Wayward Harper

Blessings of the season!

2011-12-23T01:08:00.000-08:00

Where ever you are in the world, may your holiday season be merry, magical, mysterious and full of mischief and mayhem!
xxx

"Waiting for the horses" 2011

journey to inaccessible places

2011-11-22T21:48:00.000-08:00

Phew, goodness, where have the months gone?? It seems everyone is asking themselves this same question lately...i think it's a sign that we all need to slow down in our lives...hmmm

We've definitely had a hectic few months in my household, including a big house move up to the beautiful hills of Belgrave (just out of Melbourne) I adore it up here, it's so magical...but more of that in posts to come... for now I want to share something else that's been keeping me frantically busy - my mini solo exhibition at Limerence Boutique in Belgrave!
The opening night is next week -eep! - Friday the 2nd of December 6-8pm so come along if your in the area for some art, wine and nibbles (and some chrissy shopping- Limerence also stocks the most beautiful fashion and jewelery) and the exhibition will be up til sometime (I'm not entirely sure yet..) in the new year.

I've added a few tiny peeks below, I'll go in to more detail once I have the pieces all scanned and ready to go :)

It's been a while...whoops

2011-07-09T03:21:00.000-07:00

So I haven't been here for a while, oh dear! I'm going to really try and get into better habits soon. I've been super busy, with lots to share, books that have been finished, an exhibition at the lovely Limerence planned but for now I'll just leave you with some little tidbits from a few projects I'm working on at the moment...

Artists that inspire : E.J Taylor

2011-04-07T17:52:00.000-07:00

Oh my...I'm in love....the magic of E.J Taylor

Artists that inspire -Theodor Kittelsen

2010-12-31T00:12:00.000-08:00

Norwegian artist Theodor Severin Kittelsen (April 27, 1857 – January 21, 1914)

"" Ekko" (Echo) 1888, Oil on canvas

" Soria moria slott", 1900

"Up in the Hills a Clarion Call rings out", 1900

"Huldra forsvant" (The fairy that disappeared)

" Hakkespett" (Woodpecker), 1912

Artists that inspire - Chafik Charobim

2010-12-30T22:40:00.000-08:00

Egyptian Artist Chafik Charobim (1894 - 1975)

A new year, a new journey

2010-12-26T23:56:00.000-08:00

I hope that your Christmas time, Yule time, Winter time or Summer time holy days are being filled with love and family, mysteries and magic...

And where ever you are in the world I wish you the most blessed new year.
I hope it's full of new journeys and new discoveries, new rivers to travel, new mountains to climb, new skies to fly.
But I also hope we all can learn to live without regret. Of the things we haven't done or achieved this past year or the places we haven't visited, and learn to live in this moment now. Forget the stresses of future or the past and find the joy of the present.
And spend time with those we love, because that's the most important thing.
:) xxx

Sacred Familar interview

2010-12-26T23:19:00.000-08:00

The beautiful Julia from Sacred Familiar has kindly included my work and an interview in her latest Summer solstice newsletter. Thanks Julia! She discusses the healing power of mythology & story, and looks into the symbolism and magic of the Valkyrie of Norse Mythology.

You can read the rest of the fascinating newsletter and the rest of the interview here on Julia's Sacred Familiar site.

Shop update!

2010-12-01T22:31:00.000-08:00

These little guys have just been listed for sale in the shop !
They are all little original sketches, unique one-of-a-kinds, ready to fly off to loving homes :)

"Norbu of the Inner City"
chief musician to the Queen...

"Keje"
little king of the underworld...

"Bedouin"
the mysterious woman of the desert land...

and finally little "Mimba of the Outerwoods"

little creature

2010-11-26T21:18:00.001-08:00

Just got hold of this photo - this is the little mite I mentioned in the last post. This was taken just before we let her go so she was bright and perky :) Such an incredible feeling to hold such a tiny creature in my hands!

