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OooooWeeeee! Anybody still out there?
I was chatting with some new friends the other day about how our long cherished blogs had been dismissed due to the likes of that floosy Facebook, and I felt sad. So as little time as I have right now, I thought I'd pop back in and do a little show and tell.
My new Christmas tea-towels (hopefully up in my Etsy store by the end of the weekend).
As hinted, more updates are often on my facebook : http://flossy.p.art
A portrait for a wedding, NOT a portrait of a wedding. Cool huh?
In 17 more sleeps this fine looking pair will be getting married!
They wanted a casual family portrait to have on display at their wedding; a rustic, country, vintage wedding. (Just the way I like 'em.)
Along with their beautiful little girl and their beloved dog, I placed them on the creek which runs through their wedding venue, set the backdrop to the one they will see from their wedding location, and wrapped them in a vintage doily, (like the ones they plan to have there).
Mel and her daughter came to my mothers group for a wee while before moving away to another state. So when she looked me up and asked me to do this for them I was so honoured. I feel so lucky to be able to have something I've painted for them as part of their special day.
PLUS, I'm giving them the lampshades we had hanging from the trees at our wedding, to hang at theirs.. so I feel like I'll be there in spirit in more ways than one. :)
It's going to be a veeeery beautiful wedding! Wishing them the most splendid day, and magical life beyond!
Every year I spend hours and hours online, searching high and low for just the right calendar. I’m lost without one, but I’m very very fussy about them, I mean you’re going to be looking at it for a whole year right?!
For me it’s not just about the pictures, though obviously that does play a big part. My scrupulous list includes:
• I like the pictures to be predominantly hand painted artworks, not photos, not digital.
• I like the theme to be original, not done to death a thousand times before
• It needs to be cheerful, not gloomy
• The whole calendar has to fit in my "spot" in the kitchen
• I like the days to be laid out in a grid, week by week, not a long list. I like to be able to identify a week in a very quick glance. (I LOVE LOVE LOVE Camilla Engman's calendars, but they fail in this point).
• The days each need a big spacious square/shape for me to write lots of stuff in.
Umm, I think that covers it. The secret is out, I'm cale-anal.
Last year I found a great free, customisable, printable one online at My Owl Barn.
The year prior to that I got it from Be Happy Now. (Actually I got one from her two years in a row because I loved them so much.)
Anyway, Lalaland have put together a 2013 calendar featuring lots of great illustrations. And upon first look it seems to tick all of my boxes. Good job Lalaland! And I'm not just saying that because one of my pictures is in there.
You can buy it online now for just shy of $20, right here!
Today I am lucky enough to be featured in the "interviews" section of Jodi's Art by Wiley site!
Why am I so excited by this? Well, for one Jodi is an amazing artist herself (I would JUMP on the opportunity to do an art swap with her if the opportunity ever arose), and secondly I've been a fan of her interviews for a while. She has interviewed some of my favourite illustrators and crafters, and I've gained new favourites from there too.
Here's a snippet of my interview:
"Nature is the biggest inspiration for me. I find it oddly alien, and that fascinates me! It's such great irony that the very stuff that makes up this planet can still seem so freakish and unreal. Show me one of those BBC nature documentaries and I'm all astonishment... take me into the backyard and hand me a teensy seedpod and I'm just as enamoured, sit me in front of a hyper-coloured sunset and well...you can imagine, I pretty much turn into the "double rainbow" guy."
For the rest click here!
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Last month I was also interviewed by Molly from Balancing the Tide.
Molly and I have "known" each other online for quite some time, she is a writer, poet, exquisite photographer, and she owns quite a few pieces of my art. Since we first encountered one another we've since both had our first babies. Now she runs " Balancing the Tide", a site dedicated to interviewing artistic mums, asking how their creative lives have changed since having children. "A LOT" is of course the answer... at least it is in my case.
