Lipstick

An early birthday present to myself

I could not resist these 1939 Lepage-Medvey chromolithographs when I saw them in David Chamberlain's shop on Etsy.  I started off limiting myself to four...then five....then six...then finally I justfied these eight because they are all so beautiful.  Not least the two splendiferous men!

1940s industrial knitting machine

Fidelity Machine Company production catalogue from the 1940s.  A little treasure found at the John Brown Sock Factory in Kyneton by the sleuthing Westographer.  Many thanks as usual, W.

Show how you feel

I am really enjoying using early 80s Dolly magazines as a reference.  Show how you feel is based on an advertisement for a monogrammed chain bracelet: a trend left over from the 70s.  Working from certain photos does however challenge my painting skills -- and this one will have to be substantially reworked.  I had another one too which I can't even show at this point.  (Working in acrylic on wood is good however as you can layer the colours and get rid of unsightly bits.)

Getting work together

I am getting some work together for a mini window exhibition next month, which I will mention again closer to time.  I am quite liking the photos my i-phone takes, I think they're not bad, all things considered.  Lucky us to have such technology!

Sketch for Alice

My dear friends asked me AGES AGO if I would paint portraits of their daughters.  I have avoided the task for many reasons.  Ostensibly I was too busy but in fact I was sure that I would botch it up: portraits are a weighty proposition.
Now that Alice is down on paper I feel relieved and happy.  Getting the sketch right is so important: it's where all the thinking goes.  Well, that's how it is for me.  Alice is a great animal lover: she has pictures of all sorts of wild animals next to her bed and is greeted by a huge poster of a gorilla every morning.  This composition was her wish, though the gorilla here has since become a baby version, and may well change again before we move on to the final work.  Her little sister Evie is next!  I'm sure that she will provide me with a challenge....

My second Etsy shop

I have been wanting to open a little vintage shop on Etsy for a while now -- and here it is finally!  At the moment there is just a small selection of textile items, but hopefully I will have all sorts of things in there soon.  I forgot how much work is involved in setting up an Etsy shop: masthead design, shipping details, photography, verbal descriptions, profile, etc.  If anyone out there is thinking of opening one, I highly recommend having a look at a successful existing shop that sells similar wares to yours, and using that as a template.

A super-inspiring home

Westographer very kindly allowed me to photograph and share a tiny sampling of objects from his astonishing home recently.  Thanks so much W!  I could have photographed for hours, but I chose these items as I find them particularly inspiring.  Besides, the memory card in my camera kept filling up.

I am a HUGE fan of Westographer's photos, updated almost daily on his Flickr site.  A perfect balance of poignant and charming, they are a must-see, particularly if you live in Melbourne.

Lucky me: the best part of having a blog is the amazing people you can meet!  There's quite a few fine ladies out there who know I am talking about them too.

Hooray for blogs!

No Boyfriend?

Dolly magazine, 1980.

Finding it difficult