Mad Hatter's Tea-Party

This all kicks off tomorrow! Complimentary cakes to be nibbled, tea to be sipped, awesome artist prizes to be won and art to lust over. Hope you won't miss my last show in Darwin ♥

This is Olivia, a character from a story I've had rattling around in my head for awhile now. Originally I was going to illustrate it with my dolls, but the more time I spent making them, the more inspired I was to draw them, they became so real to me! 

I'm really hoping to get my children's book dreams off the back-burner sometime later in 2013! 

juicy sunshine and the purple parrot

 

It seems I'm on a wee bit of a food theme, here!

This was originally going to be called The Blood-Orange Breakfast, as I had initially drawn the little orange-girl with vampire teeth . . . I know, genius. But they looked a bit funny, and the aesthete in me won over. 

Instead, she's just a sweet little cannibal with a weakness for frilly petticoats and stripy straws. Her best friend, Pedro, is a very rare purple macaw, maybe even the last of his kind in the whole world. He understand what it's like to be a little bit different, and he loves Juicy Sunshine very much ♥

I like to think my blondes always have the best fun- Princess Lily makes macarons, the Cat-cher chases cheeky cardinals through the snow all day, and one is the heavenly guardian of all things holey and doughnut-related . . . They each remind me of the boundless possibilities and potential for happiness that art can provide us ♥

cameo lover

Here's a wee tribute I just finished of the very gorgeous Kimbra. I so admire her adventurous outfits that always seem to come together so beautifully and eloquently with that mischievous, infectious smile, like a small child plotting to rob the cookie-jar! 

ham-bunny

This little bunny was inspired by a number of things. 

Firstly, the very great John Tenniel, who illustrated the very first editions of 'Alice in Wonderland'. 

Also, hamburgers, because I love them, and recently discovered on a three-week stay in New York that I could, in fact, eat them every single day and never grow tired of eating them.

And buck teefs, because actually, teefs are a lot of fun to draw. 

You can catch my ham-bunny in an upcoming exhibition, Mad Hatter's Tea-Party, which opens at 10am, Saturday, July 20th, at TactileARTS in Darwin ♥

parasols and paths cherry-scented

Of all the places in the world I have yet to visit on my bucket-list, Japan is right up there. 

This may have a whole lot to do with my many re-readings of Haruki Murakami novels, which are surely more of a surreal parallel to the Japan that exists in reality, but since I was a teenager, his is the country I imagine. And he loves cats, so he's clearly pretty awesome. 

It could also have a lot to do with a lifelong love of Hello Kitty, and my not-so-secret dream to visit Sanrio Land. I also think it would be rather jolly to find me a Totoro and sit on a strawberry-shaped bus-stop. Probably my heart would explode with happiness and I'd need a hug from Keropi to calm me down.

When I finally manage to save my pennies enough for a plane ticket, I would love, most of all, to see Japan in spring. In my mind, I cannot think of anything more beautiful than rows upon rows of cherry-blossom trees in full bloom. This little geisha seems to think the same, as she takes a leisurely promenade through the old city one spring morning.

There were a lot of things that inspired me stylistically with Sora, my little geisha. I am always fascinated to find those stylised, hand painted vintage postcards from Asia in the early 1900's. I know they were terribly unrealistic and manufactured mainly for tourists, but the geisha of yore are so compelling with their quiet, sweet faces and painted lips. 

Like my other girls, Sora is super-stylin'. I was lucky enough one Christmas to get a pack of kimono fabric from my excellent Auntie and Uncle, and I discovered that even in the plainest of patterns, it is incredible: heavy, and lush and so elegant. You might also notice that her okobo are a little like Dutch clogs; I really enjoyed playing with very heavy, pear-shaped forms in this picture. 

Traditionally, I know geisha spend many hours painstakingly styling their hair into impossible up-do's, but Sora is still quite young, and a little mischievous- the breeze is having a grand time ruffling her hair, and very soon, if it's keeps blowing about like that, I imagine her hair will soon be full of cherry-blossom petals!

 Hope you enjoy my little Sora as much as I did creating her x