Venice / Shell Sherree

Venice

Showing posts with label Venice. Show all posts

Venerdi in Venice : Raining Cats and Dogs on Washing Day

22.3.19

Venice Washing Day Black Cat and French Bulldog illustration © Shell Sherree all rights reserved

Venice Washing Day Black Cat and French Bulldog illustration © Shell Sherree all rights reserved

Raining cats and dogs is one thing. But washing cats and dogs?

An entirely different story!

Today's illustration sees our intrepid black kitty cat and French bulldog in a delicate situation ~ but whether it came about because of raining or washing, we can only begin to surmise. Knowing them, I'd lay money a quest for prosciutto was involved. If this illustration was Scratch and Sniff, maybe more would be revealed. And on that note ...

Happy Venerdi in Venice to you!

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Fashionable Friday Illustration : Pizzas in Venice

5.10.18

Pizzas and Frenchie Pup Dreaming Kitty in Venice - Fashion & Fluffballs illustration © Shell Sherree all rights reserved

Pizzas and Frenchie Pup Dreaming Kitty in Venice - Fashion & Fluffballs illustration © Shell Sherree all rights reserved

Anyone up for a pizza coma?

Today's fashion and fluffballs illustration sees us enjoying pizza overload in Venice with a sweet French bulldog who clearly doesn't know when to stop. Who does? Meanwhile our sweet slumbering kitty is hoping for a catch of the day. Anchovies, perhaps.

So let's pour a glass, swing our legs over the side and keep a good grip on our slides! Maybe tied-on espadrilles would have been a more sensible idea. And on that note ...

Happy Fashionable Friday to you !

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Venerdi in Venice Fashion Illustration : Sweeping Gowns and Steeping Them

29.9.17

Venice fashion illustration: Sweeping Gown Steeping in Venice © Shell Sherree

Venice fashion illustration: Sweeping Gown Steeping in Venice © Shell Sherree

It's been too long ~ hello, Venice!

The grand tradition of fashion photoshoot theatre should not be reserved for photography. Equal rights for illustration, I say, when it comes to scandalously crazy treatment of gowns that probably cost more than a small crumbling palazzo to buy!

But thanks to the magic of drawing, no silk taffeta confections were harmed in the making of today's flight of fancy. No, we can steep that hem with its thousands of fairy handstitches in the Grand Canal - or even a piccolo one - and break not one single luminescent bead of anxious sweat over its possible demise.

So come, dangle your feet with mine if your derring shall do, and possibly even sit a while. And on that note ...

Happy Venerdi in Venice to you!

PS: You'll find prints, cards and all kinds of Shell Sherree goodness via the menu at the top of the ShellSherree.com. I'm prone to moving the shop furniture around, so that's always the best way to find me! Merci, grazie, thank you.

Venerdi in Venice : Venetian View

19.5.17

Venice View Illustration, Fashion & Fluffballs © Shell Sherree

Venice View Illustration, Fashion & Fluffballs © Shell Sherree

Weekend in Venice, anyone? This watery-coloured scenery is long overdue Chez Shell. My apologies and pass the prosecco, per favore.

Today's Venice illustration sees us consulting a somewhat dubious source for a palm reading. I don't even know why, as I'll see your soothsayer and raise it by my naysayer. I'd rather be surprised with what each day unfurls than go through life wondering how to think ahead of every predicted contingency. I can't even plan my wardrobe the night ahead let alone the rest of it!

So come, let us hoik up our skirts or palazzo pants, perch ourselves at a Venetian vantage point and wave at the locals. You never know who might stop along. And on that note ...

Happy Venerdi in Venice to you!

PS: Please click here to get in touch or check out the site menu to shop for made-to-order Shell Sherree prints, cards, totes to save the planet from plastic bags and cushions to cosy your world. Merci, grazie, thank you!

Venerdi in Venice : If the Boater Fits

28.10.16

Venice illustration: Venice Boaters and Kitty Gondolier © Shell-Sherree

Venice illustration: Venice Boaters and Kitty Gondolier © Shell-Sherree

I've been slow to hop on board the boater hat trend. In fact, I haven't. Being five foot two, I don't need to plant a bottle cap on my head thusly and thereby verily taking another couple of inches off the overall demeanour of my height. No, thank ye.

But ~ today's illustrated tour of Venice called for it, and while I don't believe in air-brushing, I'm not averse to adding a foot to my stature when paint-brushing. Boater Hat Crisis: averted.