The view from here

2010-10-26T04:54:00.001-07:00

For quite a few months now I've been meaning to share some photos of the area in which I live. I love seeing the working spaces and surroundings where creative people live, I find it very inspiring. Maybe it's something to do with seeing these artists and creatives in such normal surroundings, it helps me to remember that these amazing people are just people! While of course they have, no doubt, incredible natural skills, they have also gotten where they are through hard work and perseverance and so this makes me think that maybe I can get there too :)
Anyhoo, while I haven't really taken any photos of inside my house and studio yet (it's a very dark little house and I'm not the best photographer....) these are ones of the surrounding area of Glen Iris. I really am loving it here at the moment - we are still so close to the centre of Melbourne but with all the parks and bushland walks around here you can almost fool yourself that your out in the country (well, apart from the distant hum of the freeway!)
And I love the fact that there is wildlife around here! I love that I wake up to birdsong these days instead of traffic....
And so many birds - there's the common cheeky magpies and pigeons but also wrens, cockatoos, galahs, ducks, parrots and lorrikeets... and spooky, silent bats that float by at dusk.....and soooo many possums! Most of our neighbours really dislike them - they can make an awful amount of noise at night and can make a mess of trees and gardens, but I love them :)
Although admittedly we don't have any trying to nest in our roof or pooping on our driveway so maybe I'd change my mind if that was the case, hehe!
But I love sneaking out the back door at night time and catching them staring back at me from the fence, most of the time not scared at all, just watchful.
And the size of some of them! There was a brushtail possum as big as a cat out there the other
night!

Unfortunately our dog Jools has also discovered them...and she can be quite obsessed. A couple of weeks ago she actually managed to catch one! I couldn't believe it! Here I was thinking she was trying to catch mice in the undergrowth as she often does with no success and there was the fact that it wasn't even close to dusk, until i heard the squeeks and realized what was going on...!! Then I became this screaming, yelling, hitting banshee and thank goodness she dropped the creature and I was able to pull her away and managed to tie her to a tree. The poor wee little mite was just a baby and I found it shivering in the undergrowth with clumps of fur missing and covered in wetness which at the time I thought was blood but afterward realized was just saliva.
So I picked it up and wrapped it in my jumper and we took it off to the vet thinking that at least they could put it to sleep and save it from a lingering, painful death.
But yay! I rang back the next day and the little guy was fine! So happy to know that our Jools isn't a possum killer, phew! She obviously didn't know what to do with it once she had caught it and didn't clamp her jaws down. I hope she never learns! (it was such a disturbing sight seeing her standing there with tiny little possum feet sticking out from either side of her mouth, waving slowly in their struggles - urgg!)
So we picked up the little fellow from the vet and popped him back in his tree, and were overjoyed to see his mother and him staring down at us a few moments later! So beautiful!
Every time I pass that tree I look out for them but I haven't seen them since. I hope they are both still ok... but i guess I'll never know.

So here we go - I'm a bit slow -these were taken a few months ago in winter.
Now the trees are swimming in green and there's a completely different feel to the air. But it gives an idea of the lay of the land at least. And of course my silly little fur moppet :P

Little Nessa and Fire King

2010-10-26T04:32:00.000-07:00

These two little people are about to grace the beautiful cards of Merry-go-round Designs.
Very exciting! I can't wait the see the finished cards :D
The folk's at Merry-go-round create amazing cards -which are fully re-usable, re-recyclable, environmental gift cards and not forgetting to mention, beautiful as well!
Fun, fun!

Daily Sketch

2010-10-26T03:59:00.000-07:00

Some more little fellows and missys
Tis been a while since I've been here, thanks for all the lovely comments :) I do read them all even if I am terribly slow at responding, oh dear!

Dreaming in the past

2010-10-03T18:21:00.000-07:00

Quilcene Boy

Bethlehem Child

Girl with bear cubs
Market Street, Goslar, Hartz, Germany
A Bedouin woman, Tunis, Tunisia
Native children, Marken Island, Holland

Oh, how I adore old photos....this is such an inspiring site: http://www.old-picture.com/

'Untold Stories' - Illustrators Australia Exhibition

2010-09-02T02:09:00.000-07:00

"Untold Stories" is the theme of this years Illustrators Australia Annual 9x5 exhibition.
Wow, how quickly has this come around again!

This is my little contribution above...I didn't have time this year to do a proper painting so it's just a sketch on wood but I think it's come out alright :)
It's always a lot of fun catching up with other illustrators and seeing the incredible work that they come up with for the show. So many clever, clever people out there!
So if your in Melbourne swing by!

Opening night : Friday 17th September from 6pm
Gallery open Saturday 18th September 10am to 4pm
Where: Space 39, Level 2, 39 Little Collins St, Melbourne Vic.

