matouenpeluche

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!).

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)

Martin Sharp

This is Sydney artist and legend Martin Sharp circa 1970. I went to a terrific retrospective exhibition of his work at the Museum of Sydney last week.

Martin Sharp, born (1942) and raised in Sydney, is seen as Australia's number one pop artist. He is best known internationally as the album cover artist for Cream's Wheel's of Fire, the exploding Jimi Hendrix painting and the Mr Tambourine Man Bob Dylan portrait.

 

(Top two images from Art and Australia Vol.47 Spring 2009)

(Disraeli Gears LP Cover from here)

He also co-wrote songs with Eric Clapton, published scandalous (for the 60s) magazines, restored and renovated Sydney's Luna Park, was friend and collaborator of (Tip Toe Through the Tulips) Tiny Tim, designer and artist for beautiful Sydney event posters in the 70s and 80s and a whole heap of other things! Actually, the exhibition itself is a real 4D experience with all his posters and knick knacks displayed in the one huge room. I've decided to go back sometime soon and properly photograph it.

 

(Top: Babylon the great is fallen, fallen. Revelations 18 v2. 2000 - 2006 from the Spring Historic Houses magazine. Bottom three images are postcards from the exhibition: The Sydney Opera House is ten 1983, Tiny Tim, The Chameleon 1982 and Eternity, Haymarket! 1977)

  Martin Sharp was a hero of mine when I was a young cartoonist and illustrator in Sydney so this exhibition was a real treat for me to go to. His posters like the one above of Sydney's Haymarket particularly remind me of my youth and memories of Sydney at that time.

Hope everyone is having/ will have a fabulous 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!

A Day at the Races

In Australia we have a major sporting event coming up soon. It's called The Melbourne Cup. This is the 3 minute horse race which famously "stops the nation". Literally. If you happen to be walking the streets of any city in Australia whilst the race is on you will feel like an extra out of Omega Man as you'll be entirely alone. Everyone else in indoors with their hats on eyes glued to the screen clutching their horse betting slips to their breast. It's on every year on the first Tuesday of November.

...and everyone has to wear a hat. I mean everyone. So, as you can imagine the shops here are full to the brim (sorry) with hats. Which leads me to my latest drawing: A Day at the Races! This lovely young thing wearing part fascinator part retro '40s glam hat is now in my shop! You can find her HERE.

Birthday Books (part II)

 

Here are another couple of books I got for my birthday. The image above is from Dali: The Impresario of Surrealism by Jean-Louis Gaillemin. Again it is a compact book full of his work and terrific photos of Dali at various stages during his life. It's great seeing all his work together - he really was the prolific genius in my opinion. There's also plenty of biographical info about him too from cradle to grave so to speak.

To the left is the cover and the painting on the right is one of Dali's with the impossibly wonderful title: Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bumblebee around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening, 1944.

The next book I am very much looking forward to reading. It's called Me Cheeta The Autobiography and it's by James Lever.

You remember seeing those old black and white Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan movies on TV in the wee hours of Sunday morning? No? Well a whole bunch of Tarzan movies were made in the 1930s and 1940s in Hollywood and the Cheeta of those films wrote this book (ahem). Anyway, it's supposed to be utterly hilarious and a gripping read! I'll let you know! The image on the Left is the book's cover and the one on the right is a painting by Cheeta called Study in Purple and Turquoise #6: 'Water'(2001).

I trust everyone is having a lovely restful and relaxing weekend!

P.S. The lovely Christina of Down and Out Chic is having a fabulous giveaway of Diana's (City Lights) photography! I suggest you hot foot it over there to enter!! Just think...you could win this gorgeous "Couch" print! 

Birthday books (part I)

I got some great books for my birthday. This image by Koloman Moser (1899) is from a small book simply called Art Nouveau. It's chock full of glossy colour illustrations and photos but more importantly it explains the difference between the terms "Art Nouveau", "Secession", ""Belle Époque" and "Arts and Crafts". It's also quite compact so I'll be able to read it in bed!