So come, let us hitch a ride with yonder kitty gondolier who happens to be moonlighting as a florist. Or is he daylighting? No matter. I have it on good authority there's a galvanised bucket of ice with a bottle of Prosecco that has our name on it. And a few spare armfuls of blooms that fell off the back of another gondola. Nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more. And on that note ...

Happy Venerdi in Venice to you !

Fashionable Friday : Fluffing Around in Venice

19.2.16

Fashion and Fluffballs illustration: Venetian Pastel & Fluffballs © Shell-Sherree

{Fashion and Fluffballs illustration: Venetian Pastel & Fluffballs © Shell-Sherree}

Ah, Venezia.

Our languid wardrobe choice is a sympathetic reflection of your flowiness. It's been too long since we fluffed around while basking in your pastel beauty, crumbling as it is like sweetheart lollies long since tucked in lovers' pockets.

But we are here now ~ and a moment of regret is a moment stolen from the future to be squandered in the past. So let us keep our eyes firmly on the 'now' and stroll in our elegant sandals with not a displaced Roman in sight. The prosecco is crisp and the dial on the pizza crust wood-firing goes to 11. And on that note ...

Happy Fashionable Friday to you!

Fashionable Friday : Agent Violet and the Venetian Mirror

29.1.16

Fashion and Fluffballs illustration: Pink & Gold Puppy Tales © Shell-Sherree

{Fashion and Fluffballs illustration: Pink & Gold Puppy Tales © Shell-Sherree}

Agent Violet checked the view and re-checked it twice. That made it a total of thrice ~ and it still looked the same. Venice.

It had been a breathtaking 24 hours since she opened the door to her apartment after Sir Percy's soirée and one of the secrets enclosed within the Harlequin Hat Box had revealed itself to her. 24 hours or more. Or less. It was dawning on her that perhaps it was irrelevant. Time as she knew it might never be the same again.

Venice. Mystery and romance shimmered in its incandescent light and her mind drifted back to the last time she had been there. Carnevale. Secrets exchanged with knowing glances. The heady fragrance of tobacco-fumed jasmine and nobility. Her canine looked at her enquiringly and her feline toyed with her ruffled silk skirt. She looked at the calling card still in her hand. Percy. Where are you now?

Did Violet's cape make the journey? Were her canine's favourite chew toys available here? And would The Gondolier recognise her or have they not even met yet? Let us gaze at the bubbles in our prosecco and wonder what they know that we do not. And on that note ...

Happy Fashionable Friday to you !

Venerdi in Venice: Flirting with Lilac Frills

17.8.14

{Lilac Frills in Venice : ink pen, pencil, watercolour illustration by Shell-Sherree}

Ciao! Patience is a virtue ~ and Saints preserve us, thank heavens I have some very virtuous Venice-loving souls amongst you. {Bless your fuzzy loyal hearts!}

It's a glorious day for lilac frills and the clink of glasses lending a splish-splash of prosecco to echo the lapping canal below. Let us twirl. And on that note ...

Happy Venerdi in Venice to you!

Illustration inspiration via Pinterest

Venerdi in Venice: If the Boat Fits

18.5.12

ink pen & watercolour illustration, 7" x 8.75" [18 x 22.5cm] BROWSE PRINTS

Venice. {"And about jolly time," I hear a small-yet-dedicated bunch of you cheering, waving your proseccos in the air.} See that little chink of light over on the far side? Under the archway? Guess who's waiting yonder. And this time, Hugh's brought his beautiful French bulldog Peaches along. {Everybody say, "Awwww!"} Her booties will come in handy in case of a very mild acqua alta this weekend. And so we don't feel left out... our apartment is stocked with plenty of these in every size. {Grazie to dear Danielle of VenetiaMicio for the glorious inspiration for today's illustration.} If we decide to take it easy, we can avail ourselves of the boat and Hugh can steer us in the right direction. And on that note...

Happy Venerdi in Venice to you!

Venerdi in Venice: Romance

10.2.12

pigment ink pen & watercolour illustration, 7" x 8.75" [18 x 22.5cm] BROWSE PRINTS

While I believe it's lovely to make every day Valentine's Day in simple and unassuming ways {a note with sweet nothings tucked in his pocket ... the outline of a heart magically appearing in the steam on the bathroom mirror ... remembering not to call him 'Hugh'}, I'm happy to have a formal excuse to stroll upon the romantic side of life. When I saw this old photo shoot in Venice by Mario Testino {with styling by Grace Coddington} for Vogue US 2005 not long ago, it was easy to slip into the picture and start dreaming ahead of time ... of Bellinis at Harry's Bar {where perhaps we can arrange something like this, but not indulge in too many of their signature champagne cocktails lest we end up looking like this}. And for dessert, dark chocolate gelato and moonlight lapping on the canals. And on that note...