And also, all the art is up for sale at a starting price of $195 (which is a real bargain considering the talent of some of these illustrators! ) To see all the art online and vote for your favourites check out the Illustrators Australia Website (exhibition section may not be up yet but should be within the week)

New sketches

2010-09-01T19:23:00.000-07:00

"Into the dark"

"Moon Brother"

Daily Sketch

2010-07-29T19:03:00.000-07:00

"Sophie"

"Star"

Daily Sketch

2010-07-27T02:55:00.000-07:00

Howdy, howdy!

Daily Sketch

2010-07-20T04:46:00.000-07:00

Daily Sketch

2010-07-06T02:49:00.000-07:00

Ok, so please excuse my previous post, I'm not usually so negative! Ah well... all good now :)

So here are a couple more daily sketches...

This one I think will become a painting...not sure :)

Stolen!!!

2010-07-04T03:50:00.000-07:00

Right, get ready for a bit of a rant now.... Sorry but I need to vent, lol!

Today I was thoroughly disgusted and flabbergasted! And very pissed off at myself for obviously being distracted enough to allow it to happen....
Today, right under my nose while I was at work at in.cube8r this framed original sketch of mine was stolen. Stolen!! I still can't believe it!

So this rant is for you - middle aged lady with the green headband and dark hair who came in with a younger guy with dreadlocks. You know who you are! How dare you!
Ok... so I can understand (but still not condone!) why someone would steal food, or clothing or other such things, but art? Something that someone has put time and love into creating? How could you?
I am so angry at myself for not seeing you take it down. So sneaky, especially seeing as two other customers were standing quite close to you. I saw you looking at it - I assume as soon as I turned, you slipped it off the wall and into your bag as you walked around the partition? Cow!

I'm actually very glad it was my work you stole and not someone elses, because you know what? Apart from the fact I would have felt terribly guilty for not paying enough attention and thus allowing something to be nabbed, I would have had to fork out money to pay the artist - sucks but is only fair seeing as it was my responsilibity to keep an eye on things.

I sincerely hope that this artwork gets given as a gift because I don't know if you noticed but on the back of the frame as well as the back of the sketch itself is written my name and website. So here's hoping they come to my blog and see this post and find out what sort of person you are!

So lady.... now you looked like a bit of a hippy - do you believe in karma? Do you believe in re-incarnation? Well, why don't you do a good deed, find that good person that I'm sure is still somewhere inside yourself and give the picture back - slip it back through the front door, I reckon it'll fit, or leave it outide the shop if you have to, or post it, easy! and maybe you'll save yourself re-incarnation as a cockroach! Ha!

To everyone else, I'm very sorry that you had to also put up with this rant :)

"Mouse Ink - Inspiring your creative child to dream"

2010-06-27T01:42:00.000-07:00

So I can't believe that I haven't posted about the lovely Georgie Burg from Mouse Ink yet, gosh how hopeless I am! I've been working with Georgie for about a year now (my how time has flown) helping her out with illustrations and designs for various aspects of her business.

"Mouse Ink" is all about inspiring children to dream and create. Which is something that I believe to be sooo very important.
These days with all the distractions that technology and the modern world has to offer I believe our children are in real danger of losing their ability to dream and be truly creative. Too much time in front of the TV or computer and not enough time left with their own imaginations!

Anyhoo, excusing my little rant there... at the moment Mouse ink is focused mainly around Georgie's teaching practice - she teaches violin, music theory and orchestral education and appreciation to children aged between 4 and 12.
But part of what makes Georgie's teaching practice so unique is the teaching products she offers (check out her website here) and to quote from her website: "Through a 360 degree world rich in history, intrigue, and adventure our students stretch their imagination by learning about geography, secret societies and even time travel. Put them in touch with a fascinating past, using a combination of Master Creatures and our unique passports to help them make a journey of a lifetime".
Sounds like fun, eh? :D
But another reason why I'm posting about this now is that we are about to embark on another project together - a children's picture book! Yay! Because you see, Georgie is also a fabulous writer! So together with Brolly Books we hope to have a magical book out sometime next year....
But that's all I can say on that for now, all I know is that for the rest of the year, I'm going to be a very busy little beaver indeed!

Daily Sketch

2010-06-26T04:25:00.001-07:00

(ok, so my 'daily sketches' are getting a little detailed and are turning into sketches that can take more than one sitting to finish... oh well! :P)

Daily Sketch

2010-06-17T05:02:00.000-07:00

Explorations Await!

