matouenpeluche

Thank you Marsi + Slow Readers Book Club News!

Paula and Jemma:new print in shop!

First of all, happy Tuesday! Being back at work this week was like being shot out of a cannon! Anyone else a little foggy on Monday or was it just me? Anyway, I'm pleased to announce I picked up speed today and it was like I'd never left! Not sure if that's a good thing or not....

A huge thank you so much to the gorgeous Marsi of that fabulous blog The Cottage Cheese for featuring my work today! Here is the link to the feature and be sure to explore her wonderful blog "where vintage and eclectic design reside". Incidentally, Marsi also has an Aladdin's Cave full of unique vintage home decor treasures in her vintage/ retro  Etsy store which is also called The Cottage Cheese.

And! In other news some of my favourite fabulous bloggers have asked me to join their new Slow Readers Book Club! I will post more about this terrific new movement tomorrow but in the meantime please go to Christina's Down and Out Chic for the low down on the nuts and bolts of it!!

Hope everyone is having a lovely week and see you soon!

Little Black Rabbit.

Viva Shadow Shot Sunday and Happy New Year!

On New Year's Day I went for a walk with my boyfriend and took some shots of things that took my fancy.  This is the spire of St John's in Darlinghurst which is a suburb or two from where I live.

 

Shadow Shot Sunday is an epic meme established by that awesome Brissy gal Tracy of Hey Harriet! Anyone can enter and here are the instructions on how to do so!

Here are some more New Year photos:

Pussy cat Surrey Hills, pretty blue and white and grey tiles Victoria Street Potts Point, a grand old house converted into a glamorous back packer's lodge in Victoria Street, Giza Hair Salon Macleay Street Potts Point, shingle houses St Neots Avenue Potts Point and a canopy of London Plane trees Victoria Street Potts Point.

I hope everyone had a super New Year's Eve. We, as advertised, took it easy and went round to Rushcutter's Bay park to watch the fireworks which gave us a very decent view. The 9 o'clock crackers were actually a bit average and I was thinking maybe I wouldn't bother with the 12 o'clock ones. I was convinced the dastardly credit crunch had had it's wicked way with them! BUT! Thank goodness I did go out for the midnight crackers because they were over the top spectacular and I think the best I've ever seen!! Here's a link to see them in all their wondrous beauty! After they finished we all applauded and hooted!

 

Queen Nefertiti + Boudoir

I hope everyone is having a fabulous holiday!

I have been sort of taking it easy/ drawing a lot! Above are two new drawings that are now up and running in my shop. The one on the left is Queen Nefertiti. She's always referred to as the most beautiful woman in the world - I think she is looking suitably gorgeous here with her pet parrot!

The drawing on the left is Boudoir. Some incredibly glamorous gal getting ready for a swish evening out - probably some fabulous restaurant in New York and an exhibition opening at MOMA. That would be my idea of the perfect evening!

Shadow Shot Sunday = Luna Park

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas Day and survived the Christmas feast! I had a traditional Australian lunch of the most divine selection of seafood: scallops, lobster, prawns and salmon. Desert was cognac ice cream and berries: raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and baked peaches in champagne. Goodness me! I think it was the best Christmas lunch I've ever had! 

Anyway, back to the matter at hand, here is my shadow shot submission. It is the top of one of two towers that flank the face of Luna Park in Sydney. They were modelled on New York's Chrysler building.

Shadow Shot Sunday, by the way, is a fabulous meme set up by the gorgeous Tracy of Hey Harriet! Anyone can enter and here are the instructions on how to do so!

Meanwhile, here are more Luna Park shots.

 

Luna Park was opened in 1935 so all the architecture and artwork in the park is very art deco. It has had a checkered fortune over the years but these days it is in very fine form having been meticulously restored quite recently.

My Dad used to take me there quite a bit when I was little so I am very fond of Luna Park - I have a lot of happy memories associated with it. However, these days I am more interested in the historic art deco sculptures and art work in and around Luna Park rather than the amusement rides themselves.

These cartoony paintings below are by the legendary Hoppy Arthur 'Art' Barton.

Next to Luna Park and probably built around the same time, is an olympic sized swimming pool which has recently been refurbished. I was super pleased to see that they had kept all the delightful and quirky decoration around the perimeter of the pool.

They're fun, aren't they?

Hope everyone is having a great holiday - I know I am!

Clyde the cuckoo.

Gosh! Pardon me for the extended blog absence! Last week was the final week of school which got a bit whirlwind-esque to say the least! After school broke up I went to my Dad's for a bit of R 'n' R. However, I'm back home now and it is officially the first day of my two week break!! Yippeee!!

I got back from my Dad's midday today and the first thing I needed to do was draw!!

This young lad above is my drawing of an Australian Golden Bronze Cuckoo. They live along the eastern coast of Australia and a bit over in Perth (which is on the west coast). His name is Clyde by the way.

What really fascinates me about cuckoos is that almost all of them have this distinctive striped chest. I think it makes them look very smart and dapper!

Here's a photo of a real live Golden Bronze Cuckoo taken in Queensland. What a sweetie!

(Image from here )

I have this young chap available in my shop here.

I hope everyone is well and relaxed and I look forward to popping in to check out all the blog action I've missed this past week!

Happy Monday!

Hello Monday! Here are my two weekend drawings. The top one is Hazel and her friend - the "friend" being a butterfly. Nobody knows the butterfly's name except Hazel. They go everywhere together.

The other drawing is actually available in my shop as an original and as a small print! It is a Sydney Seagull merrily flying off to Bondi Beach to try his luck at getting some hot chips from either the locals or unsuspecting tourists.

Hope everyone had a delightful weekend! I managed to get a large twig in my eye which caused me a few hours of anxiousness to say the least! However, all is well now, touch wood, whistle!

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!!

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)

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!

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)