Finding inspiration on the other side of the world

Going to make up for my radio silence since July with a bumper post from my recent trip to Australia. This was for a beautiful beachside family wedding with my sister, but we also snuck in a decent amount of gallery-ing.

The first point of call was in Sydney, or between Bondi and Tamarama Beach, at their annual Sculpture by the Sea:

Also picked up this early Christmas card for myself in a vintage shop. It's by Luka Va.

At the other end of our trip, we chanced upon the 2018 Melbourne Ceramics Market, then a day later, visited the c3 contemporary art space at Abbotsford Convent. This was where we found these thorny ombre delights by Adam Stone:

Here, too, are further down-under-discoveries from the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia:

Frederick McCubbin - Mary (1891)

Tom Roberts - Mrs L. A. Abrahams (1881)

Arthur Loreiro - The spirit of the new moon (1888)

Charles Blackman - The Exchange (1952)

John Brack - Nude with Dressing Gown (1967)

NOLA

At the very beginning of this month, I found some pretty prints of New Orleans architecture by Magda Boreysza in a teeny shop next door to our hip hotel. Here's an beaut example that really captures the character and soul of one particular home:

Made me nostalgic about the Kiwi houses I tried to draw here and determined to get drawing back into my routine. 

Robin Delivery

Sorted a drawing of a little robin to feature on a Christmas card for a friend's nephew. Dawdled with the typography but pretty pleased in the end.. almost as satisfied as the little well fed character themselves:

Change in direction

Have needed help in navigating since this time last year. Here's a little something to help me find my way from here..  

Thought Bubble

I went to the 10th Leeds Comic Art Festival last weekend. This was a fairly spontaneous decision, on the background of a teeny bonfire related hangover.. But it did my eyes good, and like last time, I was impressed with the breadth and quality of exhibitors. 
Highlights this year include Maria Stoian,

.. Emmeline Pidgen who illustrated both the cover of the festival guide and this delightful chap..

.. Emily Rose and particularly her four days in Budapest Zine..

.. Tor Freeman..

.. and Anja Urhen.

My total favourite find was WarwickJC, from whom I acquired the following excellent dinosaur themed ice cream van.

Brilliance.  

Moving life drawing

After a tumultuous few months, I'm back and staying put (for a bit) in Leeds. And so, in keeping with my way to feel grounded in a new (old) place, I'm on the hunt for a life-drawing class. Tried to go to one last night but epic-failed as it required advance booking.. and I didn't. I forgot that we're so bound to rules and systems in the UK! However, in a lovely twist of fate, this resulted in Daniel agreeing to be my half hour muse instead. And here's the result, complete with overlay as the pose slipped, much to Daniel's denial. 

Return of the tile

Its been a while since I blogged about tiles. But the intention for a little project has not vanished. I've recently been working on a design crammed full of personal meaning. 

5 symbols of courage, awareness, safety, peace and love -  a carabiner, a (in) tuning fork, a padlock, an olive branch and a heart - woven into a decorative square pattern. Here's a pic of the working sheet and a close up on the toward-finished design. 
The next bit will be getting it onto ceramic..

#safetypin

I'm not leaving the house much at the moment, but I'd wear one if I were.

Tyrannosaurus ahead

This month has been a bit rocky - My mum and sister went back to the UK.. the clocks went forward (so it's getting dark really early) and my umbrella was stolen from a campsite (!).

On the plus side - I had a little trip to lovely Napier last weekend.. have started plotting for a certain someone's big birthday in May and I've done a lot of organising for the future, both long term (Lisbon ahoy) and more short term, which includes me freelancing on a bigger scale again. 

Part of this includes having a stand or two at local markets.. the first of which (and possibly the biggest!) *might* be in July. I'm planning to display and sell work that fits into the theme of adventure and exploration, which is most definitely what this life business is about. Dinosaurs may feature. Infact, this little chap will be hanging out with the previously featured stegosaurus. Except he will be slightly better dressed. 

New exhibition

I've got new work on show in Leeds at the lovely Midnight Bell as part of an exhibition curated by Munro House called Exhibit, which runs at various locations across Leeds for 10 weeks from Monday 21st March through til 30th May 2016.

