matouenpeluche

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!!

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! 

 

Shadow Shot Sunday!

  In honour (!) of today's predicted 41 degree heat (= 106 degrees Fahrenheit), I thought a cactus would be a good subject for today's shadow shot. I love these flowers - they have a bit of personality I think! I took these photos in the succulent garden section of Sydney's Botanical Gardens a fortnight ago.

Shadow Shot Sunday is a fabulous meme set up by none other than Tracy of Hey Harriet fame! It's open to all and here are the instructions on how to enter!

 

Meanwhile, what to do today when the very thought of thinking makes you break out in a sweat? I could either stay at home and drink iced water all day and read a book or I could go into town and hang out in the cool of the shops. Hmmmm...however, the big problem today which is a lot bigger than the dilemma of how I shall stay cool is the bush fire threat. Apparently, the bush is bone dry and there may well be a wind today - I just send all my thoughts out to those people who live in areas close to scrub and bush and keep my fingers crossed for them that today won't be as bad as predicted.

On a lighter note, happy Sunday all!

Jacaranda Tunnel: Shadow Shot Sunday

 

Every year at this time I make a point of going to this particuar road in Kirribilli. I think this photo probably explains why I insist on going there at least once! Actually, this photo doesn't really do it justice because as you're standing under this fantastic purple tunnel, the blossoms gently fall on you like rain. It's hard not to feel like you're a character out of a Walt Disney movie!

Shadow Shot Sunday is a fabulous meme set up by the gorgeous Tracy of Hey Harriet fame! Thank you Tracy by the way - as Gabbi mentioned on her post from last week - it is just so much fun hunting down a shadow shot!

Absolutely anyone can enter and here are the instructions on how to do so!

Meanwhile, it's going to be another scorcher here in Sydney today but I understand tomorrow is going to be even hotter at 39 degrees! 39!!! ...at this time of year - the mind boggles!

Happy Sunday folks!

Paddo Plane tree = Shadow Shot Sunday

Pretty Paddington plane tree in full nut or Paddo plane tree as us locals call that suburb. I actually took this photo a couple of months ago in Winter. 

Shadow Shot Sunday is a fabbo meme set up by the beautiful Brisbane gal Tracy of Hey Harriet fame. It is open to everyone - here are the rules on how to do so!

 

...and a great big thank you to Francesca of Certain Creatures for the very pretty post she did of my work!  La ringrazia di nuovo Francesca! P.S. Francesca also has a very sweet shop on Etsy that is full to the brim with goodies! You can find it here!

Happy Sunday folks!!

Three cheers for Shadow Shot Sunday!

Shadow Shot Sunday!

This is a large piece of sandstone as seen from the bushland walk to Neilson Bay Park from Rose Bay, Sydney.

Shadow Shot Sunday is an imagainative meme set up by Tracy of Hey Harriet. It is open to anyone. If you'd like to participate you can read how to enter here! 

What I've been up to...

Apart from drawing, I've been having a fine old time in Sydney town of late. Last Friday I went for a glorious walk (as previously mentioned in Shadow Shot Sunday) around the foreshore. This is a shot of one of the five or so charming islands that sit in Sydney harbour. This one is Shark Island. You can see the city behind it.Here's another (less romantic!) view of it:

Below is Strickland house. I was more or less standing in front of this historic and famous building when I took the photos of the island. Did you see Australia with Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman? Well, this is the house in the beginning of the film that everyone is running in and out of!

Apart from going for walks I've been reading. As readers of this blog might recall, I am head over heels about Mad Men. I remember watching it and the big big boss said he was reading this book:

So, being a good Mad Men follower I picked it up the other day when I saw it in my local book store. So far it's proving to be quite the ripping yarn! At 1168 pages long I think it will be keeping me entertained for a couple of days to come. I have been reading quite a bit of it recently because my internet service has been appalling of late and when it goes down I have been dipping into old Atlas Shrugged to fill in the boring bits! Thank you Ayn Rand for preserving my sanity!

