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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!

 

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!

Bats and Apollo: Shadow Shot Sunday

Happy Shadow Shot Sunday! The top shot is of a flying fox mid-siesta in the Botanic Gardens. As he was sleeping, he was slowly twirling around. I managed to get his contented smile though in this shot. The bottom shot is part of The Archibald Fountain in Sydney's Hyde Park. This is a fine art deco fountain commissioned and paid for by a prominent Sydney identity, J.F. Archibald. It was built after he died as a memorial to him and he insisted that the artist be French as he was an utter Francophile and also because he wanted to commemorate the alliance between France and Australia in World War I. The artist chosen was Francois Sicard. It was completed on 1932. Below you can see the entire fountain in all it's art deco glory.

In the centre is Apollo and he is flanked below by the goddess Diana and the god of Sacrifice for the public good, Theseus (with the minator). There is another group which represents the bounty and goodness of nature. 

Shadow Shot Sunday is an awesome meme set up by that fabbo top gal Tracy of Hey Harriet! Everybody can submit a SSS and here are the instructions on how to do so!

What I've been up to...

Above is a drawing I did of two sisters over the weekend. It's called Sisters II because I already have a Sisters I as you may or may not recall. I've actually realised that I have a thing for drawing two gals together and that I have well over five "two gals together" prints in my shop now! I think I like the idea of sisters or best friends, compadres if you like. ...and these two gals are in my shop!

 

Also on the weekend, I went to The Museum of Sydney to check out the Martin Sharp retrospective exhibition. Sharp is a famous Sydney pop artist but more on him later - he deserves an entire post to himself - I'm thinking later in the week with any chance! However, I went to the shop at the museum and found some choice Sydney Harbour Bridge painting and lithograph postcards! Yippee because I collect postcards and images from the '30s of the bridge! Here above Sydney Bridge Celebrations 1932 by Adrian Feint, a front cover illustration of The Sydney Mail 1930 by 'F.W' and Building the Bridge by Ralph Emmerson Curtis 1933.

...and I've been thoroughly enjoying wearing the two delightfully pretty rings by Christina of Etsy shop Down and Out Chic (this is her gorgeous blog) seen here above on the right being modelled by Clyde that naughty rabbit. On the left Clyde is modelling a sweet pair of earrings handmade by Gabbi of beautiful blog Felinofelice! I feel very lucky indeed to have these in my earring collection - thank you so much Gabbi!

Hope everyone is having a lovely week!

Shadow Shot Sunday!

This is my Shadow Shot Sunday snap for the week! It's an architectural ornament on the roof of a building in Macleay Street Potts Point. It's a birdie type thing sitting in a crown/ foliage type thing.

 

 Shadow Shot Sunday is a fabulous meme hosted by that top gal Tracy of Hey Harriet. All are welcome to enter - here are the rules on how to do so.

 

...and don't forget to enter my COMPETITION! You could win three of my prints! Entries close tonight at midnight.

Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend!

On the street where I live + Shadow Shot Sunday

This is my Shadow Shot Sunday photo of one of my favourite streets in Sydney and I feel very lucky indeed to live just around the corner from it. It's called Macleay Street and it runs from Kings Cross down to Potts Point where it turns into Wylde Street and then curves down the hill past the naval vessels moored at Woolloomoolloo/ Garden Island and Russell Crowe's house!! True!

Shadow Shot Sunday is a terrific meme set up by all round good guy Tracy of Hey Harriet fame! Anyone can enter...here are the instructions on how to do so!

...and here are some more shots along this pretty street...

A Classic Sydney Walk.

As promised, here are my Sunday walk happy snaps! 1) The impressive sea themed Custom's House crest. 2) Luna Park - Sydney's Coney Island. N.B. the two spikes either side of the face are copies of The Chrysler building in New York! 3) Fort Denison,an old convict prison that was fondly (!) known as "Pinch Gut" to it's prisoners due to this small island's lack of food. 4) The Sydney Harbour Bridge. 5) Government House in The Botanic Gardens. 6) & 7) Tulips and more tulips from the Botanic Gardens.

It was perfect weather yesterday for a classic Sydney Harbour walk. It was amazingly warm which has inadvertently thrown me into a right spin about what to wear! I'm going to have to dig out all my summer clothes.

Hope everyone else had a grand weekend too!!

Gabriela, Robert and Florence.

First of all, the Gabriela part: Behold! Another drawing from my weekend drawing festival! This is the very fetching Gabriela. She is a star absolutely and you can find her here in my shop!

...and now for the Robert part!

I have been a huge admirer of this magnificent 3 tiered cast iron Sydney fountain for a while and every time I walk past it I think "I must take a photo of that magnificent fountain for my blog because I just think it's lovely!" Finally, last Sunday I managed to have my camera with me as I walked past.

This fountain was made in a factory in Colebrookdale (UK) and installed in 1907 in the grounds of Sydney's oldest hospital which is now the Sydney Eye Hospital. It was dedicated to the memory of Robert Brough.

Robert Brough was an English actor who came to Sydney in 1870 with his wife and together they were incredibly popular and well loved particularly for their musical comedy routines. So, when Robert died in 1906 it was thought a memorial of some description needed to be erected. So, this lovely fountain is it!

 

In the close ups above you can see the brolgas and the Australian black swans that surround two of the tiers. It has a particularly Australian flavour to it yet it reminds me of something out of Alice in Wonderland.    

Now for the Florence part!

In the picture below you can see the fountain again and behind it a very attractive Gothic revival building which was actually designed by Florence Nightingale. It is The Nightingale Wing and was built in 1869 to house the first nursing school in Sydney and perhaps one of the first in the world. It is now houses a museum which is full of nursing memorabilia and grisly medical specimens floating in jars of formaldehyde.

Good luck with hump day everyone!

Architectural geekery.

From time to time, I like to wander around the city and take photos of buildings that particularly tickle my fancy. Anything Art Deco always gets my camera out as does a fine piece of Victorian detailing.

Above, in all its Art Deco splendour, is Wynyard or Railway House as it's officially known as. It's the classic Deco green terracotta tile cladding with the mushroom coloured granite that really gets me going!

Did you know that Brian Singer's "Superman" used this glorious building for The Daily Planet? I walked past a couple of times while they were filming and I nearly caught sight of Kate Bosworth and her then boyfriend Orlando Swoon...ahem Bloom..gazing into each other's eyes.

This piece of fine plaster work is from another era entirely. It's from the Trades Hall a building that was owned by the Trades Hall Association, the original trade union affiliates who built the hall in 1888. This bit of lovely Art Nouveau was casually tucked away in some corridor. 

This last photo is one I risked life and limb for! Well, not really but it was a scary photo to take as I had to dangle over the railing of a very high stairwell. It was taken in a grand old Victorian building that is still used and loved today: The Department of Lands Building. I'm a real sucker for black and white tiled floors! 

New York, New York

*Sigh* New York, New York! As it's the 4th of July tomorrow I thought a bit of my all time favourite dreamy city was in order. Actually, it is my secret desire to do a zig zaggy road trip from one coast of America to the other and visit as many states as possible in between. But at some stage, I'd most definitely have to have an extended stop over in the Big Apple!

Happy Friday everyone and a special Happy 4th of July to all your gorgeous folk in the U.S of A!

 

 

 

All photos are from Conde Nast.