2010-06-08T20:49:00.000-07:00

So wow, finally back! No, I haven't been away on some fantastical adventure....unfortunately... but we have moved house which to me has been very exciting! 

We finally have Internet connected after what feels like ages (I didn't realize how attached to it I was!) but here I am once more :) A big thanks to new followers who arrived in my absence, it's nice to know your out there!

We moved from Moonee Ponds to the other side of the city to Glen Iris, what a pretty name you say? Yes, I quite agree! I've never lived on this side of the city so lots to explore. We now reside in a beautiful, quiet little street with awesome dog parks and walking tracks almost at our front door. Unfortunately our dog Jools has discovered the existence of possums...oh dear... she hasn't managed to catch any, thank goodness! She's just incredibly obsessed! 

And..drum roll please...I'm super loving it....I now have my very own studio! Whoop, whoop! No more working out of my bedroom or lounge room! It's just bliss let me tell you!

So I'll post some photos next post because, I don't know about you, but I love having a sneak peek into other artists spaces.

Ahhh, quite relaxed at the moment....a beautiful area, a great working space, creeks and nature for Jools and us to explore (we're even thinking of maybe getting another dog or at least helping out some poor homeless doggies by fostering. We're thinking greyhound fostering. Don't suppose anyone out there has done anything similar? If so, let me know how it went!)

For now though, here's some little critters....

Daily Sketch

2010-04-13T03:00:00.001-07:00

Most might guess what movie inspired this sketch - "Where the wild things are"
What a strange, beautiful movie!

Daily Sketch

2010-04-07T18:54:00.000-07:00

Daily Sketch

2010-04-03T02:53:00.000-07:00

Being inspired by Larry MacDougall's method of "morning warm up drawing", I've decided to start to do the same. It's a way to make sure I'm at least being creative in some small way each day and so that I can work on something I'm really wanting to draw as sometimes I'm stuck doing illo jobs that I often don't feel inspired to do at the time. So it's a way to get the creative juices flowing!
And of course there's the fact that the sketches are a good size to quickly frame up in a standard size frame so I can sell them if I want to. Can't get away from the fact that I've got to make money somehow too!
So here are some sketches from the last little while....

Vali Myers

2010-03-22T02:41:00.000-07:00

Continuing the theme of Australian artists...the unique Vali Myers, another fascinating individual, who had an extraordinary life. Apparently she had a studio here in Melbourne in the Nicholas Building overlooking Swanston Street. I would have so loved to have met her, or at least seen her wandering around the city, I have a feeling she would have been a sight to behold, she definitely danced to her own drum!
Sadly she died in 2003, the year I moved to Melbourne. Ah well....

The Witch of Kings Cross

2010-02-24T17:06:00.000-08:00

I have just finished reading a rather fascinating biography about Rosaleen Norton, the so-called 'witch of kings cross', by Nevill Drury. A really interesting and well written view into the life of a often misunderstood woman far ahead of her time in regards to her views towards art, religion and witchcraft.
Australia at this time (1950's) had a rather prudish mentality and was in no way as tolerant and culturally diverse as it is today. Rosaleen's rather risque paintings shocked the general public and she was, more than once, taken to court on obscenity charges.

"In a sense we can say that Rosaleen was a feminist in a time when there were no feminists. A witch at a time when Witchcraft was still widely misunderstood. More than anything else, she was a free spirit, an independent venturer in the magical cosmos. Her visions of the night - those eerie phantasms which haunted her imagination and opened doorways to other realms of mythic consciousness - serve as a reminder that there are always greater realities in the universe which we can acknowledge and explore." - Nevill Drury

Daniela & Vladimir Ovtcharov

2010-02-23T17:09:00.000-08:00

Daniela Ovtcharov:

Vladimir Ovtcharov:

Found through Beinart collective

New art for fabulous people- sneak peek

2010-02-20T21:17:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the world little Hunter!
A little peek at a painting I've just finished for the new little bub of the lovely Cj and Brent of Twisted Fig and Depths of the Never Never They create absolutely beautiful fashion and accessories. You gotta check out their sites!

Remedios Varo

2010-01-23T05:25:00.000-08:00

"Papilla Estelar", 1958, oil on board 36 x 24 in.