Lastly, I'm not sure if anyone recalls seeing this series or not. I certainly didn't watch the first run of it on telly (1969 - 1970) but I adored watching re-runs of it in the 90s.

(Image from Manny the Movie Guy)

Be still my beating heart! UFO! A while back my boyfriend saw my eyes light up like pinball machines when we chanced upon the 26 episode box set of this piece of fantastic retro goodness in a favourite record store. He hadn't actually seen it but my "oohS" and "AHHHHs" were a good enough selling point for him!

It's a series set in 1980(wow!) about UFOs (obviously!) and a secret organisation called S.H.A.D.O = Supreme Headquarters Alien Defence Organisation. This organisation lead by Commander Ed Straker, seen here on the left, has the mission of protecting earth from organ harvesting aliens that are hell bent on - well, abducting humans...to...harvest their ...organs. It's pure GOLD!!! I read that they are even going to make a movie of it quite soon as Paramont have bought the rights and it will instead be set in 2020!

One of the best bits is of course the moon base and these ravishing gals in purple wigs that run it. Gosh! Below is the very cute Lt. Gay Ellis (Gabrielle Drake) and there she is again with one of her "men". I can't tell you how on the money and capable this woman is!

Finally I'll leave you with a link for the opening credits of this glorious show. I drive my boyfriend to distraction by whistling, humming and la, la, la-ing this theme tune at inappropriate times of the day. He's very good natured and puts up with it!

Here's the LINK!

 (Image of Ed Straker from Den of Geek, Lt. Ellis and the two gals from Original Rocket Dungeon.)

Happy happy joy joy - it's Thursday!!

P.S. Thank you everyone for all the Jeremy love!

Come up and see my etchings...

One of the highlights of my garden trawl last week apart from the flowers was the utter joy I had at seeing a real live bowerbird nest. When asked to describe my seven traits a few weeks ago, I said I was a bowerbird and a few people asked me what that was. Well, I can now explain that in more detail!

Above on the left is a female Satin bowerbird and on the right is the male (both images are from here). To attract a mate the male satin bowerbird builds a bower which consists of two walls of sticks and twigs which form an avenue. In the entrance to this bower he places objects of a colour that catch his eye. Below you can see the bower in the middle and the objects he has chosen are all blue. The objects range from blue drinking straws to bottle tops and blue clothes pegs. I took this photo in Swain gardens. I went back this week and was delighted to see the bower still intact even though the garden had been tended.

Male bowerbirds build their nest in a particular area and the females do tours of the area inspecting the bowers and eventually mate with the male that has the best bower in their opinion.

I thought perhaps if this male bowerbird was a person he might collect the following:

Both Joan Miro: left is Bleu II and right is Bleu I.

I watched a David Attenborough documentary about bowerbirds and he came to the conclusion that the bowerbirds were no different to humans collecting art and furnishings for a house in order to attract a mate *ahem* partner.

Do you think he has a point? 

Happy Thursday folks and many thanks for all the lovely comments left for my two Jeremy's and their respective ensembles!

The story thus far and beyond...

I've been drawing practically non-stop, that is when I'm not seeing wicked exhibitions at the MCA (More on that later!) and wandering around cherry blossom festooned jardins!

...So, just to fill new readers in: this is the story so far re-mermaid Jemima:She takes Harry for a walk, She has a shower with Nigella in her Underwater Boudoir and she is surprise by The Interloper.

...and here are two new episodes:

 

The drawing on the left is our hero Jemima and her BFF Nigella having a quiet night in. Jemima is knitting and Nigella is having a bit of a gossip with Frederick the shrimp.

On the right, we have Jemima leading her weekly Crustacean Calisthenics class a service she provides free to all portly crabs, prawns and horseshoe crabs who live in her area.What a thoughtful doll she is!

You can find all of the above in my shop! Just follow the links.

I am currently mid-way through yet another installment - but I'll show you later if I am happy with the finished results!

...and here's the latest called: Invitation Only.

Happy Thursday gentle readers!