Happy Venerdi in Venice to you!

Venerdi in Venice: Florist by a Whisker

6.1.12

ink & watercolour illustration, 7" x 8.75" [18 x 22.5cm] BROWSE PRINTS

Happy New Year! Special delivery for our weekend in Venice. Our little kitty is just applying one last fluff of the flowers before he pulls on a plump red satin hand-plaited and tasselled rope to ring the doorbell. No need to change out of your silk pyjamas. A cat always appreciates the value of such fineries. Thank you to dear Danielle of VenetiaMicio for the beautiful inspiration. We visited nearby another day, but views like this are worth returning to, and it's been a while since Venice graced us with her beguiling beauty. And it's not every day one's flowers are delivered via boat. Or a kitty cat. And on that note...

Happy Venerdi in Venice to you!

Venerdi in Venice: Gelati Palette

12.8.11

ink & watercolour illustration, 7" x 8.75" [18 x 22.5cm] ACQUIRE PRINTS

Pale turquoise doors with pistachio and raspberry accompaniments. Several colours of the gelati rainbow within a half-dozen paces. The gradual accrual of verdigris and moss thanks to the poetic drip of a languid drainpipe. An overhead cherub with modesty drape so we can retain our G-rating. Kitty cats admiring eternal bronze doorknockers cast in their likeness. {As one would.} Just another colourful day in Venice. Grazie mille, thanks to dear Danielle of VenetiaMicio for the gorgeous inspiration... This door ajar has saved us the trouble of lifting a finger to gently tap-tap-tap the knocker. Could it be a signal our Hugh has returned from his sabbatical? Well, what are we waiting for?! And on that note...

Happy Venerdi in Venice to you!

Venerdi in Venice: Morning Muneghete

8.7.11

ink & watercolour illustration, 7" x 8.75" [18 x 22.5cm] ACQUIRE PRINTS

Just another morning of quiet reflection in Venice. The weather's fine. The coffee is brewing on the stovetop. The tiny pussycat is wondering whether the boat is aqua with a pea green cover or pea green with an aqua bottom. The air is rich with the promise of an owl. Thanks to Danielle at VenetiaMicio for her gorgeous inspiration ~ I followed her lead and named the aqua pea green boat in her honour. This seems the perfect excuse for a magnum of champagne and the opinion of a man named Hugh. And on that note...

Happy Venerdi in Venice to you!

Venerdi in Venice: Shutters & Flowers

17.6.11

ink & watercolour illustration, 8.75" x 7" [22.5 x 18cm] ACQUIRE PRINTS

Last Friday, we soaked up the atmosphere of flowers and shutters in Paris, then made ourselves at home for the weekend. And the weekend became rather extended. I'm still trying to retrieve lampshades from the heads of some of our guests {not mentioning names ~ sometimes discretion really is the better part of valor}. To expedite our departure, it seemed prudent to simply exchange one royal flush of flowers and shutters for another... but with a change of city to keep us on our toes. Thank you to dear Catherine Hédouin via sweet Danielle's VenetiaMicio for the beautiful Venice inspiration. I'll continue to work on the lampshade removal while you open those shutters more widely and embrace the canal view. And on that note...

Happy Venerdi in Venice to you!

Venerdi in Venice: Flock to Pink Lamplights

27.5.11

ink & watercolour illustration, 8.75" x 7" [22.5 x 18cm] ACQUIRE PRINTS

I've read it's flattering to our complexions to use pink lampshade linings and lightbulbs. These birds silhouetted against the skyline in Venice have the right idea. Grazie mille to Catherine Hédouin and Danielle for the broodingly-beautiful photo inspiration posted at Venetia Micio. {If you can't get enough of these Venice lamps, you'll find more of Catherine's lovely photos here.} It looks like rain, but I'm happy to linger a while if you are. We might learn a thing or two. I hear these birds know how to pastry. And on that note...

Happy Venerdi in Venice to you!

