Love

My lovely overseas pen-pal Mariell Oyre has recently created her own little magazine with the theme of love. aptly titled Love/<3, the magazine is a culmination of beautiful photography and art that encapsulates what it is to be smitten. I was asked to create two illustrations especially for the mag, and one made the cover, hooray!







(as always, you can click on each image to see it bigger.)
for more information you can visit the magazine section of Mariell's blog.
To purchase a copy, you can locate the paypal button on the main blog page.

In other news,
I am in love with Melbourne. I had decided within the first couple of hours that i want to live there forever.
More paintings to come throughout the week. 10 to be exact!
& just a reminder that the Disband art show opens tomorrow night at ambush gallery in sydney.

Lauren Bacall was here.

Melbourne Adventure and Upcoming Art shows

What a busy month may has turned out to be. I've been preparing for two different art shows and my very first ever trip to Melbourne. So, i'm beyond excited. I've never even been on an aeroplane before, so this is big!


First of all, The reason i'm travelling to Melbourne is to see this splendidly femme art show, Ladies First, at Brunswick street Gallery. My good friend Helani Laisk is also exhibiting beside me, as well as some of my favourite painterly girls, Courtney Brims, Jo Dyer and Monika Viktoria.
If you're a Melbourne local, i do suggest that you come along. Opening night begins at 6pm, on Friday the 21st of may. Do come and say hello to a shy girl in a strange city! I'm a bit of a weenie and i don't bite. :)
(p.s. can any Melbournians offer any touristy advice on the best places for breakfast or vintage shopping? I'm hoping to cram a weeks worth of sightseeing into just one weekend.)





And secondly, is another gorgeous show curated by Angela and Renee at Leeloo.com,
(who did a superb job of last years Once Upon exhibition). This time in Sydney, the show opens at Ambush Gallery on the 27th of may. The show will focus on break ups of many types, hence the title Disband, ( to commemorate the splitting of the Beatles). I'm working on some secret sirens, windblown tresses and captured faces. will hopefully be able to show some sneak peeks before the week is through.
Now, i'm off to paint. till i fall asleep. so much to do!

Tap Shoes Vintage

I'm giving my Pepperminte etsy shop a hibernation break. It's closing down in order to cocoon and hopefully re-emerge as a more beautiful butterfly. I shall be re-opening in a month or two under my actual name, and the shiny new shop will have more of a focus on original paintings and limited edition prints on fine art papers.
For now, i'm putting my energies into Tap Shoes, my shop for bygone treasures. Watching these late night movies from the 30's to the 60's on an almost daily basis has me pining for the past. I'm dreaming of being a debutante in a glass ballroom, chiffon sleeves fluttering from my shoulders. I'm dreaming of prancing my way through a Busby Berkeley dance routine, driving a pink Cadillac with Elvis on the radio, dancing cheek to cheek with Fred Astaire, Arguing over silk stockings with Ginger Rogers, Walking poodles down the street with Lucille Ball.
So whenever i see relics from another era, i have to snap them up! It's like small pieces of my dreams have magically appeared in this day and age. It's too good to be true, too rare, too exciting. It's the game i enjoy most, treasure hunting.
My bedroom is now adorned with porcelain swans, silk dresses, old dollhouses, carved glass jewellery boxes, old dolls and wicker handbags. I'm dying for my own house to decorate, but that'll be years to come. So for now, i'd love to share all of these relics with people who also appreciate them. There is nothing worse than the thought of these beautiful remnants being kept in plastic bags in garages, or even worse, the rubbish tip!
I've currently amassed a selection of 1970's sewing patterns, straw hats, 50's dresses and other bits and pieces, so if this takes your fancy, please do take a peek.
I have also begun a little blog that will focus on film stills from the golden age of hollywood and other such ephemera.
http://tapshoesvintage.blogspot.com/

more girls.

Violet witch.





'Ahead' for Illustration Friday.com


Arabella