eye-spy begins

"Eye Spy what I want for Christmas"

'An Illustrated Life' is by Danny Gregory, and is a collection of interviews by various illustrators about what inspires them, along with pics from their sketch books. It looks like a lovely read, and I can say I wouldn't mind it in the least if I found this in my Santa stocking this year.


First week of eye-spy! Are you playing? Would you like to? Click the link and get in on it :)


I've made a button for the players to display. Here it is:



Feel free to take it and use it on your blog. I have a tutorial on how to add things to your side bar here. If you have any trouble following it, let me know and I'll try to help.

a week in review

I was so busy this week I didn't really get a chance to look up, or report in. So I'm going to try one of those "weekly wrap up" posts.

I finished one commission and sent it on it's way, and I'm about to start on the next one. I finished one before these for a friend who wanted a picture for her wedding invitations. Yesterday I designed the back of the invitations, and although I swore at the computer, alot, it came out looking pretty good. I'm actually quite happy with it. Once they're printed up, I'll do a show and tell.

During one of my stroppy fits at Abobe Illustrator yesterday, I took a walk around the garden to decompress. It was a good idea in the end because I found some lovely little treasures that cheered me up again.

Here's a teeny-tiny egg I found on the grass under a tree that someone has recently hatched out of... But all that was left inside once I found it was this teeny-tiny slug. CUTE! :)



Normally when I find slugs in the garden I pitch them over the back fence into the bush, but they're the big ugly fat ones. This one was soooo cute I put him in the most delicious spot I could find. I'll let him build up some cushioning before I send him flying ;)

I was also reminded how close Christmas is when I came across this stunning golden Christmas beetle. It's a girl. How can I tell? Check out those eyelashes.


- - -

We also got a bit domestic this week, cleaning up thoroughly for a rental property inspection by our property agent. Actually we did it twice this week, because she forgot about it the first time.

Mr You and I also made a cake for our neighbour for his birthday. We're not too hot in the kitchen so we were quite pleased with out efforts. It was Mr You's idea to put a coral trout on the top in sprinkles, our neighbour is a mad fisherman and that's his favourite fish... He recognised the breed right away when he saw the cake, and when we ate some together, he cut the slices around the fish, hehehe. Afterwards Mr You and I got home to a cake-less house and suffered terrible cake cravings.



_ _ _

It wasn't all celebrations this week. Sadly I heard that Cindy Woods passed away.


Those of you who play Illustration Friday would know Cindy as the woman from Learning Daily who does the beautiful quick sketches of people...



Ridiculously I had assumed all these years that she must work in a hospital, because all of her sketches always centred around patients... It seems silly now, knowing she was suffering from cancer... I guess I just never like to think of people as being able to get sick.

Tributes have been popping up around peoples blogs, so I wanted to say something too. She used to come by and leave comments, and I enjoyed her blog very much. It's really very sad. I hope she's somewhere nice now.

_ _ _

Now I'm looking forward to tomorrow. After the end of "This Is", Cindy from Bug and Pop has stepped up and started a new meme for us to play. This one is called "Eye-Spy Sunday" and the first week's topic is "Eye Spy what I want for Christmas" :D

It's going to be great!


I also found a few new giveaways. Great ones, but didn't have time to enter. I'll try and track them down to share with you.

Okay, that's all. Hope you all had a good week. I have to go and design a catalogue, design and print cards, create a quote and do some invoicing. Fun weekend...

See why I'm looking forward to Eye-Spy so much? See you tomorrow. :D

happy thanksgiving

At precisely 9.25pm we cranked up Mr You's amazing lotto machine and conducted the draw for the 3rd Annual Illustration Giveaway.

Some notes:
- Mr You's afore mentioned amazing machine uses maths, physics and code (don't ask me anymore than that), to ensure a completely random draw.
- So random that when the names appear at the top, during the testing phases I could see that the placement of names was unique each time.
- The winner was chosen via this tool
- There were 83 entries in the end, each from a unique person (no double ups)
- If two names were the same, the second was called #2
- I have ENORMOUS amounts of appreciation and warm fuzzies for each of you who entered. Thank-You! This year has been really exciting

Okay... enough with the formalities... On with the show!

Or if you can't view the video have a look here. (Not as fun but still exciting).

