happy birthday....

happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday dear me, happy birthday to me! hip-hip hooray! hip-hip hooray!

i am having a fantastic day - woken up by my gorgeous boy to the sounds of happy birthday, three amazing presents - gorgeous new coloured pencils, a big canvas to inspire my painting and the new sarah blasko album - then driven to work and breakfast in smith street! what a great birthday!

wednesday....

today has been a very good day - i had birthday cake at work! and it was a delicious lemon tart! so wicked! this is a sketch that i did a couple of weeks ago based on a wallpaper from the 1800's i think - i can't find the original picture anywhere. but, the original was very flowery with a lot of embellishments. i have scaled this back in my own version and made it much simpler. my drawing was in an orange pencil but then i started fiddling with it in photoshop and i really liked this purple version instead!! i think that this would make a fabulous fabric or even a wrapping paper! i could see it in lovely bold colours, or even muted earthy tones.....the possibilities are endless....

tuesday....

i am sticking to my goal of one drawing per day! i had done some sketches of owls weeks ago and my gorgeous friend called me up and ask me to come over and spend the day crafting with her. this is the outcome - a kooky little owl all of my own! i have created him out of all recycled materials which is an added bonus!

it is my birthday on thursday and i got an early birthday present last night from my boy's aunt and uncle - a divine book called the art of ornament and it is a historical timeline of trimmings and patterns from around the world - ancient greece, persia, india, china and the list goes on. i am so excited!

monday mornings....

a monday morning is the perfect time for some beautiful patterns! these ones are created by an artist called sandra isacsson and i just love them! i spoke with rmit university last week about the studio textile and design diploma and it is being offered part time in 2007 and the classes are in the evening! i am so excited about that! i have to prepare the application form this week and post it off and then i will have to attend an information session where the tutors will check out my folios from this year. i can't wait!! i am torn though between starting in february or waiting until june and then the wedding and honeymoon are behind me and i will have nothing major on my plate.....decisions, decisions, decisions! i can't believe that i am going to go back to school - again!

my goal for this week is to post one of my own drawings each night. i am hoping that by giving myself a goal it will help me to actually complete some of my own work. even though i love looking at what other artists are creating i want to imporve my own creations!

wish me luck....

linn olofsdotter....

linn olofsdotter is a swedish artist. she has worked in europe, the us and brazil. she now works independently creating artwork for fashion, advertising and editorial fields. these are some of her illustrations that she created for an advertising catalogue for a brand called flor.

canadian textile design....

virginia johnson is an interesting canadian textile designer. she creates her designs with watercolours on paper before transferring to fabrics. her inspiration comes from her travels - both at home in toronto and abroad in places like new zealand, india, mexico and france, with nature providing the imagery - rain-drops, pebbles, birds, water, trees, flowers and animals.

let there be music....

what an amazing night - the u2 concert was so great that i can't even think of an adjective good enough to describe it! the visual aspects of the show were huge - there was a massive wall of lights from the floor to the top of the stadium and they were able to project live video footage on it as well as other footage and lighting sequences. it was amazing.

and bono......

i am finding it difficult to concentrate this morning because i am still on the arena feeling the music pulsate in my chest. by far the best concert i have ever been too....a big call but, 'wow'!!!

hiromi kishi....

some gorgeous illustrations by japanese illustrator hiromi kishi to round off the weekend (well there is still the U2 concert tonight!)....

a wee vent....

i have had suych sporadic posting over the last couple of weeks and i had put it down to the fact that there was so much going on with the new job, an international student moving into our home and spring racing - now all of that has settled down i had hoped that i would be able to settle into a more calm period. but it seems that the gods are against me and now things are going through some serious change at work. it does appear that all of the pieces of your life can not be calm and peaceful at the same time! A good friend just emailed me with a great saying actually - remember, that without change there would be no butterflies - and i think that this is a great little mantra perhaps to get me through the next couple of weeks.

Phew! Well after my little vent I do have some gorgeous pictures to i nclude today!

All of these images are by an artist named Heather Moore - I can't find the web site anywhere - but when I do I will post it here and you have to check it out - some great pieces!

australian art....

the day has come and gone and i have this feeling of not having done a lot again. it was just so cold today that my lunchtime walk only lasted about 15 minuites! and then i got home, cooked dinner, tidied up and then it was already 9pm. i wish that i could squeeze more into each day. there is always tomorrow though and i already have plans for what i want to do!

i have done some more work on my wedding invites and slowly but surely it is starting to come together. my first attempt was "unconnected" to the wedding so i have been sent back to the drawing board by my gorgeous friend! i can already see a big improvement though, and i am only drafting the idea so i can't wait to see the finished sketch.

while i was in adelaide i visted the gallery and i purchased a couple of postcards from the shop. unfortunately there wasn't anything available from the gorgeous tiwi art exhibition but these are four pieces that i really enjoyed viewing while i was there. they are all a little different....

l: billy yalwanga, australia; yams, 1986 r: clifford possum tjapaltjarri, australia; honey ant ceremony (detail), 1972

i love the patterns in indigenous art and the way that they used to represent different aspects of nature. some of the work that i saw in the gallery while in adelaide were amazing - painted directly onto bark, board, tree stumps, metal - with the most gorgeous textures. there is more to australian indigenous art then just dot paintings and i got to see some of this amazing art! i want to see more now!

fred williams, australia; you yangs pond, 1963

fred williams is one of my favourite australian artists. i love the way that he portrays the australian landscape with such beautiful colours, textures and perspectives.

dusan marek, australia; equator, 1948

dusan marek is an artist that i had not heard of before visiting adelaide and although this is a rather unusual piece i couldn't resist including it here. the artist apparently painted it on the ship he travelled to australia on and when the got here they took this part of the wall down so he could keep it! it is double sided - painting on one side and a mirror or something on the other (only one side was on display). i love the way the everyday objects have been distorted so you have to look twice at it! unusual, but beautiful!

mornings in melbourne....

i may have jinxed myself! after telling you all that the weather was improving in melbourne i have woken up to a miserable old day. the sky is full of dark clouds and it is cold. definitely not a day for drawing in the park. i think that i may (heaven forbid) eat my lunch at my desk this afternoon and check out some of my favourite blogs....i think that could be a good way to spend an hour! plus kashy made me a beautiful turkish bread pocket for lunch today filled with ham, tomatoe, cheese, carrot and cucumber. it is already calling me and it is only 10am!! i better get back to work....

at last....

this is my second attempt this evening to post....i officially hate my pc! i am going to write a letter to santa claus tonight and ask for an imac for chirsitmas....fingers crossed! i have been flat out over the last couple of weeks with the new job. i wrote a couple of weeks back that i went to sydney and i have just been to adelaide as well. i had an opportunity to visit the art gallery in adelaide too which was great. there was a rodin and a tiwi island art exhibits on and they were both fantastic. i loved the repetitive patterns in the tiwi art and the subtle colours. there was one amazing etching of two penguins that i just can't get out of my head!

i am finally posting the pics of my new book - swatches - here they are...

these are a couple of the patterns in the book that i caught my attention. some of them are divine and others a a bit boring really. but there are enough goodies in this one to keep the inspiration rolling for a while!

with the weather improving now i have been taking my notebook and heading down to the fitzroy gardens on my lunch breaks and doing quite a bit of drawing and doodling. it is such a nice way to spend lunch - laying in the sunshine and drawing whats around you. i am working on a couple of patterns at the moment and i hope that some will be ready for posting soon.