Here are two more classic images from the book: Peter Behrens' The Kiss from 1898 and  Alphonse Mucha's Sarah Bernhardt "La Plume" 1896.

I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with this book!

Happy Friday everyone and many thanks for your birthday wishes!! They made my day!!

The 14th of October. This day in history...

(Image from The Castle Keep)

The Norman (French Viking) William the Conqueror defeated English Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Above is the iconic Bayeux Tapestry (more embroidery actually) of Harold's defeat. A very important moment in history and a super important moment in the English language - we now have approximately 30, 000 words in the English language that have a French origin as a result.        

 

(Image from wikipedia)

Lovely Lillian Gish was born in 1893. You may remember an earlier post I did about Lillian and her sister Dorothy. That's Lil on the left and Dot on the right.

 

(Image from Syracuse)

One of my favourite American poets e.e.cummings was born on this day in 1894. Here's a terrific poem of his.

'the hours rise up'

the hours rise up putting off stars and it is

dawn

into the street of the sky light walks scattering poems

on earth a candle is

extinguished    the city

wakes

with a song upon her

mouth having death in her eyes

and it is dawn

the world

goes forth to murder dreams...

i see the street where strong

men are digging bread

and i see the brutal faces of

people contented hideous hopeless cruel happy

and it is day,

in the mirror

i see a frail

man

dreaming

dreams

dreams in the mirror

and it

is dusk   on earth

a candle is lighted

and it is dark.

the people are in their houses

the frail man is in his bed

the city

sleeps with death upon her mouth having a song in her eyes

the hours descend,

putting on stars...

in the street of the sky night walks scattering poems

 

(Image from Sound on Sound)

Cliff Richard was born on this day in 1940. Cliff Richard was Britain's answer to Elvis - well an attempt at it anyway...

On this day in 1947 Chuck Yeager was the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound in his Bell X-1. I've always had a thing for Chuck ever since I read Tom Wolfe's  The Right Stuff. Chuck was the real hero of the whole space race in my opinion...

 (Image from Airport Journals)

Lots of other cool stuff happened today too...Roger Moore for example was born in 1927, Dwight D Eisenhower was born in 1890 and so was Isaac Mizrahi in 1961.

...and it is also my birthday today too!! Yippeee! 

Yipee! It's the weekend!

(Image from: Decades of Fashion: The Hulton Getty Picture Collection)

Happy weekend all! This is a photo of British singer Cliff Richard doing the jive. If I could do the jive then by golly I'd be doing it now! However, I can't so this is what I'll be doing instead:

1. Drawing - oh yes! There are quite a few gals and birdies swimming around in my head just waiting to manifest themselves onto a nice bit of art paper.

2. Eating - my boyfriend's amazing cooking. Saturday night is traditionally his cooking night and he the master chef!  

3. Talking - to my Dad's cat Harry on the phone. No, seriously! Every time I phone Dad, Harry rouses himself from the deep slumber he is usually in on some piece of furniture and comes over to the phone and has a good chat to me. ...and there is such import and meaning in his meows I can't tell you! I'm serious!

4. Walking - on Sunday with any luck. The weather has settled down a bit today. It's been colder than winter this past week and wetter and windier. However, I read Sunday might be a bit more reasonable in the weather department. Hopefully, I'll get a good four hour walk in. Fingers crossed!

5. Tidying up - the living room looks like a shambles! It's been a full on week at work what with exams, marking and reports to write and unfortunately the living room has borne the brunt of it.

And you? Have you anything grand planned for this weekend gentle bloggers? 

André Kertész: On Reading

Fourth Avenue, New York (man reading at outdoor book stall), June 4, 1959

L.I. Train (woman reading newspaper), September 4, 1965

 

New York (boy at newsstand), November 1950 

Medici Fountain, Paris (couple on folding chairs), 1948

 

New York (girls in fairy costumes), Apri 19, 1938 

 

For more ravishing Kertész images click here. For a biography of Kertész click here.

Happy hump day glorious blog pals! It's all plain sailing after today!!