Congratulations!
Thank-you.
Sorry, I wish I had time in my days to do 83 paintings... ...there's always next year. :D

smokin in a good way

We had a good day here yesterday. Both Mr You and I were on fire... not literally, we're talking high productivity people, getting so much done we were smokin! Friction. I'm doing the final assembly and packaging of a commissioned painting today, and yesterday it all just came together. You know that feeling when you've been working on something for so long, then at the last moment it all falls into place? Accomplishment, satisfaction and a good dose of relief.

I can't say anything at this stage about the work, as I don't want to spoil any surprises for anyone (although I'm sure you know who you are, wink wink), but this here is a teeny-weeny sneak peek. Sometimes there are tiny bits of a painting that just sum up what I was trying to get at so perfectly. And without tooting my own horn, I wanted to show you this floppy shoe. I'm very happy with this floppy shoe, in fact, I may even love this floppy shoe.

I don't know how it happens, but sometimes one tiny element like this can set the tone of a whole piece. Clever little shoe.

Meanwhile down the hall, in his little office, Mr You spent yesterday making the most awesome thing ever! And it's for my blog! He has been mixing together maths, physics, code, and onscreen animation to create the most amazing random-winner-selector for my giveaway. It'll be here on-screen tomorrow night, so come back to see it in action and find out who the winner is.

As my friend's little girl says, "I'm a bit cited!"

a circle of thanks

There's only a few days left of the Thanksgiving Giveaway. If you haven't entered yet, get yourself over here and leave a comment on that post to be in the draw.

Thank-you so much to everyone who has entered. The turn out has blown me away!!! Also a BIG thank-you to those of you who have added my button to your blogs :D

I had started off coming by and thanking you all individually, but after a while my hand got a cramp, I was gasping for air and calling for first aid, pure exhaustion, I had no idea there'd be so many entries... Last year there were only 10! So forgive me for not stopping by if I didn't get to you, but know that you have my sincere thanks.

Yes, we're getting very excited about it here. Mr You has been working for days on a very special way to draw the winners... You'll be impressed, I'm sure. The drawn will be done on Thursday evening, and the winner will be announced either that night or the following morning... depending on how much celebratorial champagne I've drunk, hehehe, hic!. Good luck everyone.

_ _ _

In the meantime I wanted to tip my hat in thanks to Three Buttons who hosted the "This Is" meme that I'd been participating in each week. It's now been drawn to a close, and I already miss it. It was a good meme, I'll remember it fondly. Thanks for the good times, sniff sniff.

I'll start looking for a new one to play along with. Do any of you play a fun and easy weekly thingo?

_ _ _

And finally (for today) thanks for all your great title suggestions for my painting from my last post. So many great ones.

It's been hard to choose actually. I think because she didn't have a name to begin with I just can't pin one on her at all... She may just remain Mulberry... after all that :) Mind you there were quite a few name suggestions that have me inspired to create totally new works, so if I do, I'll let you know. So, thank-you.


Thank-you's all round today. Good way to start the week. :)

figbird and mulberries

I've been preparing a couple of new works to go in a gallery nearby. I'm really excited about it as this is a completely new gallery for me. I don't really know how my work will go there, but I'm putting in 4 completely different works as a bit of a litmus test.

This new painting is part of my hidden birds series. Although I've strayed from the native plants here, I'm still documenting new discoveries from within my yard; in this case mulberries and the figbirds that eat them.

When I dropped it in to be framed today the lady asked me what the title was. I'm not sure yet, so I told her "Mulberry". She thought the girl is too pretty to be called Mulberry, so now I'm trying to think what I should title it. Any ideas?

I usually work from a title backwards, but this one was the other way around, so I'm a bit stuck. I kind of like succinct titles with a positive slant, eg. my others were called things like "Aspire", "Curiosity", "Honour" etc. What do you think?

an artful agenda

Look what arrived in my mailbox yesterday!

A little while ago I was asked if I'd like to contribute art to be part of the Artful Agenda 2009 Daily Planner. It's a fundraising project to help out the NE Portland Tool Library. Which is a great idea in itself.

I was thrilled to finally see the diary in the flesh, it's the sweetest thing! The perfect size for carrying with you, printed on recycled paper, chock-o-block full of art, and as charming as can be. There are 6 full page illos of mine in there, along with a bunch of works by Ashley G, Jessica Dadds, and heaps of others; 18 artists and a different illo for each day.
(See more of the art here.)

