matouenpeluche

Goodbye 2009....and hello (almost) 2010!

Goodbye dear 2009! You were good to me 2009 and I had a wonderful time!

Today I plan to take it easy at home here (and draw! Surprise!) and avoid the crazy revellers. My suburb gets pretty nutty on New Year's Eve so I'll be lying low for most of the day but I most certainly intend to go down the road to see the crackers at 9:00pm and again at 12:00pm. I'm going to try and take some photos too!

Hope everyone has a wonderful evening. Thank you for all your gorgeous blogs which I love keeping up with and thank you for the comments and visits to my blog in 2009!!

Happy New Year (almost!) and see you in 2010!

(Both images from here)

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!

Hashiguchi Goyo

I have recently been admiring the sublime work of Hashiguchi Goyo a Japanese artist born in 1880. He was actually born Hashiguchi Kiyoshi but he later changed his name to Goyo after the magnificent goyo pine tree in his Father's garden. His father, incidentally, was a samurai and amateur painter.

(All images from Fujiarts)

Goyo produced 14 woodblock prints during his short life: he died in 1921 at the age of 41 after having suffered ill health for a number of years.

Looking at his work, I feel mesmerised by the calm beauty of his compositions. The detail of the fabrics he painted and the joyous colours are truly something in my opinion.

You can find out more about him and his work here.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week and that it is not too hectic in the lead up to Christmas Day!

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!

Charlotte = new print!

This is Charlotte and she loves to dance. The tango is her favourite but she's also quite partial to the fox trot, the charleston and the flamenco. She has been known to inspire the odd choreographer too and several dances have been thought up with her specifically in mind. You may recall "The Charlotte" which was incredibly popular last summer.

However, it is her dream to one day star in a Busby Berkeley musical...

(Image from here)

(Image from here)

...and I can't blame her for that!

Happy Monday all - and yes, the weather has settled down from yesterday's scorching 41.5 degrees Celsius (= 107 Fahrenheit) to a very reasonable 20 degrees Celsius (ahhhhh....much better!).

The Girl Who Loved Birds : new print in shop!

Here is my drawing from the weekend. It's called "The Girl Who Loved Birds". I like the idea of someone tattooing their favourite animal all over their back. I think with me it'd have to be pussy cats...bien sûr!

Happy Monday all - I've actually done the hard slog and am currently relaxing at home - phew! For those of you yet to experience the full blast of Monday-itus: all the best. It'll be over soon take my word for it.

Renée Perle : Jacques Henri Lartigue

(All images above from here)

The lovely Romanian model Renée Perle was photographer and painter Jacques Henri Lartigue's (1894 – 1986) muse and girlfriend. Although Lartigue is most famously known for hs photos of racing cars at the French Grand prix, the photos of Perle are classics of their time. Isn't she lovely?

Here are some more of Lartigue's photos. Incidentally, did you know that Wes Anderson is a huge Lartigue fan and has paid homage to him in his films Rushmore and The Life Acquatic with Steve Zissou (the protrait of Lord Mandrake in the movie is based on a photo of Lartigue). 

(Image from here)

(Image from here)

(Image from here)

Hump Day pick me up!

(Life Magazine 1922 from here.)

(Andre Kertesz 1928 from here)

(Montparnesse Station Train wreck from here)

(Lee Friedlander Revolving doors from here)

Ok, well these images are a little unrelated but I kinda like them all the same!

Happy Hump Day folks!

P.S. Thank you everyone for all your lovely comments and enthusiasm for my drawings - it's very encouraging!!

Irish Eyes and Poppy part 1 and 2.

Here are the three drawings I worked on over the weekend. Above is Irish Eyes. I just thought she looked incredibly Irish for some reason. Maybe it's her green eyes and the pretty green collar on her blouse?

...and here are two gals - actually the same gal Poppy. She's a bit more stylised than I would normally draw but I am pleased with how she turned out. The one on the left is Poppy at the Ball 2 and the right Poppy at the Ball 1. I loved how in the roaring 20s there were plenty of feathers and pretty headdresses. It seems the only time we can wear a feather in our hair these days is at the races!

 

All three are now in my shop!!

P.S. I now have a SALE section in my shop!

Hope everyone had a terrific weekend!

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!