Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Lolly bag card design

A few weeks ago the temptation of a beautiful day convinced me to take my office outside. Whilst I had brought my office supplies, I'd forgotten snacks. As a result, my designs seemed to revolve around sweets, in particular licorice allsorts.

I was playing around with pastels and water colour, then I collaged the individual sweets together in a lolly bag shape. The results are delicious.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Yuanyang rice terraces

Yuanyang is one of the most beautiful places I have been. It's about 6 hours south of Kunming by bus, depending on: the weather, which bus company you use, and if that bus driver has a side business ; ) ferrying locals around. (Below, one of our many roadside stops)

The weather was not particularly on our side, but, braving the cold we managed to get a few glimpses of the terraces. People spent hours waiting for the fog to lift, and when it did, hundreds of camera clicks would sound before the fog came rolling back in a few minutes later. Spectacular!

Yuanyang is quite a bright place. Whilst the fog mutes most of the scenery, the colourful traditional clothes worn by the local Hani and Yi people stand out. Their head scarves, arm bands and tail peices are decorated with intricate patterns and colours. (Below, women lining up to buy next season's designs)

Monday, March 8, 2010

It's a nice day, but I'm hungry

It's 29˚ in Sydney, and I've decided to take my office outside. I have my sketchbook, some reading material and a few colourful items to make this piece of grass mine.

One thing I forgot was snacks. No wonder I am sketching musk sticks and licorice allsorts. I am not sure how long I will last.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

There's a (Panda) bear in there

In a recent visit to Chengdu in China, I got to see pandas pandas and more pandas. Considering that they are struggling to survive in the wild it was amazing to see. The panda zoo has a breeding program – there must have been over 20 pandas, ranging from young ones to adults moving around in their large enclosures.

It was feeding time, and while the Giant Pandas were feeding their black and white faces, the red pandas were jealously darting around with their tongues hanging out. Once they were all satisfied with food, they found the nearest stick for a back rub, and then curled up for a sleep.