matouenpeluche

3 for 2 SALE in my shop!

Audrey Hepburn's dresses and accessories go under the hammer.

Dresses and accessories from Audrey Hepburn's collection, 36 items in total, went to auction yesterday and sold for 270, 000 pounds! This was 170,000 pounds more than expected! There were dresses from her iconic films such as "Roman Holiday" and an ivory satin dress  she planned to wear for her wedding to James Hanson which was later cancelled.

Apparently, all the clothes are exceedingly petite as Audrey measured 5ft 7 inches tall with a bust of 32", waist 22" and hips 34"

Sorry I missed it - although I'm not very good at auctions - I tend to get paranoid the auctioneer is looking at me and I freeze up least he think my blinking eyes are me bidding on something outrageously expensive!

You can find the full story and photos here!

Angelic Angelica

(All images via here)

Did you know that Angelica Huston is the third generation of her family to be in film and the third generation to win an oscar? Her father was the famous film director John Huston and her mother was a famous Italian-American prima ballerina. Her grandfather was Walter Huston a character actor in Hollywood from the 1920s - 1940s.

I've always thought she was very striking to look at and I've always admired her acting.

Happy Tuesday (already?!) tout le monde!

King of the castle...

Ah! The sweet, dulcet tones of the melodic Australian Cockatoo! Anybody from Australia and anybody who has been to Sydney and has had the pleasure of listening to a cockatoo will know I am being deeply sarcastic here! The cockatoo's call is the most abrasive, screeching, ghastly sound on the planet and yet they hold a special place in every Aussie's heart. Their name is often shortened to "cocky" and boy are they that! So confident and full of chutzpah! As a matter of fact I'm listening to a lone cocky screeching like a madman in the park down the end of my street right now. Bless!

This is my Shadow Shot for this week. Shadow Shot Sunday is a fantastic meme set up by that all round good gal Tracy of Hey Harriet fame! Anybody can enter and here are the instructions on how to do so!

Happy Sunday mes amis!!

Monsieur Verne and the fabulous shop sale!

This is Monsieur Verne and he's here to announce a fabulous 3 for 2 SALE in my shop!

Yes! that's right! Buy any two same sized prints from my shop and get another the same size or smaller absolutely FREE! Just let me know in the notes at check out which one you'd like as your freebie!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!!

Happy Friday!

My goodness! Friday already! All I can say is: PHEW! Is it just me or does everything speed up around Christmas? May be it's just me!

These drawings here are by one of my favourite cartoonists: B. Kliban. He is best known for his endearing plump cats that get up to all sorts of mischief like sitting in hot tubs whilst playing with a rubber ducky or doing a spot of yoga. However, he was also a fine illustrator and seriously fond of his pussy cats: Norton Nitty, Burton Rustle and another one whose name escapes me.

While I am too big to lie on the telly like this guy above I'll be doing plenty of what he's doing, i.e. relaxing, this weekend!

(All images from "Never eat anything bigger than your head", "The biggest Tongue in Tunisia" etc which you can buy here)

Christmas shopping...

(You can find this gorgeous photo "Ring Ring" by Diana of citylight here!)

Well, I don't know about you, but I think the Christmas season is in full swing! I have already started my Christmas shopping. I bought some exceptionally fine prints and cards from Diana of citylight. Did you know Diana was having a sale at the moment? It's the perfect opportunity to pop over to her shop and pick up something wonderful for your wall!

The Patron Saint of Humming-birds : new print!

This is The Patron Saint of Humming-Birds. It was another exceptionally warm weekend but I managed to get this lovely lady out onto paper. I have actually been thinking quite a bit about humming-birds and patron Saints e.t.c lately and I'm quite pleased that this is the end result.

In fact I am quite fond of Patron Saints. This is the second one I have drawn so far. The first Patron Saint I drew was The Patron Saint of Rabbits - I made her into a greeting card. Here she is below.

 

(You can find her here)

I am also a big fan of Roberto Rossellini's film about the Franciscan monks and the Patron Saint of animals: Saint Francis of Assisi. It's called The Flowers of St. Francis. There are lots of delightful scenes of Saint Francis with animals - and having them gather round him in rapt attention. If you haven't seen this movie, I strongly suggest you do so as it is truly wonderful. Astonishingly, all the actors in this film are actual monks and non-professional actors. It is very touching and I think it has left a lasting impression on me.

 

(Image from here)

Speaking of flowers, a very delightful aspect of all this warm weather is my Dad's gardenia bushes. They are bursting forth all over the shop! My Dad has two bushes: one has small button hole blossoms that totally cover the bush and the other has enormous blooms that are as big as your hand! Both smell like heaven so I never mind which ones he picks for me. Below are two photos I took of some flowers from the "big" bush. They are a little yellow but they still look all waxy and fit and of course they smell divine!

 

  I hope everyone had a restful and relaxing weekend!

Palomino wall.

Shadow Shot Sunday folks! Tree leaves cast their shadow on an unsuspecting wall. It looks a little under watery to me for some reason...

Shadow Shot Sunday!! ...or SSS as we say in the trade, is a fantastically addictive meme set up by that awesome gal of Hey Harriet: Tracy! Anyone can enter. Here are the details on how to do so. But beware! Once you have dipped your toe in the Shadow Shot, there's no going back! 

 

Bonjour le weekend!

(Image from here)

Oh Happy Friday! Here's a classic cat drawing by Théophile Alexandre Steinlen called "Horrible fin d'un poisson rouge". Sometimes I feel like this harassed goldfish (but without the ghastly ending!) during the week at work and sometimes I feel like the cat. Perhaps in reality I'm the bowl - certainly by Friday I feel a little "cracked" and in need of some serious R'n'R!

I have been quite busy this week and haven't visited as many blogs as I would've liked to - so I'm sorry I've been a bit 'absent'. I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone in cyber land this weekend! 

Meanwhile, here's some more gorgeous Steinlen Art Nouveau loveliness! 

(Image from here)

(Image from here)

Thank you Diana and Emma!

(Image from here)

(Image from here)

Just a quick post here to say a huge "Thank You" to the wonderful Diana of Our City Lights for the feature and interview on her blog! Thank you so much Diana - it's an absolute honour to be part of your blog!! If you haven't already seen Diana's amazing blog I strongly urge you to check it out because it's incredibly entertaining and always interesting. Diana is also a very fine photographer and you can find her work here!

...and another big thank you to Emma for the gorgeous spread and mention she made of my work on her blog! Thank you Emma! You might like to check out Emma's blog also as it's full  of fun!