Here's a snippet:
"My art-making used to occupy half of the studio we have out the back of our house, but as I tried to squeeze small moments of art into the calm moments of each day, I moved my computer inside onto the kitchen table. This made a big difference, I could be a mum, and answer an email on the way to change a nappy."
For the rest click here!
Many thanks to both Jodie and Molly.xx.
I'm quite proud of this one. I think it's one of my most swirly yet. :)
Art Lab For Kids is a wonderful new book by my friend Susan Schwake, the mastermind behind artstream studios. It's a source of ideas and lessons for creating all manner of different art with children... mind you I learnt a couple of new things from it too.
Beautifully photographed and clearly laid out, it steps you through 52 different art styles, each relating to a particular artist; a type of "how to achieve their look" guide.
And I am delighted to be one of the artists! I'm on the watercolour and pencil page.
The book is lovely, meaty and inspiring. You can buy it online here, and find out more about it here.
Thanks so much Susan, and well done to you!!!
The first lot for the Art 4 Heart auction (raising money for the QLD Premier’s Flood Relief Appeal), wrapped up over the weekend. And I am astounded and very proud to pass on the news that together we raised $2,440!
So far...
Now it's time for Lot Number 2. Even more artists, even more lovely art, and another chance to nab yourself something wonderful for your walls this new year, all whilst helping those in need.
Go have a peepsee: Art 4 Heart.
Photo by Jillian Leiboff.
Home again from a HUGE weekend in Sydney at the Finders Keepers Market. It was seriously good. Thanks so much to everyone who came along, to all the nice people I met and to the other stall holders. I wish we could do it more often.
I'll tell more soon, when I regain some energy.
Remember I mentioned (on my anniversary post) how I'd been commissioned to create some personalised wedding invitations, in the style of ours, for a good-lookin' couple? Well they're done! And sent! And I'm so happy with how they came out!
I hope they LOVE them, and I hope their guests do too :)
Have a wonderful wedding day you two, and a very happy life together. .xx.
(Photo by Mel Stringer)
Earlier in the year Mel Stringer invited me to be part of a new zine she was pulling together, Borrowed Suitcase, and last week my copy arrived in the mail! I must say, I'm a little humbled to be in with other artists of such calibre. Thanks so much Mel!
You can buy yourself a copy here, of if you're feeling lucky, you should enter Mel's very first giveaway to win one (along with a huge bounty of other crunchy-cool stuff).
Last evening I was catching up on visiting some blogs, having a look through Herbert & Friends, by Torunn (who makes the awesome softies), perusing through some snaps she took of lovely shops in Newcastle... and LOOOOOK!
That's MY COLOURING BOOK!!!!!
I have a copy, so I knew it existed, I just have not been able to find out if it is in any shops yet.
But there you go, apparently it is in a shop in Newcastle called 'High Tea With Mrs Woo'. I've been told it's in lots of other places too, I just have no idea where.
So I'm chuffed. It really does exist, and it really IS in shops.
Now I just need to find out where.
In the meantime I plan to get a stack to sell at the Finders Keepers Market in Brisbane in November, and online to anyone else who's interested.
(Photo by Torunn from Herbert and Friends. Thank-you.)
For my creative space this week I get to share what I've been working on for the past few weeks (now that the recipients have got their pic, and I won't be spoiling any surprise).
This is a commission for a really lovely couple from California, who wanted to mark their relationship. They are getting married in just a few weeks (eee!), and I think this was a gift to themselves to celebrate.
Let me tell you, when doing these commissions I really rely on pictures and stories they send, but I also rely hugely on Google. I jump onto Google Maps and research trees and landscapes and what the beaches look like in the area where the couple are from, and I research animals and general images of the area in the Google image search. Then I piece it all together into something that hopefully speaks to them on a personal note.
 The challenge with this one was combining their interests (they asked me to combine knitting and spearfishing).
It took me a while to work it out, but hopefully they're happy with my interpretation.