I do love to see studies for paintings. Quite fascinating...... found here

Leonora Carrington

2010-01-23T03:53:00.001-08:00

I hugely admire Leonora Carrington's work. But I had no idea that Leonora Carrington was still alive. She was born in 1917, and still going strong apparently, how amazing is that?! She's one of the last of the surrealists who are stil alive. What a fascinating lady she must be....
One day I will absolutely have to get myself to Mexico and see her work in the flesh (and of course Remedios Varo's as well) Some of Carrington's Sculptures are currently on public display in Mexico City - some more info here - Oh how i would love to see them!
A gorgeous Youtube video of her work here :)

Gypsy Love

2010-01-23T03:40:00.000-08:00

Most of these images are from the Museum of English Rural Life but I'm not sure where I found the top image, if anyone knows I'd love to find out :)

introducing Jools!

2009-12-28T04:38:00.000-08:00

So....about a month ago, my partner and I decided to take the plunge and adopt a dog!
Whoop, whoop! SO here is our beautiful Jools! (isn't she lovely?)
She's from the Lost Dogs Home here in melbourne and (now I'm sure every dog owner says this!) but we really think she's the loveliest dog ever!
She's about 5 years old and she's a Labrardor x great dane (we think... so she's a big girl!)
She's amazing, she has the most beautiful temperament, really mellow and sweet.
And amazingly, so far, she doesn't seem to have any major issues, apart from a bit of a mistrust of older men which is a bit sad :(
So we are really very lucky. Thinking back now, we really could have thrown ourselves in the deep end a bit as she's the first dog we've both had since we were kids and she could have had all sorts of issues that we wouldn't have found out about until we bought her home. So we are very lucky in that regard. She was also quite a bit underweight when she first came to us, poor thing. It's so strange, we have no idea why or how anyone could mistreat her and dump her. It's beyond our understanding how people can be so cruel.
But she's really settled now. She LOVES other dogs! Even if they're barking at her right in her face, she still want to play, silly thing! Sooo funny! She acts like a silly puppy with the other dogs at the dog park near us.
Look at her, what a sook, she's got us wrapped around her her little paw with her big brown eyes!

Photos by Gerard Rijs. thanks Gerry!

on the subject of stories

2009-12-27T23:29:00.000-08:00

"Standing on the rock, looking out, I understood what the story was.
Here's the story: life is a dream.
It's all a story we're telling ourselves.
Things are dreams, just dreams, when they're not in front of our eyes.
What is in front of your eyes now, what you can reach out and touch now, will will become a dream.
The only thing that keeps us from floating off with the wind is our stories.
They give us a name and put us in a place, allow us to keep on touching.

-Tom Spanbauer "The man who fell in love with the moon"

Artists that inspire - Andy Kehoe

2009-12-13T17:21:00.000-08:00

Golly gosh i love Andy Kehoe's work! There's something about his art that really strikes a cord with me.
"Kehoe rekindles a childlike sense of wonder in his work, recalling an era when fables and legends were believed as truths to explain all the mysteries of the unknown."

I found this great post over at Sour Harvest that I wanted to share. I love seeing sneak peeks at artists studios!

Artists that inspire - Paolo Ventura

2009-11-15T05:38:00.000-08:00

Paolo Ventura . . . . . beautiful

Artists that inspire- Fidelma Massey

2009-11-10T22:04:00.000-08:00

"Mother of All"

"Ingredients for a sacred grove"

"Queen of Beasts"

"Tiny little Owl"

"Spirit Bird"

"The Great Egg"

I'm really trying not to post about things found in other peoples blogs but I absolutely had to mention this breathtaking artist found through a-faerietale-of-inspriration.
I admit, I've been finding it difficult to inspire myself to create some more personal work, but seeing such wonderful, otherworldly work reminds me again what it's all about.

"Working with her preferred materials; ceramic and bronze, Massey sculpts wonderfully detailed figures and creatures – the current collection includes birds and trees as well as horned guardians of medieval legend which are both strange and familiar.
Massey’s work draws not only on western sculpture but eastern and classical mythology and through the fusion of these she leads her viewer to a world beyond the confines of any tradition"

Her beautiful work can be found on her website here

From my collection

2009-11-07T04:32:00.000-08:00

So these beauties are from my collection of old photographs and postcards.
This last one is of Marysville, which a lot of you, especially those in Australia, would have heard of after the terrible bushfires in February. It's a rather fascinating look at what it once was so long ago.