My work will be on display (and for sale at the very reasonable price of £76).. so if you're local (or not), I strongly advise you to pop along to see it in person. 

Work on show includes the full set of my aforementioned terrarium project - Tis very exciting to have somewhere to showcase it so soon after completion! Here's a preview of the Autumn version to tempt your visual tastebuds..

Summer

It is hot and humid here in Auckland today. The opposite of what I'm used to in February. Where are the minus temperatures and frosty windscreens?!

To take advantage of the season, we've just been on a little holiday to explore the South Island. The above instalment in my terrarium series has been inspired by this trip, particularly a place called Alexandra, which sits in the rain shadow of the Southern Alps. It is the driest, hottest and coldest place in NZ. We felt lucky to see it in it's summer glory - warm and dry, with clear blue skies and the kind of bright sunshine that makes for excellent photography. The below of which made it's way into the digital collage. 

Terrariums

What do you get when you mix these ingredients with a polar bear?

Ta-dah!

There's something magnetically appealing about small versions of things. 

I created this little world after having been happily sucked into the current trend for terrariums. It's now hanging pretty in the space where there used to be fireplace. 

I also started an inspired set of drawings - putting a landscape within the frame of a container. There'll be four in total, each depicting a unique micro-climate based on a particular season. This is the spring version (from a UK perspective). The others are on route.. 

Life drawing on the other side of the world

Found a class to attend in NZ within 5 days of arriving and it certainly helped in making me feel more grounded. Here's a drawing of a contemplative pose to which I later added some collage-y bits.

Capturing home in New Zealand

So this month I've gone and relocated to Auckland, and I've been trying to make myself feel at home. This has partly involved getting a new pet. But I've also spent time admiring and pondering the traditional kiwi home. Here's a not very well photographed example:

White, wooden, single storey (aka a bungalow!), with decorative trellis-y bits (I'm yet to learn what these are actually called..), a corrugated roof, and the all important deck. (They also seem to be single glazed, although mentioning this makes me feel like a right diva, so ignore that..).

They've got a certain charm that I tried to capture in a couple of drawings (from a stealth position in my car), but I'm not quite there yet. 

I think it might be something to do with the amount of lines.. But I'll persevere into November and see if I can find my feet a bit more, both visually and physically..

Tiles

I've spent some quality time drawing some lovely Lisbon tile patterns, inspired by recent trips and this excellent collection. Here is one of many little sketches, of which there will be many more. I feel a project coming on...

Dino party times

This is absolutely, totally, factually what a dinosaur party would look like..

Work on show

My Leeds-scape (below) has been selected as one of 18 in the latest installment of the 'Imaginary Museum' series - Monuments and Landmarks.  This is on show at the University of Leeds School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies until the end of the month. Go along to pick you favourite postcards from the collection and start your own 'imaginary museum'..

Bridges

So a friend asked me to come up with a logo for his freelance consultancy work in the heritage / library / archiving world, incorporating the bridges that span the Tyne in Newcastle. Little did I know there were 5 bridges, but indeed there are! And so... I came up with the idea to arrange said bridges in a stacked formation, as if on a bookcase, drawing on relevant connotations around cataloguing, organisation and structure. Here's a neat and not so neat version, plus one with some colour and texture for added aesthetic appeal.

 

Abacaxi

Became a bit obsessed with this word during my (ongoing) attempt to learn Portuguese. And now I keep spotting them all over. So I had to join the club and draw one - in continuous line and digital collage - conveniently completed in time for a special person's birthday. Happy pineapple. 

Time for an adventure?

This month is full of up chartered territory. Tomorrow I'll find myself meeting the parents in Lisbon :/ Then in two weeks, I'll be taking my first steps in the African continent by visiting Morocco :) Inspired illustrations will follow from both! - But in the meantime, here's a collection of essential adventure gear for all trips..

This has been drawn for a close friend who is taking an expedition into the wilderness at the end of the month, for the dawning of his 30th year . I'm unable to attend, which is causing me to have a sad face, (Gilles is my immovable excuse), but here's hoping they have as much fun as I did drawing all the vital components..