Have a great wedding Jen and Patrick! And of course a very happy marriage together...
Visit Kootoyoo for more creative spaces.
 (Seabeard McGee)This weekend is the launch of the amazing Drawgasmic exhibition and book! Put together by the ever-cool team at Cranky Yellow. "We're bringing together the work of 1000 international artists, illustrators, and designers in an exhibition and book unlike anything ever created before!"My contribution is old Seabeard McGee (above), but you should see some of the others! There are so many good ones to choose from, but here are a few of my favourites:  By Buffalo Parade, from Perth, Australia.  By Pole Ka, from Paris, France.  By Jennifer Freeman, from New York, USA. The exhibition opens this Saturday at Art Dimensions / 2720 Cherokee - (Located at 2720 Cherokee Street St. Louis MO 63118). So if you're in the area, pop along, and tell me what it's like! :) Otherwise you can buy the works and book online!
HI! I have resurfaced! So the giant project I've been working on is a colouring book!! It is going to be published and distributed by Lalaland!!!! I'm so thrilled!!!! They do lovely colouring books, which are more like story books you can colour in. The drawings are usually more complex than what a normal colouring book would be (not a beach ball to be seen), so the books may be better suited to slightly older kids, but that's not to say younger tots can't expressively scribble at will! I love the idea that kids can colour over the top of shaded artworks, to give them a greater sense of achievement, and to teach them to focus on detail (which is, after all, one of the processes in learning to draw).My book follows the story of a girl who leaves the big city and moves to the country (I know, I know, getting lots of mileage out of that one). There she meets lots of animals of course. To make it slightly educational, and much cooler, I included some Australian animals that are quite rare, with a type of index at the back so you can learn what they all are. And of course there's a moral, ahhhh. ;) Because I had to do the entire thing in two and a half weeks, I ended up re-using some of my previous concepts, but redrew them differently. I sent in all my files today ( after battling to get our internet connection to come back to life). DONE! I'm buzzing with a sense of achievement. I'm so excited I thought I'd share some of my favourite pages...     The book comes out in August! Now, pardon me while I go barge through dunes of eraser shavings, climb mountain of unwashed dishes, part my un-tended hair, and flop on the lounge for an evening of brain-numbing TV and not moving a muscle.
 My last entry to My Creative Space was soooo long ago, I always seem to be too disorganised/busy to pull it off. But this week I'm all about being organised; organised and the Queen of time management. Why? Because I'm undertaking a giant project... the project is not so giant, it IS large though, the giant part comes in when you factor in how little time I have to do it in. So I'm having to be the embodiment or organisation. I'm not going to give away too much now as I don't like to count chickens before they hatch. But when they do I will tell you all about it. In the meantime, here's a sneak peek at page one and page two (hint hint) of the "project". I won't be painting them, they will be left black and white. The colouring part will be someone else's job (hint hint). Lots of detail = eye strain. But I'm really happy with how it's coming along so far. Now if I can keep up this numbingly cracking pace for the next 2 weeks, I may just make the deadline. Gulp! 
I mentioned last week how I got to do my first bit o' graffiti, as a backing for my works in a new show. Well the show opened on Friday night, and I had a great time meeting people and the other artists. So here's my "piece", as pink and girly as it is ;)   I pulled elements out of my paintings, and super-sized them.  Each of the artists in the show were encouraged to do their own wall enhancements...  Hopefully I'll get another chance to do it again one day, and hopefully I'll get a bit better at it each time. (P.S. Don't forget my Birthday Giveaway)
 I've spoken of my secret desire to be a graffiti artist before, but as I've also mentioned, I'm too much of a goody-two-shoes to actually do it. Well here I sit, typing away, with beautifully paint spattered finger-tips, happy as a clam. For today I did my very first "piece". Word-up YO! (cough cough, heee).It's okay, no need to dash outside to check your fences. It's all above board. You see I've been invited to take part in a group show at a great gallery, which is predominantly graffiti based. Street art and those styles that are akin to it. So, I got to paint the afore-mentioned "piece" YO, as a backing scene on the wall to hang my works on-top of. Okay, so I was slow, and I needed ALOT of help, and there's flowers and pink in it... but it's a start homies. It's a start. The show opens on Friday at Open Studio. I'll go and take some pics later in the week to give you a looksee. Peace Out Braa.