From the darkness

2009-11-01T01:50:00.000-07:00

"Truth, Leading the Sciences, Giving Light to Man"- Albert Besnard

"The eagle nebula"

"The Witchhead Nebula"

"Sadko in the underwater kingdom"- Illya Repin

"The catspaw nebula"

"Pickering's Triangular Wisp"

Beautiful, beautiful

2009-10-21T04:17:00.000-07:00

How I love images like these! Love, love, love!
They just invite you to dream about other worlds, other places, where life is exotic, compelling and strange.
Found at this fascinating blog right here

Jasper Morello

2009-10-19T03:34:00.001-07:00

So I'm a bit behind in the times but I've finally just watched the delicious movie "The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello" and was absolutely enchanted.
An absolute must see for all lovers of steam punk!

"We are the music makers, we are the dreamers of dreams"

2009-10-19T03:04:00.000-07:00

At the moment I'm working on a beautiful musical project that I can't really share much about yet but I thought I would share some beautiful imagery that I've found on my wanderings through the web-world. Most of these incredible instruments I've found through the Victoria and Albert Museum website which is well worth discovering for yourself.

Illustration friday - Flying

2009-10-15T04:46:00.001-07:00

"He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance, one cannot fly into flying"
-Friedrich Nietzsche

Little patterned Maya

2009-10-02T06:03:00.000-07:00

So this was meant to be for illustration friday but I was a bit slow so I missed out being able to link it! Ahh well. I thought I may as well post it on here anyway. The theme was "pattern"

Illustrators Australia 9x5 exhibition

2009-09-28T03:45:00.000-07:00

This is my contribution to the Illustrators Australia annual 9x5 exhibition. This years theme is '20' in celebration of the fact that the organization has been running for twenty years now, so a pretty good feat I reckon!
This little fellows called "Twenty Blackbirds begin the journey"
The opening night's always a lot of fun, so all should come along! It's being held this year at Space 39 Gallery, on Level 2, 39 Little Collins Street, Melbourne and it's part of the 2009 Melbourne Fringe Festival. The opening night is on Friday the 9th of October, between 6-9pm. The show will also run on the 10th October between 10am and 4pm. Yay!

Illustration friday - Infinite

2009-09-22T05:36:00.000-07:00

"Into the infinite river he rowed"

Cool people who do lovely things

2009-09-18T07:17:00.000-07:00

The lovely Carolyn from the awesome indie art and design blog has just uploaded an interview about my work. Thanks Carolyn!

Artists that Inspire - Ankie Daanen

2009-09-14T02:04:00.000-07:00

I've just discovered the magic, one-of-a-kind porcelain dolls that Ankie Daanen creates (by way of the lovely a-fairytale-of-inspiration blog)
So special, with such strange little faces and such exquisite costumes. They just make my fingers almost itch with wanting to create something!

The North African Collages

2009-08-30T01:36:00.000-07:00

The incredible work of Nick Bantock has always been inspirational to me. Apart from the gorgeous Griffin and Sabine series, my most favorite book of his would have to be "The Venetian's Wife" - described as "a strangely sensual tale of a renaissance explorer, a computer, and a metamorphosis" These beautiful collages are part of his North African series, more of which can be viewed here.
Aren't they just stunning? Turn of the century North Africa would have been an incredible place to see that's for sure. Ah well, the imagination will have to do!

Yay for Alice

2009-08-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

Like everyone else I'm soooo looking forward to Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland! It's sure to be absolutely crazy wonderful. (images and interesting interview with Burton here)

I also just found these classic images (over here) by Sir John Tenniel from "Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There", 1871, by Lewis Carroll.
I have been seeing these images everywhere recently, in jewellery, brooches, art, all sorts of things. It's a beautiful thing when art that is over a hundred years old is still so popular and evocative today.

And from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", 1865

And the king of illustration: Arthur Rackham's vision of Alice and the white rabbit

Artists that inspire

2009-08-20T18:28:00.000-07:00

John Galliano Fall 2009: a Russian-Balkan folklore fantasy. Found through Style.com
This is the sort of imagery I adore. Beautiful costumes, beautiful photography, it just inspires me to create. Galliano's fashion designs are somewhat kooky but I love his creativity.