The whole thing has a lovely hand drawn feel to it. Each spread has a theme (i.e. a whole week of different ice creams, sock monkeys, shoes, yoga poses, or leaves) and there are pages for notes such as "Wildlife sightings", "Restaurants to check out", "Ways to reduce my carbon footprint"... It really is cool. I keep going back and flipping through it, seeing something new each time.
I'm so proud to be part of it. :)

They are only $15, and you can choose which cover you'd like.
So if you'd like to get yourself a copy (or as a perfect Chrissy gift for someone) they are for sale online from:
- The Artful Agenda website, or
- Their Etsy store.
And if you're in the Portland area, keep your eye out on the streets.


One of my pages :)


Different picture for every day of the year.


Pages for notes and sketches.

from nature

This is: my favourite thing from nature.

How do you select a favourite? I could easily have gone for broccoli, a delicious fruit, a humble plant, an elegant bird, or a graceful old tree... but this time I've chosen pure flamboyance!

Passionfruit flowers:


They're just so crazy.

I included a passionfruit flower that's native to this region in this painting of mine, along with a great quote: "People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us." I think that sums it up for me.

This week's topic from Cloth and Fodder.


I've been a bit quiet here this week. We've had a friend staying with us, so we've spent the week eating and swimming. It's been lovely. :)

tis the month to be generous

So it seems while Blogtoberfest bought giveaway's out of the closet in their bucket loads, November has gone and stepped it up a notch. Check out these amazing giveaways peeps. Get out there and sign-up!

* Print giveaway at Theodesign

* Multiple giftpack giveaway by the talented crew at BrisStyle

* Etsy Q Team gift package giveaway


There were others too, but I was too slow to catch them. With this much bounty going around, I'm may be able to cancel Christmas shopping altogether this year :)

Good luck everyone!

on switch

This is: my favourite quote.

A lovely topic by Ashley from Strawberry Kisses this week. I'm looking forward to reading everyone else's, and feeling uplifted ready to start the new week.

My favourite quote at the moment is one I like to pull out when I start feeling meek and lowly. It's by Anais Nin:

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage."

Not only does it inspire, it also activates me; like the "on" switch to get up off my but and push a bit harder, reach a bit further, and stop worrying for gods sake. I like that it makes me feel like it's my own actions that have an impact on my own life. It's not out of my hands in an etherial way that some quotes tend to lean towards, instead it's saying that it's all up to me. I like that.

And while it's inspiring, it also hints at the fact that there's in-built breaks should you need it. Life shrinking to a comfortable manageable size when you need a rest and don't feel up to it. With the reassurance that it's ready and waiting to get exciting again when you've regained your energy.

It seems to work for me. Hope you like it too.

on the topic of rugs

I had a brief Skype chat with my Auntie who lives on the other side of the country last night. (Skype is like an online video chat).

She asked if I was wearing a wig...
and I wasn't...

that's not good, is it?

blush

3rd annual thanksgiving giveaway

Dum Dulalalump dump dum daaaaaaa - Announcing the 3rd Annual Thanksgiving Giveaway!

Welcome.
Those of you who've been visiting for a while will know all about this. For those who don't know...

What It's All About
I really like the idea of Thanksgiving, but we don't celebrate it here in Australia, so each year I do my own little thing, showing my thanks by hosting a giveaway. The prize of the giveaway is an illustration by me that the winner gets to commission. It can be anything you like.

The past 2 years the prizes have ended up becoming sweet and quirky portraits of the winners sons! However, should you win you could request anything or anyone you like. It could be abstract, like your favourite song, or specific like a portrait of a loved one (or pet) from a photo. You should keep in mind the style of my work though, because you may be disappointed if you ask for a Rembrandt! Having said that, don't feel as though it has to be something for your kids just because the last ones were either. It's completely up to you.

Each year the value of my work rises a little (yay!), which means that this year the winner will be getting a prize worth $350 USD. And I'm happy to ship worldwide, so don't be shy.

