Markit: this Sunday!

I am very proud to be part of Markit at Federation Square this Sunday May 25.  Above is a screen grab from Markit's website, and there's my little Salami Lady down the bottom right!  (I happen to be very fond of her.  She is a one-off, so if you were to buy her, you'd be getting the real deal.)

I will also have the full selection of greetings cards, A4 and A3 prints, painted mirrors, dolls, cushions and a selection of wooden clocks and figures.

Details for Markit:

SUNDAY 25 MAY 2014
10AM–5PM
THE ATRIUM AND
DEAKIN EDGE THEATRE
FEDERATION SQUARE
MELBOURNE 


I will be in the Deakin Edge Theatre, right down the stairs and to the right of (the vastly bigger stand of) Mrs Emily Green.
See you there!!

Gardening Australia magazine, June

Hello!  I haven't been here much lately.  A combination of flu, working on things that I can't yet show and then working on other things that look like things I have shown you already, has kept me away.  At least I have this to share with you: my illustration for Michael McCoy's article on the back page of Gardening Australia magazine, June.  Acrylic on wood, scanned, cut out and cleaned up a little in Photoshop.

Around the place this week or so

 Peeping toes after a long walk home from Lygon Street.

 A doll with fur for hair for Mina's birthday.  Based on a 1970s pattern.

A page from Antonio's Girls -- a fantastic compendium of the work of the genius fashion illustrator Antonio Lopez.  My brother had this book on loan for something like 20 years, so it's nice to appreciate it afresh.

 Tasmanian devil postcard and numbered lady watching TV -- most likely gasping at some recent speech of Tony Abbott's.

 A small collection of food packaging etc. at the studio.

 Getting ready for Markit at Fed Square Melbourne on May 25 -- my first ever!!!

A dark morning in the front room.

Yes, my spectacles era has dawned.

Me, In The Age

Yup, that's me in Melbourne's The Age newspaper yesterday.  (Click here for a readable online version.  It may also have appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald.  I would be interested to know, for several reasons.)  Kath Dolan was the best kind of interviewer: warm, genuinely interested and wanting ANSWERS as to why I do the work I do.  She gently prized them out of me and when I read the article I found out things about myself that even I hadn't been conscious of.  Photographer Eddie Jim was similarly kind.  However, it may not surprise you to learn that I do not generally sit ON my desk, clean brush in hand, pretending to stroke at a finished artwork -- much less without my trusty and beloved denim apron (a present from dear Bridget, who does not generally read this blog).

Happy Easter.

Knitting Spam

I have been wanting to knit a picture (rather than just words) for a long time, so after I finished designing the graph for my can of Spam I couldn't wait to get started on the actual knitting.

Hmm.  Intarsia (picture) knitting is not so much fun; various colours carried within the same row can mean quite a tangle at the back.  I had forgotten that part.  (Seasoned knitters may note that the navy yarn carried across two rows of the top part of the bun is actually a mistake.)

In case you're wondering, my intention is to make this into a cushion.  One day.

How I make things unnecessarily hard for myself (Part 1)

For May's Gardening Australia "The Big Picture" illustration I decided to paint on wood again, but to give it a pink undercoat first, rather than the usual white.  I thought it might give an interesting, warm effect.

The effect is debatable but when I scanned the picture into Photoshop it meant that there was an ENORMOUS amount of cutting out to do (just look at that leafy tree on the right!).

I believe that the cutting took as long as the painting.

A huge honour.

Recently I had the huge honour of painting a few portraits for Andrea from Stampel, and her equally lovely sister Jen.

Above: Their late mother Marilyn, based on an old black and white photograph.  When Andrea and her sister were little, their mother painted flowers on their windcheaters using puff paint.  Andrea still owns her windcheater and suggested that I use her mother's flower painting style as inspiration, which I think was a brilliant idea.

Marilyn in her later years, below.

And last but not least, Andrea's late mother in law, Janet.  I greatly enjoyed painting these portraits, and feel incredibly honoured that the sisters asked me to bring back a little of these beautiful women who were so such a huge part of their lives (and Andrea's husband's).  While I was painting them, I grew very fond of them as well.