Beneath the Jackdaws Gate

2009-08-20T18:23:00.000-07:00

“From beneath the Jackdaws Gate, she rises to meet me” (2009), 22x30cm, Acrylic on canvas

When night Falls

2009-08-17T02:54:00.001-07:00

“When night falls” (2009), 30x30cm, Acrylic on canvas

"He was conscious of any number of bodachs and spirits, shadowmen and border folk, faerie and ghosts, all going about their business. They were under the trees behind him and up in the boughs of those same oaks. They wandered along the streets, keeping to the shadows. They slept in gardens, poked through dumpsters. They scurried about in the sewers and alleyways, crept along rooftops or along windowsills, peering into people's apartments".
- Charles de Lint, excerpt from "Spirits in the Wires"

(A quote that seemed to fit)

Children of Heaven and Earth

2009-08-17T02:32:00.000-07:00

"Wind King”(2009), 19x24cm, Acrylic on wood

"Fire King”(2009), 19x24cm, Acrylic on wood
(the fox," the amber-eyed, red-gold 'dog of the wood' 'Beano abri', born out of doors like the gypsy and sharing the same wild, untameable heart"""")

Loosely based on a gypsy myth, they are two of the five sons of heaven and earth. The others were Mist King, Moon King and Sun King.

Artists that inspire

2009-08-10T00:42:00.000-07:00

Utterly blown away by the breathtaking work of Heather Jansch. Wow.

Walking for the Animals - gypsy wagons in the outback

2009-08-10T00:10:00.000-07:00

Just found out about this amazing event from the lovely Leeo at redbubble

She told me about a Romani gypsy named Red Catherine Johns, who is journeying from the Angus Valley in South Australia to Alice Springs in the Northern Territory in her horse-drawn Vardo (Gypsy Caravan) to raise awareness about the mistreatment of animals. Catherine, with two of her companion dogs Lilly and Django will be travelling in her Vardo pulled by her beautiful Clydesdale Tigger.

"A unique journey is being undertaken to promote awareness for all the creatures who share this planet with us. In cooperation-not exploitation""
She is to be joined by a number of other people who will be riding horses, biking or driving along side her in this thoroughly unique adventure.

I really hope it goes well, so please check out the website and spread the word :-)

Handmade in Melbourne

2009-08-05T21:57:00.000-07:00

The second "Handmade in Melbourne" book was launched last night, in a gallery packed full of local crafters and creators.
I'm really excited to be a part of this edition (I have a page with a little blurb about myself and my work)
To be part of a community of such awesome, talented folk is really brilliant!
Some other lovely creators who are in the book whose work I very much admire, include Madeleine Stamer of Little circus designs and Betty Jo designs

Lots of in.cube8r crafters were included in this edition, apparently we made up about 40% of the book!
Very cool stuff!

Little red

2009-07-13T07:22:00.001-07:00

"Little Red" 12.5x12.5 cm acrylic on canvas

Started a series of small quicker portraits, mainly just to build up my skills with painting but I've been thinking to offer them up for sale in the shop. Not sure, I'll see :-)

Nanosh and Keja

2009-07-13T05:52:00.000-07:00

As my website isn't set up for such information, I've decided to start sharing some of my newer works on this blog and tell the stories behind each piece.
I admit, I don't often like to say too much about what an artwork is about; I feel it's really important for the viewer to work that out for themselves. Often I don't really know the stories behind the characters, it's like I know they have a tale to tell, but I just like the mystery of not knowing or something!
I love the feeling of looking at old photographs, especially of exotic looking people, and just wondering who these people were and what adventures in life they experienced and the stories they had to tell. I guess that's a feeling I would love my work to convey, and I hope it does that, or will one day :-)

(there's only a short little blurb on each piece, I'm not a particularly good writer, but hopefully that's something that can be improved by writing this blog!)

"Drabarni" 26x34cm, acrylic on wood (2009)

Keja, a gypsy 'drabarni', shaman, shape shifter, magick maker. Shunned by her people, she makes her home in the woods and the wilds, far from other folk, her only companions being the strange beasts and birds of the forests.

"Nanosh joins the band" 20x20cm, acrylic on canvas (2009)

Nanosh always wanted to join the band, but never had an instrument to play. That was until his grandfather decided to give him his favourite tuba. So today, after weeks and weeks of practising Nanosh rather nervously heads out to join the band.

