fabulous friends

Daisy Jackson ~ you could say that Daisy is a jack of all trades - her body of work ranges from sculpture to jewellery, photography, painting & mixed media as well as the old handicrafts of stitching & needlepoint. Daisy completed her masters in 2006 & has shown her work in various NZ & UK galleries.

note to self 2006

little lost boys 2008

stolen stories 2008

Victoria Chidley ~ Victoria is a talented photograph who's work seems to explore themes around the emotion of fear. Her work is powerfully eye catching through use of composition, subject matter & colour.
 
nightscapes series 2008

nightscapes 2008

Tony Brown ~ Tonys colour palette is limited to black, white & either red or blue. He creates amazingly detailed paintings exploring human emotion through facial expressions of his various models.

Wahine Ataahua 2007

Manea 2007

Suzy Carnachan ~ whether a painting or a pencil drawing Suzy's work is always intricately detailed. She uses a delicate colour palette & often employs old wallpaper, either cut to size or an entire roll, as her canvas.

untitled drawing 2008


I thought it was getting about time to share some of my many talented friends with you. After spending four years at art school you come out with a bundle of talented friends who are an excellent source for the starts of a small, but affordable art collection. I have paintings & photographs on my walls, beautiful jewellery pieces & numerous other treats floating around in various boxes. Unfortunately it is very hard to be a successful full time artist, try as we might, & many have become teachers or work in art galleries etc. I, however, still love them, & will never turn down an opportunity for a new artwork :) xx

etsy love...

Ive been on a real esty buzz lately. Ive been searching for & finding almost endlessly. Esty is such a large library of interesting bits, & the more you explore, the more you find. Below are a few NZ & Australian favourites:

up in the trees print set

dig deeper print

my shoes - original oil painting

black top - print of an original illustration

white bird necklace

knitting brooch

Little bird fabric pin

Wee Cutie Deer Patch

a piece of toast...



A great NZ etsy find - Toast. How cool are these? I have a bit of a thing for brooches & have a small, but steadily growing, collection. These two finds would be a welcome edition. 

oh hello...


...I think I love you.

and an international find...



Norsola Johnson, via Hollabee - I like how finding one thing can lead you to something else equally interesting.  These remind me of the hotels you 'buy' in monopoly - for some reason they always fascinate me. A cute, simple statement either filled or unfilled, ring or pendant.

hollabee



I was searching etsy today, and came across these beautiful screenprinted fabrics by Melbourne based artist Bianca van Meeuwen of hollabee. I know its boring, but I do love the natural & always so fresh colour combination of white on linen (though never actually buy it) but bring a burst of pink into my life any day!

we also heart anna church

NZ House & Garden

Nest Catalogue Winter 08

Nest Catalogue Winter 08

Nest Catalogue Winter 08

The 'art of aesthetic arrangement' - I figured that since I had published a post about Katie Lockhart, I thought that I should continue the theme & post images of my first favourite stylist - Anna Church. We started using Anna to style the hero shoots for our twice yearly homeware catalogue almost 2 years ago & her work continues to get better & better as she becomes more & more creative. We LOVE Anna, & we LOVE her work.

we heart katie lockhart

Renovating the Right Way, House & Garden

Karen Walker Jewellery Campaign

To Sir With Love, Still Life

My (I use the term loosely) stylist, the brilliant Anna Church, put me (& my fellow design team members) onto NZ stylist Katie Lockhart who was giving a talk at Aalto Colour in Newmarket.
This 'talk' (it was all of 10 minutes - not long enough at all!) happened last week & I have been meaning to write a post & share some of her fantastic images ever since. Some of these you may already have seen floating about. Katie's 'passion for colour' - which is strongly evident in her work - grew from the tender age of 4 when her mother painted her a 'beautiful' floral bedroom in every shade of brown - go mum! Check out Katies site here.

malinki mannequins



Look at what I found! Oh what I would do to get my hands on one of these - my favourite is the colourful floral one - its just so pretty!
I happened across the mannequins while flicking through an old issue of Inside Out UK & all I could do was stop, stare & then quickly search online to find out more. The mannequins are sourced from France, then seamlessly recovered in funky florals, vintage silks or anything else to suit your tastes.

that shaky isle


How cool is the logo for the Shaky Isles cafe that has not long been open in Kingsland?! I love the swirly whirly font - its super fun & totally portrays the little quirks special to the cafe. They make pretty good (but filling) hot chocolates - with a Whittakers Sante bar melting into it -  & have an eclectic array of mix & match cups, saucers & teaspoons. If you like cafes that are a little bit different, & fun, then this place is totally cool.  - I didn't eat anything so can't comment on the food p.s, but what I saw looked just fine!

manhattan


Ever since I went to New York, & ever since I discovered the City Neighborhood poster range by Ork Design, I have been in love with the black & white version of this Manhattan poster. There is now a new release colour version & it is AMAZING!!! - these colours would have to be amongst my list of favourite colours ever. Unfortunately it doesn't appear to be available for sale yet, but as soon as it is I will have to snap one up quick smart!

maddox & klaus



More great etsy finds, this time via the design for mankind blog - super delightful stationary sets by maddox & klaus (cool name too!)

adorn yourself. adorn your wall



I also have to make a quick mention about the neawear etsy store - it seems we are ALL digging the cross stitch wall wear, & I am especially loving the autumn acorn necklaces.

matthew carr



Years ago I found an article about artist Matthew Carr whose work I find absolutely beautiful but strangely haunting. Drawn using conte pencil on paper, & consisting of a single head 'floating' in the middle of a page, his work brings forth ideas of struggle, hardship & sorrow. Having drawn over 200 people - from his next door neighbour to a prisoner on death row - Matthew uses artificial light to cast shadow & create an added sense of drama to his subject matter. 

hello to all things cute & tiny


A teeny tiny peanut bunny - I wish I was still a kid :)

all things pretty


This is such a lovely, you could even say romantic, collection of beautiful bits & pieces - what is it about old dress maker mannequins that are so appealing? I love it all.

is that a rat on my head?


I was busy doing two things at once (like a typical girl) and happened across this illustration/exhibition invite - I cant remember where though! Its a pity the show, by Kareena Zerefos, is in Sydney because judging by this invite I could almost safely say it will have some work well worth checking out.

the passage between



I was strolling down Parnell Rise after work last week, & was drawn into Sanderson Art Gallery to check out their latest exhibition by artist Andrew Barns-Graham. I only had a few minutes to spare, but was completely blown away by the portraits on the walls. Each & every piece was a stunning & flawless portrayal of an idealized girl in a natural, yet unrealistic & sometimes threatening, environment. As much as the girl is in the foreground & nature in the background, each element works together in perfect unity. The girl would not be complete without her background & vice versa.

If you are in the neighbourhood, or looking for something to do, I fully recommend popping in to check the exhibition out - it is both powerful & compelling.

at HOME

I was flicking through the latest issue of HOME magazine & spied HEAPS of exciting artists & artworks.

The standout artists for me were Areta Wilkinson who puts a new & exciting take on the silhouette which has had a recent surge in popularity, and Andy Kingston whose twists on kiwiana ceramics simple made me laugh.