Customer House Illustration – Cal-Australian Bungalow

I was approached by a local to Illustrate the family home which had sadly been claimed for the West Connex project. 

The House is a classic Bungalow style, which is an important Architectural Style in Australia and one of my personal favourites. 

The Bungalow design came from America. They were a popular design after the war as they were cheap and easy to put up, using what ever materials were local. The design was adapted to suit the Australian climate, with further variations made for the different states to accommodate their conditions and the building material available. 

This house and the garden are immaculate and feature a rust, teal and cream colour scheme for the house and various succulents, camellias and standard roses placed carefully in the garden. There were a couple of feline family members roaming around, who made themselves be a part of the illustration.

The house has a large Jacaranda tree off to the left, which frames the house nicely. I painted the Jacaranda in full bloom to add a bit of drama to the landscape, and created the flowers out of water colour blooms. For the bricks and the wood panel I used the seams of a vintage cardigan and a dark coloured knit for the street. The rest is hand painted in water colour, with the link work drawn in black ink pen. 

It’s at the framers right now, I’m looking forward to seeing it all boxed up and handing it over to the client. 

MCA Zine Fair - The Launch of Coffee & a Sketch Zine

After a few more coffees and a few more sketches, I thought I would compile these little ideas into a zine. To keep my sketches in good company I drew some matching coffees to sit side by side with them. 

I designed the zine in 3 colours, black for the linework, with a swish of teal water colour for the buildings and a splodge of golden brown for the coffee rings and cups. I had hoped to print this on a Riso printer in 3 separate colour passes, which would make the colours a nice matt texture and by manually feeding the paper, give the imagery a slight shift in registration. Unfortunately the machine was on the fritz, so I’ll have to revisit another time. For now, a full colour print job will have to do. I launched Coffee & a Sketch at the MCA Zine fair, which is always a great event. I collected probably as many zines as I sold, I have bag loads of inspiration and lovely ideas to flick through. 

I‘m still hoping to publish the zine on the Riso printer, I’ll post something when I do…

The Valhalla Cinema in Glebe

I used to live in Glebe about 10 years ago. After my recent visit I noticed that it had changed quite a bit with more cafes and restaurants and the Blackwattle Bay walk along the waterfront had been completed. I was commissioned by a Glebe resident to illustrate the Valhalla cinema on Glebe Point Rd, which is a building I have admired for a long time, pretty much anything Art Deco will catch my eye. Of course I jumped at the chance!

The Valhalla originally opened in 1937 as the Astor Theatre, with a full house seating 992 people. With the introduction of television the cinema shut down in 1959. The cinema was used as a storage facility then opened and closed a few times as a cinema and performance venue before it’s rebirth as the Valhalla in 1979. Over the years the Valhalla was converted into a twin cinema playing art house features and was quite successful for a time, before strong competition forced it’s closure once more in 1999. The cinema re-opend briefly but closed for good in 2005. In 2007 the Re-developement into shops and apartments began. (Info references: http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/25662)

I have illustrated the current vision of the Valhalla. With the ink linework I watercoloured the icey green colour and left the white walls bare. In some of the surrounding buildings I’ve hand painted the bricks, which might sound monotonous but I quite like it. I used a few different fabric patterns for the lower windows to catch the street reflection, and denim for the top windows reflecting the sky. I have included the original Astor sign (right) as well as the street art mural that has been present on the right of the building for some time.

I am happy to say that the print is now available in a limited edition Giclée print of 50 at Sweets Workshop. 

Tuscany Illustration for Get Up & Go Magazine

Recently I had to opportunity to illustrate a story for Get Up & Go travel magazine. The storyline was quite exaggerated, reminding me of a Faulty Towers episode or a Monty Python sketch, perhaps a little bit trippy. As the magazine audience is baby boomers, I decided it might be a good fit to introduce some 60's fabrics and make the illustration a bit of a fantasy.

The story is about a bus tour in Italy on its way up to the rolling hills of Tuscany with a few mishaps occurring along the way. I drew a big old yellow bus with passengers appearing or hanging out of the windows in different scenarios. The bus is heading up mounds of rolling spaghetti, with a delicious meatball sun on the horizon.