My Dinosaur ABC

2009-06-13T05:34:00.000-07:00

I've been a bit slow with this again, but one of the books I've illustrated "My Dinosaur ABC" published by Brolly Books is now out in shops (in australia anyway). Great for any kiddie learning their ABC's and who loves Dinosaurs! I've also got a box full of them here with me so if anyone is interested in purchasing one, just let me know :-)

Exhibition dates extended until the 28th

2009-06-13T05:11:00.000-07:00

So the exhibition's going well I think, I've been meaning to post some photos of how it all looks set up, so here we go with some photos :-)
And also, the exhibition dates have been extended until the 28th June, so if you were planning on coming down and checking it out, there's still time! Fun, fun :-)

below, some of Rhiannon's gorgeous paintings, unfortunately they are kind of hard to see due to my terrible photography, but the two on either end are scraper board pics (ahhh! crazy detail!)

And here's some more of mine, but also at the end you can just see two of Alisha's beautiful paintings inspired by her Indian travels

Artists that inspire

2009-06-04T21:05:00.000-07:00

Really want to start sharing the art and oddities that inspire me, so here's something for starters.
Beautiful art by Lisa Falzon, found her just today :-) here's her link
a gorgeous pic by Basia
Found through cat Mallard's blog, this sweet rabbit is one of hers

"Stories to Tell"

2009-05-10T18:27:00.000-07:00

So..... here we go!
My exhibition with Rhiannon Mowat and Alisha Ball is coming up very soon. Starting on the 25th May to be exact, and running to the 14th June. The opening night is on Thursday the 28th May so please if you are in Melbourne, come along! It's being held at the lovely Gasworks Arts Park, in the Angela Robarts-Bird Gallery which if you know the area already, is situated right next the lovely cafe. Should be fun!

One of Rhiannon's beautiful images:

And one of Alisha's gorgeous paintings:

Brooches in latest Artguide

2009-05-10T18:22:00.000-07:00

Wow, apparently my brooches are in the latest edition of Artguide May/June 2009 (www.artguide.com.au) Cool! Thanks in.cube8r!

More sneak peeks

2009-04-16T21:24:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple more peeks at some work going in the exhibition at gasworks.

A random little guy! not finished yet.

Work in progress, lots more to do.

Handmade Cards up in Etsy

2009-04-16T21:11:00.000-07:00

Hello there! Just posted some of my handmade cards up at etsy. I had trouble with the pics, I'm really not much of a photographer but hopefully they are ok :-) Quite solid little card, lots of fun to make. But they definitely look much better in person! So here's a couple:

Shop Open!

2009-03-19T06:29:00.000-07:00

So, I have finally gotten around to posting some items in my etsy shop. Yay! So far all that are listed are my hand-painted wooden brooches but more will come :-)

Exhibition At Gasworks Arts Park

2009-03-16T03:57:00.000-07:00

Exhibition time again! Myself and a few friends -Rhiannon Mowat (www.piecesofcolour.com.au) and Alisha Ball are holding an exhibition at the Angela Robarts-Bird Gallery down at Gasworks Arts Park in South Melbourne at the end of May. The 24th May to the 14th June to be exact :-)
We all studied illustration together and the theme is based around Storytelling so expect lots of beautiful fairytale and myth inspired work.
For me, the past year has been so full of mainly illustration work that its wonderful to finally be doing some of my own personal art for a change :-)
I'll give some more information a bit closer to the time but for now I'll just add a peek at a piece that will be in the show.

"My Dinosaur ABC"

2009-03-16T02:44:00.000-07:00

So... There will be another little book coming out soon, maybe May? Not sure exactly when, I haven't received a copy yet so I'm pretty excited to see what it looks like!
I also don't have proper scanned images of the art yet so for now I'm just going to post an image of the cover and some rough art. I know I always enjoy seeing other artists processes so here is mine. These are basically the final roughs before I go on to the final colour art. In this case I was quite rushed unfortunately so there wasn't much time for colour roughs. I just worked it out as I went along, which is what I usually do anyway with my art, but it can make you a bit nervous. Theres only so many times you can paint over colour mistakes! Luckily it all usually works out in the end :-)

Spiderlings Book

2009-02-25T04:36:00.000-08:00

And to start off with:
Some news I've been meaning to share for ages!

My first illustrated children's book was published last May by Brolly books Australia. Its a spooky little non-fiction fact book about spiders, written by Antonio Calabrisello. Kinda creepy to paint but lots of fun! Its available from most Australian booksellers.

First post

2009-02-25T04:20:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my little corner of the hills, I hope you'll enjoy your stay. This is the place where I'll share my news, stories, art and wayward inspirations :-)