Venerdi in Venice: Hightail the Fluffy Tail

22.4.11

ink & watercolour illustration, 7" x 8.75" [18 x 22.5cm] ACQUIRE PRINTS

It isn't easy keeping one's fluffy tail high and dry when visiting Venice. This well-travelled little Easter Bunny has excelled. The welcoming committee is in the apartment upstairs, plumping up pillows, scrubbing the finest of carrots and washing freshly plucked leaves. {Grazie mille to dear Danielle of VenetiaMicio for the beautiful photo inspiration.} I've just finished whipping up some dark chocolate truffles for our turndown service. {Mind the cocoa dust on your linen pillowcase.} Your vaporetto driver is tapping his foot impatiently... please mind your step and keep your own tail high and dry as you make your way through the canals to our weekend destination. And on that note...

Happy Venerdi in Venice and a safe and peaceful Easter to you!

Venerdi in Venice: In the Pink

28.1.11

ink & watercolour illustration, 8.75" x 7" [22.5 x 18cm] ORDER PRINTS HERE

It's been a while since our last visit to Venice. And when I started gazing at my inspiration folders, the sight of all that water was too much too soon, given the recent floods. So I compromised and chose this lovely scene with just a hint of water lapping at the bottom of it. {Merci, Danielle, for the beautiful inspiration!} The crumbling pink facade has my mind drifting somewhat nostalgically to sweetheart lollies. I believe someone tall, dark and handsome {possibly named Hugh ~ such a nice name} is upstairs waiting for us, with a 2 feet tall glass apothecary jar full of them. Who dibbs Kiss Me? And on that note...

Happy Venerdi in Venice to you!

Thank you also to Danielle for giving me this Sunshine Award. I'm chuffed! As you give me so much sunshine with your comments and/or blogs, I'd like to bestow it on all of you. If you haven't yet visited the sites of your fellow commenters here, now would be a lovely time to drop in on them. Talent, inspiration and wit in leaps and bounds. You're all grand.

Venerdi in Venice: All Weather Campo

5.11.10

ink & watercolour weensy meep miniature, 3.5 x 2.5" [9 x 6.5cm ] ACQUIRE A MEEP

I know several people ~ unrelated to each other ~ who coincidentally planned on going camping this weekend. {Until the heavens opened yet again, causing a quandary of risk assessment increasing in direct proportion to the quagmiry likelihood.}

My idea of camping is setting up house in a campo in Venice. How about this one? {Thanks to Danielle of VenetiaMicio for the beautiful inspiration!} Several levels of luxury, black kitty cat included at no extra charge. If we encounter any flooding and need to evacuate, we can easily shimmy down from the windows on 600 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets, directly into our on-call gondola, and have Hugh whisk us away to safety. Perhaps I'm being fussy, but that's my idea of roughing it. {1000 thread count would be so much softer.} And on that note...

Happy Venerdi in Venice to you!

Venerdi in Venice: Gondola of Mystery

22.10.10

ink & watercolour illustration, 8.75" x 7" [22.5 x 18cm], private commission

I've been blessed to create some lovely commissions as mementos of holidays and special occasions, and today, I thought I'd show you another one. This delightful client has engaged me more than once, and after some Paris illustrations several months ago, we recently travelled over to Venice to even up the balance.

Now, you know I'm the soul of discretion, so I've protected the anonymity of my subjects by placing large sunhats on their heads. Yes, that's the kind of privacy you can rely on when engaging me. You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure out that the gondolier was not my client and has to make do with his traditional straw number. {And seems singularly unimpressed.} As you can see, this unhappy chappy is not Hugh, who was entertaining us at the time if you can recall. Smiles all around. And on that note...

Happy Venerdi in Venice to you!

Venerdi in Venice: Miaou Micio

1.10.10

ink & watercolour illustration, 8.75" x 7" [22.5 x 18cm]

Lately, I've been seeing a lot of our Hugh in a TV commercial. And while I'm thoroughly enjoying the viewing pleasure, between you and me, I think he has too much time on his hands. Far better that we keep him fully occupied, steering our gondola tea party around Venice and scattering us with rose petals. So our mission this weekend, should you choose to accept it, is to ensure that drinking iced tea is far from his mind. Unless it's in our company, of course. Micio is amused by our antics just out of sight in the canal below. Thanks to dear Danielle of VenetiaMicio for graciously allowing me to use her gorgeous photos for inspiration. If you haven't ventured over to her place yet, I whole-heartedly recommend it. It's a wonderful opportunity to exercise your French language muscles as well if you're so inclined. The best of both worlds. And on that note...

Happy Venerdi in Venice to you!

Psst: You only have until noon Brisbane time Thursday 7th October to enter the giveaway draw to celebrate my 2nd blogoversary. Just pop over here to enter...

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