in the mood for love

 

 

In the Mood for Love, dir. Wong Kar-wai, 2000.

I can't believe it took me so long to see this film. The storytelling is so spare and minimal, the visuals so lush and rich. Not to mention the gorgeous clothes! Stunning.

inspiration: colour

From Marc Jacob's Resort 2013 collection. Wear all your clothes, wear them all at once

 Mandarin ducks, the most beautiful ducks

No post about colour would be complete without a Mary Blair painting. 

Giant pencils by Jonna Pohjalainen

Anonymous artist. Found at Project Thirty-Three, an amazing collection of vintage album covers designed with typography and simple shapes.

my etsy favourites: things i'm not allowed to buy

I have too many Things. Some big things, but mostly small things, things that don't have any use and take a lot of dusting. My husband was looking for some Useful Thing the other day and found a ceramic cat playing a violin. For some reason this was the last straw and he is now convinced that I have too many things. (I agree, but that cat has REAL WHISKERS. And several bandmates. I'm not getting rid of the cat.)

So when I see Things on Etsy that I want, I add them to my favourites. It's like walking around a shop, filling your cart and then abandoning it. It's almost satisfying.

Plus, I have all these Things ready to buy when I move into a mansion.

nail inspiration

I've seen some amazing nails lately, and some of them even look do-able for a shaky-handed doofus like myself!

Emily Denise at Very Emily regularly posts mind-blowing nail photos, but this is a style that looks fantastic but would be pretty easy (albeit time-consuming) to achieve. There's a tutorial at Unicorn Parade-- a good trashy TV watching project!

 

Here's another great look from Emily Denise:  glitter over dark polish, but done in a really great way.

  

I am a big fan of Bronny's blog Fat Aus, and I've been lurking and reading her archives. I love these nails! There's a tutorial at The Dainty Squid. I'm really into triangles right now, and I really love the way this looks!

And back to the impossible: Emily Denise's butterfly nails. So beautiful!

commonwealth festival

Two weeks ago the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) was held in Perth. (I never got sick of hearing that acronym. Choggem! Choggem! Choggem!) Perth hoisted up its stockings and tarted itself up for the international visitors, including a Commonwealth Festival which took place in the Cultural Centre. I was drawn there by the international food stalls (OMG best takoyaki ever!) but there was a lot of nice stuff going on, and I took some pretty photos.

antm s17 e01

I recapped the first episode of the new season of America's Next Top Model! Spoiler: It was completely awful.

illustration: 1966

 

Girls in a 1966 Sears catalogue, advertising 'The Urchin Look.' I drew this from an image in one of my favourite sources of inspiration,  Everyday Fashions of the Sixties As Pictured in Sears Catalogs (thanks to the lovely Sara for the tip!).

inspiration: alain gree

I just discovered the amazing French illustrator Alain Grée via the delightful Draw, Pilgrim! Vintage children's illustration (1950s-70s) is my favourite art form and a huge source of inspiration for me.

 Image from glenmullaly @ Flickr

Grée was born in Paris in 1936 and is still alive and working today! He has published over 300 books, mostly in the 60s and 70s.

Image from Linzie Hunter @ Flickr

Grée's work combines a naivety of shape with a bold colour palette that makes me feel so happy.

Image from samsmyth @ Flickr

There's a 50-year anniversary book (with stickers!) but I've only been able to find it on Amazon France. I may have to make an order!

Image by Jane Foster

Who are your favourite illustrators? I have so many, I might have to make this a series!

project runway recaps

 

In case you missed it, I recapped episode 4 of Project Runway over at Fruitless Pursuits! It includes a bunch of silly drawings, including the glamorous self-portrait above.

project runway recap, ep 3

I did another Project Runway recap at Fruitless Pursuits, and I drew a sweet new logo for the series! Please check it out even if you don't watch the show-- it's just a silly thing and it's hopefully funny. And it has stupid drawings!

prairie lunatic

In case you're wondering what my Prairie Lunatic chic is going to look like, I drew a picture.

screenprinting!

On Friday (ANZAC Day, a public holiday in Australia) the lovely Lisa Max (who took these photos) and the fabulous Jarrad Robb came over to our house for a day of screenprinting.



I screenprinted about 22 Space Rabbits, half in pink and half in blue, and Lisa made amazing owls and kitties. Above: Jarrad and I are happy about how awesome we are at screenprinting.



It was so much fun! I had been worried that four people would be too many, and that Robert and Jarrad would be left out, but it was really a perfect number for a very efficient operation.



The plan is to back these with patterned fabric and stuff them. I am going to have to buy some more fabric (oh no!) because the colours are so bright and they need to be matched just right.

I can't wait to do this some more!