Some friends of ours were married on Friday. The rain stopped, the sun shined, and together they were married under the most magnificent gum tree. You know my feelings about being married under big old trees; it's sacred. It was a beautiful wedding.  But the reception!... Well, sit down and let me tell you about the reception... Mrs Bride is a dressmaker, so she made her own dress, and one for their daughter too. Both stunning! Mr Groom is a cartoonist. Actually he is a well known cartoonist, and knows lots of other cartoonists, illustrators, artists, etc. Their reception was held at a local gallery, and instead of gifts, they asked guests to create a cartoon or illustration for them to hang in the gallery for their wedding. Both Mr You and I made works for them, but so did over 60 other guests.  The gallery was filled with works, all for them, all about them getting married. Isn't that cool? And because of all of their talented friends, the works were amazing! The other exciting thing, is that they all stay hung in the gallery for another week or so for The Wedding Show. Then they get to keep all of them. (So we got to go to a wedding, and be in an exhibition. A wedding that gives!)Now, as if all of that wasn't exciting enough (seeing friends get married, getting to wear my wedding shoes again, meeting lots of nice people, seeing lots of art, yummy food...etc, etc), hold onto your hats peeps. I'm about to tell you something very exciting (for me at least). So there I am, oodling on around the gallery admiring at all the works, when who's work should I spot? MEL STRINGER's! That's who! AND it's hung right next to mine! I took photo's to prove it. See...  Then later (after much pointing and happy dancing) I ask the bride and groom how they got Mel Stringer to send one of her works to them, and they reply, "Oh, she's a really good friend, she's sitting just over there". I think at that point I "eeeped" and ran away. Later they insisted on introducing me, I quickly downed a whole glass of champagne and grabbed another one for courage, straightened my skirt, and diligently follow them to be introduced. So I met Mel Stringer! (I will be making a t-shirt) And her boyfriend Ben Sea (also an amazing artist, and one of those people who is so nice you instantly feel familiar with them. Both Mr You and I felt like we'd met him before). We talked about music and art, and agreed that when Rainbow Bright grows up her pubic hair will be "flossy". Yeah, peeps, you could say we like totally hit it off and stuff. But then I'b be name-dropping and bragging, and I wouldn't do that, would I? Nope, not me in my "I Met Mel Stringer" t-shirt. Not me.  Yes, that's me clinging onto Mel like a clip-on koala. Why? Because I'm ever so slightly a giant doofus, but also, she's really really nice... nice enough to let me cling on for a few minutes at least.
 Amongst the hustle and bustle of the Finders Keepers Market the other week, a young, pretty, smart gal named Alex came to interview me. I've done lots of interviews via email before, and even over the phone, but this was the first face to face one I've done. It was fun. The article went up yesterday and it's a really good one. A few facts were lost in the translation of the full-on busy interview environment. So for the record: - I WISH I had a photographic memory! This sadly, is not true. I mentioned I was enjoying being behind my stall at the market, having so many great faces to look at on the other side, and I was trying to commit as many of them as I could to memory to perhaps draw later. - Not all my personal works are bad. That comment was an answer to the question about whether or not I put alot of planning into each of my works. I said I do. For almost all of them, especially commissions. But sometimes I get an urge to do a spontaneous personal work, however, without planning they always turn out bad. So, now that's all straightened out, the rest is really well written and rather complimentary I must say ;) Thank-you Alex. If you'd like to read it, it's over here at Side Street Sydney.
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