How To Enter
So how do you enter? It's easy, just leave a comment on THIS post anytime between now and the morning (my time) of the 27th Nov. That's 3 weeks away. One comment is enough, as I'll remove duplicate entries before the draw so everyone gets an equal chance. The draw will be completely random, and I'll be drawing the winner on Thanksgiving Day (which according to my calendar is the 27th Nov).


Spread The Word
Seeing as this is such a big event in my blogging calendar I have created a button. If you'd like to help me spread the word, go for your life! Use the button all you like!

You can add it to a blog post by using this code:

• In your blog post entry window enter the following code:
  

<a href="http://flossy-p.blogspot.com/2008/11/3rd-annual-thanksgiving-giveaway.html" title="Thanksgiving Giveaway 2008" target="_blank" ><img src="http://www.flossyparticles.com/images/ThanksgivingGiveaway_Bttn_Wht.gif" alt="Thanksgiving Giveaway 2008" /></a>

Or to add it to your side bar, grab the button below and follow the instructions here. But remember to use this button and this URL.



http://flossy-p.blogspot.com/2008/11/3rd-annual-thanksgiving-giveaway.html


What's Next?
Well, enter your comment, and start thinking what you'd like me to paint if you win.
Good Luck!!!!! :D



_ _ _

I've now closed the comments at number 83. (Kat just made it in)

Sorry entries are now closed, the draw is in progress.
Good Luck everyone. :)

exhale

Thank-you America!

Thank-you Thank-you Thank-you Thank-you Thank-you Thank-you Thank-you Thank-you Thank-you Thank-you Thank-you Thank-you Thank-you Thank-you Thank-you Thank-you Thank-you Thank-you.

delightful

Delighted I am! Delighted indeed to have been accepted onto Delightful Blogs. I've been listed in the bunch called "Local :: Australia"... in case you're looking :)

There are so many lovely blogs listed over there it's often hard to know where to begin, but at least you can be sure they've all been passed by the Delightful Detectives, so whatever you stumble on, it's bound to be kinda cool.

Take this for example...

This is delightful, no? Yes, I say.

This is the page from Iceland off the Face Hunter blog. Face Hunter seems to be a world wandering fellow creating an international version of Hell Looks. There's all sorts of people out there, all over the world, making us feel (well, I'll speak for myself) making me feel completely nowhere-near-cool enough. But I like to fantasize...

If I was this fair Icelandic dame, I would totally own that outfit.

(It's knitted, go take a closer look)


p.s. Tomorrow will be 3 weeks out from Thanksgiving, and I'll be making an announcement :)

yikes! a recipe

Hold onto your hats people...

This is: a favourite recipe I'd like to share.

Okay, so while I have confessed to being totally shithouse in the kitchen, let me start by saying this dish is pretty fail safe... even for me!
I ate this at a cafe once, loved it so much I deconstructed the ingredients, and practiced making it over and over until it tasted the same as I remembered from the cafe.

So, this is my Warm Chick Pea Salad
Ingredients:
- 1/4 pumpkin
- 400g tin of chick peas
- Punet of cherry or grape tomatoes
- 1/2 bunch of flat leaf parsley
- Feta cheese (around 6-8 chunks per person)
- Dukkah
- Natural yogurt

Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180C
- Cut a few pumpkin chunks or slices (2-3 per person), lightly oil, and bake it the oven until yummy roasted consistency (usually takes about 30 mins)
- When there's only 5-10 minutes left for your pumpkin to cook start to prepare the salad
- Drain the tin of chick peas, and tip into a saucepan on the stove (medium to low heat). You want to warm them through, not cook them or make it too hot.
- Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and add them to the pot too
- Cut up a good bunch of flat leaf parsley and stir that into the pot next
- Add chunks of feta, stir through gently
- You want to do the rest quite quickly as you don't want the parsley or feta to go too soggy
- Take the pumpkin out of the oven, and serve up onto plates
- Serve the chick pea salad mix up on top of the pumpkin
- Sprinkle a good generous tablespoon or two of dukkah over the salad
- Top with a dollop of natural yogurt (a small tablespoon should do it)
- Eat!

It's quick, easy and healthy. Vegetarian too! Those measurements feed 2 people, and if you need to pad it out more, it goes really well with cous cous. I usually allow for 1/2 tin of chick peas per person.

We ate it last night and I forgot to take a photo. Sorry. It's yummy though, I promise, try it. :)