create and play. Together families share resources, stories, tears, and laughter while children play and take part in inclusive arts programming that is open to all members of the family.
http://www.extremekidsandcrew.org/
May 19th ~ Give to the campaign & GO to the Gala!
Extreme Kids and & Crew enlisted me to design and paint the invitation & banner for the Felix Award Gala. It was a pleasure to collaborate with them. I can't wait for the Gala!!
AZ
They Draw and Travel-100 maps & a brand new book! /
"In 2011, the brother-and-sister design duo of Nate Padavick and Salli Swindell founded the website They Draw & Travel (www.theydrawandtravel.com). Today, it is the internet’s largest collection of illustrated maps created by artists from around the world.
This book contains 100 illustrated maps of places in the United States that were drawn by the fine artists, professional illustrators and amateur doodlers who make up the very creative community on They Draw & Travel. The illustrated maps in this book provide inspiration on many levels.
From a purely artistic standpoint, the variety of illustration styles is amazing. From the cool linework of James Gulliver Hancock and the painterly style of Abbie Zuidema to the sharp graphics of Nate Padavick and the cuteness of Aunyarat Watanabe, the illustrations in this book are a great reference for exceptional style and talent.
As a travelogue, these maps provide a fresh way to look at and learn about a particular place: through the eyes of an artist. Do you know where to go for a really great bike ride in Vermont? Did you know there are 36 places to eat cashew chicken in the town of Springfield, Missouri? Or, how about all the great things to do with kids in Los Angeles? This book takes armchair travel to a whole new artistic level!"
(thank you Nate Padavick, I couldn't have said it better myself!)
Get your copy on Amazon.com! Perfect for a holiday gift!
Westjet - a Canadian commission honoring a brother. /
My friend Joelle Hann asked me to paint a very special commission. It was a thank you map for Westjet Airlines. They flew her for 16 months unlimited from New York City to Canada. So that she could be with her brother and his family while he underwent chemo. It would also commemorate that special window of time they shared.
“Yesterday Bill, my brother, would have turned 40. This morning I landed in Vancouver to spend a week with his wife, and kids Sammie, 7, and Alex, 8.
This time I bring with me my "thank you" gift for WestJet, the company Bill flew for, who very generously--incredibly, really--flew me from New York to Victoria as often as I needed while Bill was sick. That's 16 months of flights. They never said no. In fact, they said there is no limit.
They are directly responsible for all the extra time I got with Bill. Because of them I got to know Bill again as an adult. I got to know his wife and kids. West Jet was key in bringing my brother and me together again before he passed. It is a gift I can't repay.
But, I offer this token: an original watercolor painting by the talented Brooklyn artist Abbie Zuidema. A map showing the flight routes I took for those 16 months, one of Bill's favorite quotes, a note of thanks, and the things we loved in both places: the Olympic mountains in the west, the Williamsburg bridge in the east. To WestJet, thank you. (And thank you, Abbie J. Zuidema for the love you put into this project.) I've brought the painting to show my family, and then it's going on to WestJet offices in Calgary.”
-Joelle Hann
This map chronicled a life journey. We all must face seemingly impossible challenges in our lives, and the passing of a loved one is something we all must experience. This map was a testament to the grace of leaning into the challenges that life gives us. It’s about survival and abundance, even in the darkest moments. As I was making this commission, I too was struggling with a loss I didn’t think I could bear. It was incredible to take part in documenting something so affirming. Thank you Joelle for asking me to be a part of this.
A.
Pop-up @Platform in Highland Park CA! /
California dreaming...
I will have work in L.A. by then end of the week! Woo hoo! Nautical Knots & Mehndi henna hearts are en route for a pop-up in Highland Park, CA at Platform!
Platform is “a multi-purpose concept space, offering an art gallery, retail environment and studio...specializing in home staging, home styling, workshops, pop-up shops & prop rentals, platforming everything we love, create and are inspired by!”
My old friend Samuel Moyer curated my work for this summers pop-up. Talented in his own right, he makes one-of-a-kind furniture by hand from sustainable materials, have a look for yourself ~ samuelmoyerfurniture.com
Vibrant watercolor mehndi henna prints have been specially printed & simply framed. New original works on paper have been inked & framed of nautical knots. Inkblot sailor knots are also available as unframed works on paper at Platform. I am so pleased to be able to take part in this pop-up.
If you are in L.A. most certainly stop in & take a look. Work is due to arrive this week.
Happy Summer!
Don't be a Pansy! Happy Mother's Day! /
For Mother's Day this year I made a series of Pansy ink blot paintings.
In France, the pansy is a flower that symbolizes remembrance, of loving memories. What better way to express just how much you love your momma than with an original floral watercolor.
Vibrant watercolor pansies exude the essence of spring. Limited edition of 10, on 300gm white satin Somerset paper, 5x7.5".
Each piece is unique, completed using blotted line technique. This process is composed of 4 stages. There is the original drawing, a trace of that drawing & then an ink transfer onto Somerset paper. Watercolor is then hand applied to each piece. It is labor of love.
All the pansies sold out, but I am happy to make a custom order upon request through my Etsy shop. You can also email me directly.
Off to Denali hi ho hi ho! /
Recently I was contacted on Etsy by Natalie who works for the Denali Education Center in Alaska! She wondered if I would be interested in participating in a 18th annual auction this summer.
Yes please!
How cool to send a map to Alaska of Alaska! (it really is the little things that make life good)
A little about the auction:
"The auction is a community event where over 450 people attend both from the Denali Borough of migratory workers, but also Alaskans from all over. We feature local artists and traveling artists who have been here and have works that were inspired by time here."
Today Alask is being mailed to Alaska~Bon voyage & thank you Natalie for the opportunity!
Edible Queens! "Thai from the sky" , my Little Thailand map, on the one last bite page! /
I am pleased to announce that my work is being featured on the "one last bite" page, in Edible Queens for the Fall Issue. My Little Thailand map of Elmhurst, Queens has found its way to grace their pages & I am thrilled. Yippee!
Brooklyn is the borough! /
Introducing, Brooklyn, the newest addition to the map series! I made two versions of this map. I can never decide which one I like best, so I always manage to make two. Brooklyn was a tough one. There are so many great things that make up this place that I live in-that we live in. It was impossible to list all them all. Instead, I focused on what makes Brooklyn, Brooklyn to me right now. I'm sure there are things that I overlooked, I might just have to make another rendition.....
Pick your favorite. I personally love Mr. Pickle, but that's just me. It could be the top hat.
Click on the thumbnail to see a larger version.
Spiffing up my portfolio /
My friend Jill Meerpohl made this amazing corn pudding for the 4th of July party at Vinegar Hill House. I had the pleasure of working with her at VHH. She makes delicious things! This is my version of the recipe.
Guest Blog on Imagethink! /
My good friend Heather Willems requested me to contribute to her blog, imagethink.net . She asked me to make a painting in reflecting on a current event. The Japanese map is in response to that. Heather is one of two women behind the company Image Think, "they transform ideas into powerful visuals." It’s due out later this week. I met her in Vermont a few years ago at my residency at the Vermont Studio Center. She rules.
