Francophile Friday Fleurish: Pencilled In

11.9.09



I was sitting down to paint something for you when I became sidetracked by an email from iconic French saddle shop-turned-fashion house, Hermès. First, the illustration in the email gave me a chuckle. Then I realised it was a while since I'd soaked up the whimsical drawings on their website, so with the aid of a magical cyberspace carpet ride {in the guise of a link in their email}, off I flew and fell in love with Alice Charbin's work all over again. I wanted to show it to you in case you hadn't seen it yet. Alice is the children's book illustrator who created those charming drawings ~ absolutely my cup of tea. What a dream job that would have been. From the little I could find out about her, she lives in Paris with her hubby and several children {and most probably at least one puppy and kitty}. But of course.

Anyway, her work reminded me that way back when, I worked a lot in pencil and watercolour rather than ink and watercolour. And it reminded me of how the pencil imparts a softness that I love and will use more often. I did a little pencil and watercolour doodle and decided what the heck, I'd show it to you, since my other drawing was no further advanced. {That's a teensy koala in the teacup - one of my favourite animals and way too vulnerable. You can find out more about these Australian treasures here.} I added some flowers for the sake of the Fleurish. So ~ happy Friday Fleurish/Francophile Friday to you!
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Lady Bug Me

8.9.09


It's been too long since I've seen a ladybird {aka ladybug depending on your geography}. Long overdue. I love the cheerful, freckled beauty and helpfulness of a real one but if I found this version on my doorstep, I couldn't bring it inside out of the weather fast enough!

Lanvin's "LadyBug" enamel choker won't rid your plants of pests but some things simply exist to be beautiful {and symbolic of a whole lotta love}. This is one such spectacular example. The velvet band is laden with crystals and has a bespoke edginess courtesy of transparent black gauze peeping from behind the velvet. I was hoping their website would have some pretty animation to show it off but no, so my illustration will have to bring it to life for you. I hope a sweet ladybird of one kind or another visits you soon.


PS: Dear Finie has passed on this lovely award to me.

Thank you, Finie, and congratulations on receiving it yourself for your gentle and dreamy blog.

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Venerdi in Venice: A Watched Pigeon Never Falls

4.9.09


I've finally exhausted my archives of unframed Venice drawings painted way back in the afterglow of my trip. {Way back.} Sorry this post is a little late, but I became lost for a while when I started flipping through my photo album looking for inspiration for today's offering. Many of my Venice photos have gelati coloured buildings but this one was muted stone with charismatically worn shutters whose paint was flaking. I looked on the reverse of the photo and had indeed written myself a clue about this one. You can see where my head goes. No mention of something useful like the street location. More like, "Ooh, a kitty!"

And I seemed rather callous about the pigeons at the time but I'm sure I was only kidding ~ unless this pic was taken straight after my mildly Hitchcockian experience in Piazza San Marco... in which case, I most certainly was not kidding. Here, kitty, kitty... Happy Venerdi in Venice!
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Brunch or Bust

1.9.09


Hubby and I usually head out for brunch on Saturdays. {Let's just pretend today's Saturday, not Tuesday, or even Monday. Isn't it Saturday somewhere on the planet?} And as hubby prefers to ease gently into a Saturday {and even more gently into a Sunday}, we often miss the breakfast menus. But brekkie at The Gunshop Café in West End provides incentive to greet the morning a bit earlier than usual for hubby, as happened last Saturday.

The place has a breakfast reputation worthy of the small wait for a table, as no reservations are taken for weekend breakfasts. Hubby loved his fluffy Canadian brioche french toast with bacon, drizzlings of pure maple syrup, sprinklings of pecans, and caramelised banana. Though the strawberry brioche french toast was trying to seduce me away from my stable blood sugar levels, I stoically chose the plump potato fetta hash cakes with wilted spinach, house-dried tomatoes and herbed sour cream. Delicious ~ though I had to stifle a whimper when I saw the strawberry brioche french toast at the next table.

The café occupies a charming old heritage building and yes, was a gun shop in its earlier life. The decor is warm and a bit funky - and it doesn't feel like these sculptured dames are watching your every mouthful at all. {They can't even watch their own waistlines.}
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Friday Fleurish: Thou Wilt Not Wilt

28.8.09


It's Friday Fleurish, and here are some sculptural beauties for the weekend ahead: Lobster claws. I must confess, I don't usually gravitate to these as a cut flower. But no matter how much I might droop from the unseasonable heat we're - err, "enjoying" at the moment, these hardy heliconias will stay fresh for quite some time. Heat? What heat! In fact, they are begging for more humidity but I'm hoping they'll have to wait until summer proper for that to kick in. If they play their cards right, I'll take them into the bathroom while I shower... not an offer I make lightly.

Happy Friday Fleurish to you!
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Balmy Barmy

25.8.09

It's the last week of winter here. As I sit in my studio tucked up in the eaves of our A-frame timber house, wearing a light cotton frock and chugging mint-drifted water while temperatures rise into the 30s {90s if you prefer yours in fahrenheit}, I feel like I'm in a climactic Bermuda Triangle. On the weather report last night, the weatherperson was using a kaleidoscope of coloured arrows and a goodly amount of gesticulation to demonstrate something we figured out for ourselves: it's damn hot for this time of year!

In honour of the heat which appears to have united both hemispheres temporarily, and in hopes of a cooling breeze, here's a beach bungalow so we can overlook the Bermuda Triangle in comfort. And yes, I've already had my first G&T for the season... care to join me? Our thatched-roof bar out the back has a colourful selection of mocktails on offer as well.
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