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. 

Railz Zine Launch

I've illustrated my local train station previously. A customer had commented while browsing my illustration catalogue, that "train stations, are you know... Not that nice..." I only hope she was talking about the subject matter and not the drawing.

Train stations are a drawing challenge, but the repetition of lines and patterns from the cables, the pillons and the tracks can be quite interesting. Growing up in the western suburbs meant that I spent a lot of time travelling to work on the train.

This zine is however, about a shorter journey, my trip from Lidcombe station to Summer Hill. It includes a bit of photography and drawing. It's predominantly black with a yellow dot grain texture. I've used a zigzag fold to keep give the zine direction  - as you unfold, the image on the back stretches out into a train track. The cover is printed black on orange card, I've hand drawn a metallic silver line over the railz to highlight the metal. This was quite a hands on assembley which I really enjoyed.  We'll be having a stall at the MCA zine fair on May 20, I'll be launching Railz along with my mini poster, stacks on cats to the masses ; )

I see blue people

Just some hovering UFOs spotted suspended one of the alleys above China Town. An average night in Sydney. I like them blurry.

Magnolias and things

It's magnolia season, which means spring is one the way!

Old gems in Millthorpe

A snapshot of a weekend escape to Millthorpe, 20 minutes from Orange.

Drawing from floral pinks

This is going to be quite a floral and pink post. I picked up some roses and dahlias for the house, of course they were so lovely I had to have a sketch. The dahlias were fun to draw with their puffy, ruffly faces, I'm thinking I could turn my drawing into a lino print.

I have been working away on more card designs since my lolly bag post. I'm aiming to have a decent collection finished by the end of May. I'll keep the pink to a minimum.

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)

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.

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.

Holy Flamingo – It's Chrismas!

In less than a week Christmas will be upon us, in all it's FEASTive glory. It's been a busy end to the year, as I've been trying to finish up a long list of projects. Pictured above is my decorative offering for Christmas – a silver tinsel tree with pink flamingo lights. Very traditional.

One thing I love about this time are the Christmas lights and how they bring people together. Family and friends walk the streets pointing their fingers at houses, saying hello to family and friends as they dribble on an ice cream from Mr Whippy. Now that's the Christmas spirit.
Merry Christmas.

Capertee

Well, it has been a while since my last post. I would like to thank some home renovations and a country break for occupying my time for the past month or so.

The cabin was in a top spot, and I mean a TOP spot, looking across the Capertee Valley. The winter weather gave the landscape some spectacular colours and light.

The photo above was taken from the cabin. I love the carpet like texture of the rolling hills and the curvy bark pattern on the tree. It's time to get drawing!

Since my last post, I've been patrolling areas looking for subjects that I think will work well as an illustration sequence. I would like to include a scene with water, so I set out to Elkington park in Balmain which overlooks the harbour. Above are a couple of photos I took recently. I set out at 8.30am, 12.30pm and 4.30pm to capture the different lighting conditions.

Today I am off to Turon, near Mudgee. Hoping to get some country scapes with a mountain goat.

Street inspiration

Ideas for my illustrations usually come from what's around me. This could be signage, textures, patterns, colours, lighting, shapes on building, or what ever I pass on the street.

On a Sunday wander, I took some shots of what interested me.