I completed the illustration in watercolour and ink first, finishing it off by adding fabric and other textures in a digital collage.

The magazine will be on sale in the Winter edition of Get Up & Go Magazine.

Coffee & a Sketch

I had a day off recently. Well, it was kind of sort of a day off - I was scouting out a good location for a potential commission for a typical Glebe scene in amongst taking myself out for lunch, coffee and a beer. Glebe has an eclectic mix of Architectural styles and while I was wondering around I was looking at the contrast between the simpler 2 story terraces with filigree cast iron trimmings and the more elaborate Victorian/Georgian terraces in particular. I sat myself down to stare at some terraces and have a coffee. I sharped up my pencil and started a very loose sketch of the terraces that I was face to face with. In the afternoon I took myself to another location and with coffee in hand, I sketched another, this time it was a freestanding home. I think that this will become a Regular practice.

Beautiful Little Things - Logo Design

I had my inks and watercolours out again to create a logo for a photography business called Beautiful Little Things. The client was after a hand watercoloured treatment for the lettering, along with a little fox graphic. 

I trialed a few different font styles, from traditional scripts - to looser, loopier versions and had a play with ink weights and layering. This was a great exercise for me in working with varying pressure placed on the brush and learning to accept my wobbly hand. 

I created the little fox by doing different separations in ink. This allowed me to be quite flexible with the colour changes that the client required. I used a cream, Amber and red brown ink separtions, which I then layered in Photoshop and plate with the opacity.

The colours and the handpainted technique gave the logo warmth and heart which is what the client was hoping for. 

Illustration Commission of a Terrace House

Terraced Houses can be seen stretching across the landscape of Sydney’s Inner City Suburbs. This style of housing was built between the 1830’s until the 1890s coinciding with the population boom, due to the gold rush in the 1850s. They could range in size depending on the affordability, from single story cottages to 4 or 5 story houses. Often the foundations were set in sandstone, built with brick and stucco. 

I was commissioned to illustrate a simple two story terrace in Darlinton, in Sydney’s Inner West. The terrace had been in the family for years and was almost fully renovated solely by the owners, the illustration was to be a celebration gift. The colour of the terrace is a refreshing mauve-grape colour, which I used along with a subtle knit texture for warmth (lets face it, a lot of heart and sole went into this renovation). The terrace featured a cute little attic window and the risen communal walls, which many Sydney terraces do. I created corrugated iron roofing effect from the cuff of a jumper. 

I haven’t been past the home since I finished the illustration, I’m hoping the renovations are complete and that the family are now enjoying their revamped terrace home. 

Cnr Wilson & King Streets - Newtown

King St Newtown can be absolutely jam packed, often you are concentrating on dodging the obstacles in front of you (people, dogs, shopping bags, more people, artisan bread etc) and you forget to look around. Next time you are on King St, remind yourself to look up, above the awnings. The suburb is littered with ornate colourful buildings bordering the main st. 

The sketch for the corner of Wilson and King Sts took some time to complete. The detail in the top of the building was quite complicated, I would finish a section, put the sketch away, finish another section, put my pencil down, work on the Enmore Theatre for a bit, then come back to it again.In contrast to the Enmore Theatre artwork, I completed the majority of this piece in watercolour, which again took some time and patience. I used a subtle amount of fabric in some of the surrounding buildings, as well as in the road. I quite enjoyed to process of painting, leaving it for a few days and coming back to it with additions and gradually building up the colour. I finished off the painting with a touch of gold ink for some sparkle.

The Oxford Tavern - Petersham

The newly revamped Oxford Tavern is located on the corner of New Canterbury Rd and Crystal St in Petersham.The Daily Telegraph published an article about the iconic pub's closure, read it here. 

Although we all knew what the old Oxford Tavern was about, indicated by the nude neon female sillohettes outside, it has always had a mysterious aura about it with it’s dark windows and sealed doors.