Thank you Finders Keepers

Thank you very much to The Finders Keepers for featuring my work in your blog recently.  When I scrolled through I thought some of my answers were a bit naff but I did enjoy seeing the scarf above again.  Long gone to a lovely lady, but still one of my favourites.

Mr Hockney is a winner!

Mr Hockney is very pleased to announce that he has won the Frankie Prize in the inaugural Reginald Portrait Prize for Softies, brainchild of the wonderful Sue Halliday and hosted by the Melbourne CAE.  It is my absolute belief that any of the finalists could have won a further prize.  They were all fantastic and so incredibly varied that judging them must have been a very difficult task indeed (Have a look at the Reginald site for full catalogues of entries and finalists).  The overall winner was an exquisitely detailed Bjork by Dainy Sawatsky.  I had a fantastic time at the prize ceremony on Friday evening.  It was wonderful to meet the finalists, and MOST wonderful to meet the incredibly talented and very sweet Ms Cat Rabbit.

A couple of milestones.

When I first opened my Etsy shop back in October 2009, I was excited and terrified when I made my first sale -- a black moustache mirror to a young lady in the U.S.  Would it break in transit?  Would she be happy with it?

A couple of weeks ago my Etsy sales clocked up to 500: something I never, ever imagined would happen.  Thank you so much to anyone out there reading this who has ever bought anything from my shop, whether it be a greeting card, downloadable knitting pattern, wooden clock or a whole bunch of original paintings!  

And then another milestone this week!  I have been on Instagram for six months.  To have 1005 followers in such a short time feels kind of amazing and ridiculous at the same time, but I think it says more about Instagram than it does about me.  For anyone out there considering joining (hello Saskia...?!) here's some evidence that it's the way to go. 

There's lots of talk that blogs are dying.  I still love working on my blog and reading other people's (though I find that I have less time to lately).  Posting on this platform takes much more thought and effort than a quick snapshot and a couple of sentences on Instagram.  It also works a lot better as a whole.  After all what we call 'blogs' started out being called 'web-logs' or diaries and that is exactly what mine will continue to be.  For my sake as well as for my readers'.  

(And -- thank you for reading.)

New Craft at The Vic Market

Hello!  I will be taking part in Craft Victoria's inaugural New Craft market at the Queen Victoria Market this Sunday April 6.  We will be in Shed A near the corner of Victoria and Peel Streets.  It promises to be a fun day.  Please come and say hi!  More details here.

A very special Easter scarf for The Boroughs

I had a great deal of fun working on this folk art inspired Easter scarf design for Alasdair at Five Boroughs in Brunswick East.  The scarf will form a limited edition wrapper for a small number of especially made Easter eggs. Talk about luxurious! I am very much looking forward to getting my own, for more reasons than one.

Three ladies and one gentleman

FINALLY -- new cards.  They are in my shop.  Have a fine weekend.

GET LOVE

This was designed as an i-pad cover but it's a wee bit small.  It measures 23.5 x 21cm (9.2 x 8.2 inches) and the plastic toothed zipper opens to 22 cm wide (8.6 inches).  Sooooo, it would comfortably fit an i-pad mini + a few more of your precious items.  I also think it would make a pretty clutch.
Why knit a great big "GET LOVE," you ask?  I reckon it's what we're all trying to do whenever we turn on our computers, i-pads or smart phones.  Any messages?  Emails?  Any 'likes' on Facebook, Flickr, Instagram?  We are constantly hungry.

If you really like it, it's in my Etsy shop.  It's at a good price too for a hand made item, just because it's a bit small to be used in the way that I intended.

This is the back: it's made of a colourful vintage woven wool.

Ada the Acrobat and her trusty horse, Harriet

This arm belonged to a man who lived the early 20th century. He was in love with Ada the Acrobat, whom he had seen performing in the circus when it came to the little town where he lived. Time did not dim his love, or his memory of Ada jumping through a ring of fire on her trusty horse, Harriet.

....Actually it's a wooden clock, and it's in my Etsy shop.  But you probably realised that.  

Or maybe not.