The bar is now under new management and has swapped babes for boars, offering a southern American inspired menu featuring pulled pork. With bands, a beer garden and open windows the bar is a place that welcomes everyone, though it retains the famous nude neon ladies as a nod to it’s past. The pub was a fun illustration. I wanted this to be a night scene to make the neon really pop. I grabbed the fabric box and pulled out some heavy nits (I was doing this in winter) for the dark night sky. There was minimal watercolour in this one, just a few highlights.

Liverpool Road - Ashfield

 
Ashfield was established in 1838 and now Liverpool Rd is a place we go to often for dumplings and our favourite Asian food. At night the strip looks particularly colourful with the glow of the restaurants lighting up the street and buildings. Dinner is a busy time for these restaurants with people spilling out onto the footpath waiting for their number to be called.
I was particularly taken with the washed out glow of the building colour and the reflection of the VB sign in one of the windows. I watercoloured the buildings, making them look a little patchy. I added a denim night sky, with a slight sun down yellow glow.

The Rio Milkbar - Summer Hill

The Rio Milk bar, located on Smith Street in Summer Hill has been serving people milkshakes and snacks since 1952.The line work for Rio’s was quite busy, as I decided to illustrate a lot of the brickwork and tiling. I hand watercoloured the brick work and the bluish tiles around the windows, dabbing the paint for a rougher texture.

I really enjoyed drawing Rio’s Milk Bar, the building has a lot of different textures to it and quirky hand touches. The front windows feature heavy white paint, hand lettering and cardboard ice cream cut outs. For these I used crumpled paper, denim and watercolour.

This is my favourite piece of the exhibition. It uses a variety of texture and complex linework, captures an old iconic Milkbar with happiness.  

In August this year an interesting article was published in SMH on the Australian Milk Bar, The Summer Hill Rio Milk Bar was featured. Read it here.

The Enmore Theatre - Enmore

The Enmore Theatre opened it's doors in 1908 and is now the longest serving entertainment venue in NSW.

The Enmore Theatre was the first piece that I decided to include in the ‘Best Inner West’ series. I was originally approached by a lovely couple to illustrate the theatre, it had significant meaning to them, as it does to a lot of people. The Enmore being an art deco design featured geometrical embellishments and lines. I was very nervous about drawing so many straight lines – as I was inking I think I was holding my breath with each stroke.As the lines and shapes of the theatre were so ridged I chose to paint some very loose red water colour shapes for the doors and a few of the lines. I thought the piece might have needed a bit of wonkiness and softening. This illustration is fairly fabric heavy, using an old jumper for the pink, a grey knit for the road/footpath, a little bit of canvas and a gold cardi. The fabric texture breaks up the large wall surfaces, adding a bit of grit and age. I have a lot of warm memories of the Enmore Theatre and the shows that I have seen there, I think the cosy textures help convey this feeling.

The Enmore Theatre is also on display at Sweets Workshop for my ‘Best Inner West’ Exhibition, on until the early Nov along with a few others.

The Salisbury Service Station - Stanmore

The Salisbury Service station in Stanmore was opened in 1935 and has been run by the same family until it’s recent sale.

I drive past this charming service station in Stanmore every week or so, it always catches my eye. The cream and green colour scheme and the rounded roofing is classic art deco style, there aren’t many servos left that look like this, they are all so shiny and clinical now.  I thought it was a great example of the disappearing inner west and that it had to be included in my ‘Best Inner West’ show.

The sketch for this artwork came together quite quickly, I was inking the black linework before I knew it. I used a few different thicknesses in inking pens to get some depth in the drawing. The watercolour for this one was minimal, I wanted the building to really feature the cream canvas texture. I subtly watercoloured the surrounding shops and painted the Holden a darker retro green, which offered a good contrast against the fabric texture of the building.

I found the perfect frames for the show, a rustic natural birch box frame that sits approx 10cm deep from the wall. The colour and the texture of the frame highlights the detail adding to the charm of  the subject matter.

The Salisbury Service Station is now on display at Sweets Workshop for my ‘Best Inner West’ Exhibition, on until the 3rd Nov along with a few others. I will be featuring a couple of the pieces a week until the show closes.

Best Inner West Exhibition Opening

On Saturday I officially opened my art exhibition 'Best Inner West', featuring scenes and landscapes from Sydney's Inner West.

I wanted to thank everyone who came along to Sweets Workshop to offer their support for my show. The launch was great fun, it was so good to see so many familiar faces.

The show will be on until November, there is plenty of time to get in and have a look at my Inner West landscapes. To give you an idea of what 'Best Inner West' is all about, click here to read a little interview I did about the show  at Sweets Workshop, as well as a handful of snaps (above) from the opening party to check out. I hope you can get along to see it.

Inner West decorations

 A little fun idea I had for the launch of the exhibition was to create some decorations of some of the iconic buildings I had drawn. I contacted the fantastic Lyndsay over at Online Laser Cutting who etched my illustrations into colour transparent acrylic. 

I threaded twine through the top, so that you can dangle them from your windows or, well... anything. Now you can take a piece of the inner west with you where ever you go.

The Inner West decos are for sale at Sweets Workshop instore.

Best Inner West - An Exhibition of Local Landscapes

In a few weeks time I'll be opening a new exhibition of landscapes of Sydney's Inner West.

With a huge amount of inspiration in the local area, drawing scenes of Sydney's Inner West has become a little bit of an obsession. The show will feature some iconic landmarks and show off some of my favourite private commissions of people's homes.

'Best Inner West' opens over the weekend of the 11th and 12th of October and closes on the 3rd November. The official opening is at 2.00pm on Saturday 11th October at Sweets Workshop. The exhibition will also be open on Sunday 12th October as part of the festivities for Summer Hill's Neighbourhood Feast.   

I hope to see some friendly faces over the opening weekend, thanks to everyone for your support. You can join the Facebook event here

 

A Line – Zip of Sewing Bits & Bobs - Alphabet Poster

I have wanted to create a fun alphabet poster for a while and had the idea to draw one based on the contents of a sewing box, full of sewing projects. Ok, so it’s a true story, my sewing box, full of sewing projects that I haven’t managed to get to.I scribbled down some rough ideas, reworking some of the weaker ones. I then began sketching the letters and their graphics on my water colour paper, working to a loose grid so that they would all fit in. Hazahhh! It fits and I quickly get inking using a couple of different pen thicknesses.Adding the watercolour  was the fun part, keeping to a bright but limited amount of colour for consistency. After water colouring I scanned the pieces and added a cream fabric texture and sent to print.When the posters came back, I was really happy with the colour and quality. They are now for sale at Sweets Workshop, online and instore. Finger crossed, I’m hoping to get to some more Alphabet posters in the future.

Ashfield House Illustration with Vintage Cars

I was very excited to draw this place. For 1, It was a Bungalow. 2, It had cool automobiles and 3, It had a beautiful large magnolia tree. Lots of fun working on this one, I'm really happy with the composition and I think the crumpled paper texture really made the large tree on the left.

House Illustration Commission

Another house illustration for a lovely client. They own a cute little cottage in my local area, complete with two cute pups. I found just the right cardigan cuff to use for the corrugated iron.

Pretty in Pink – The Marie-Louise Salon, Enmore Road

The Marie-Louise Salon has been an interest of mine for some time, (call it an obsession if you will), I was so taken with it that I had to draw it for my exhibition 'The sun Sets in the West' in 2010. For as long as I remember, it had been closed, every now and then the little knick-knacks in the window would change or be decorated with scarves and tinsel… I had always wanted to see what it was like inside. 

The shop had recently sold and on Sunday, the new owners had an open invitation to walk through and make an offer on some of the memorabilia that had been hidden behind closed doors for years. Here's a few pics from my visit to the Salon. 

Marie-Louise kept old bottles of Flex conditioner, vintage boxes of blue hair rinse and hair die (ouch) and of course retro hair roller sets. There were a few of the original hair setting chairs left (the rest had been claimed) and the original 1950's pink wash basins were just charming.

I'm very interested in seeing what the salon becomes, but I'm very glad that the famous facade is heritage listed.