Facebook Artist Page

Time to celebrate, as I now finally have a Facebook artist page!

I will be using it to post about my illustrations, work-in-progress snippets and also to post about other inspiring creatives. Kinda like this blog, only better!  ;P

Check it out here.

Catsi stickerssss

Catsi stickers - my fave one is the sticker that says 'everything will be ok'

Nothing says 'I'm busy and important' like this bag does!

I first found out about Catsi's sticker when a friend bought me one at the Von Krahl shop in Carillion City Perth. Well, being a bit of a sticker fiend I went to the shop myself to buy more, and I fell in love with the combination of quirky illustrations and hilarious messages. More recently, I received a tote bag in the mail from Catsi, which I think is pretty darn awesome!

You can view more Catsi designs on her Facebook page, and the tote bag can be purchased on her Etsy site.

Two years and going...

A reason to smile!

My lil' blog has past its two year anniversary!! I started this blog as a way to display my work and share the process that went behind creating it. I also wanted to share the work of artists who inspire me, and to inspire and encourage others. With over 17,000 pageviews and readers from around the world, I am happy that I have shared my love of illustration and design with so many people.

Thank you to everyone who ever read, commented on or shared my blog posts  <3

Plasticine typography

I bought some plasticine a couple of years ago with the thought that someday I might incorporate it into a design. Well, that time finally came! I had a go at creating words using the plasticine and it was a whole heap of fun! Some of the letters were a bit difficult and wriggly to shape, but I suppose it all adds to the playful vibe of this piece.

The words get out there & do something colourful is just a reminder to myself to try and experiment with new mediums, have fun with design and not to over-think.

Sweeeet!

I'm not the biggest sweet tooth, but even I couldn't resist posting about these delicious works of art made by London-based The Cake Parlour. There is so much detail and creativity that goes into these cakes it's amazing. If I received one, I don't know if I would be able to slice it up to eat - they just look too good!

Amplifier Workshops

For those in Perth, Propel Youth Arts are holding a series of free arts business workshops for emerging creatives. Some of the topics covered include pricing your work, creative marketing and grant application writing. More info here.

Out with the old...

 

... and in with the new!

Yep, I've been blogging for almost a year now without any major design changes to this blog. A change was definitely way overdue! The original blog was designed (and I use that word loosely) around my Truth, Love, Beauty illustration, but this time around the colour palette and patterned background is based on my Cross My Heart illo.

Whaddya think?

Painting for kicks

 

Wow. Taylor Reeve is one talented lady. Under the name of Taylorsays, she creates gorgeous one-of-a-kind custom illustrations on heels. Reading through her blog it seems like she paints on just about anything, from canvas to car interiors.

Are these shoes not to die for? You can check out more at her Etsy store.

Oh, Marlon

This looks like the definition of a cheeky smile! Found here.

Elephant dung paper

Elephant poo after red dye has been added

While I was in Thailand, I noticed a lot of things that were recycled and reused (even the glass Coke bottles have rust around the top as they have been washed out and filled up again). But hands down, my favourite eco-friendly thing I saw was at an elephant conservation park where they make paper from elephant dung!

First the poo is washed and boiled to kill and bacteria (apparently this is not as bad as it sounds as I was told that elephant poo doesn't smell). A mild environmentally-friendly bleach is added, then the dung is spun for three hours to cut the fibers. Colour is added, then it's spread out over a frame to dry in the sun. But the best part about this process is that the paper is made into products that are sold and the profits are returned to the elephant conservation where they can buy food and medicine.

Some examples of the final product

I would have loved to buy some paper, but I couldn't because of Australia's strict quarantine laws about bringing animal and plant products into the country. I did end up buying a painting by an elephant, which I was super-duper happy about. You can read more info about elephant dung paper here.

I'm back, baby!

Colourful cats in Bangkok

Back home in Australia after an amazing holiday in Thailand! It was so great not to even look at a computer screen for two whole weeks, it definitely gave me the break I needed. I have a few things that I'm excited to post about in the next few days, but for now I'm still plowing through my stack of old emails. xo

Ghost town

Image found here

I'm going on a holiday! So things will be a bit quiet over here for the next couple of weeks. But don't fret! I'll be back before you know it with new design adventures. xo

Happy Easter!

So cute! Image found here.

Thunder!

 
Today is Angus Young's birthday. Yep, the devilish schoolkid turns 56 (!)

I was so totally nutso about AC/DC when I was in high school. I listened to them constantly, even listening to grainy bootlegs of live recordings. Hanging out with people, I would tell them obscure facts about the band, regaling how they had to cross the Nullarbor to travel to gigs (though I was often met with glassy-eyed stares). Classes at school were an opportunity to practice drawing the AC/DC logo in the margins of my school paper. And whenever there was a project at school where you had some freedom in choosing the topic, well, I didn't even have to think about what to base the project on.

It was about this time that I discovered the Art of Modern Rock book, profiling the work of gig poster artists. I was hooked. One day in Art class, we were given the project of designing a movie poster, and naturally I chose the feature film Let There Be Rock. When deciding on how to create the poster, I chose the somewhat ambitious task of doing an A2 size eleven colour process screen print.

Looking back on these posters, it kinda makes me want to try my hand at silk screening again. Although the final result was pretty basic and unrefined with quite a few mistakes, I really like the raw and textural feel of the screen print. No two posters are alike, and it feels a bit more special that I screened all the colour separations myself, rather than just clicking the print button.

And just a note for those of you who live in WA, the Western Australian Museum will be holding an exhibition called AC/DC: Australia’s Family Jewels running from 16 April to 7 August 2011. Can't wait!

Kustom Blogging

 http://sarahactivated.blogspot.com/

One thing I like about blogs is the ability to customise the look of it. You could be reading two different blogs that look miles apart yet they still use the same Blogger template. I always prefer reading someone's unique blog over a generic-looking Facebook page any day, and I have seem some awesomely awesome blog designs. But because I have basically zero knowledge of web developing, html, css, I've sometimes felt a tiny bit limited by some of the customisations I've seen other people do and what I was able to create.

But my friend Sarah has helped me out by explaining how to make customisations in her blog. Things like how to change the favicon icon (that small square in the tab), adding a contact form and how to add a related posts widget. I can definitely say that it wasn't as hard as I originally thought it would be.

So if you have a blog and want to know how to create some cool custom widgets and doodads, I suggest taking a look at Sarah's bloggity blog.

Lizard

For the last few months or so my garden has had a new resident. A lizard, to be more specific. I've named him Stumpy and he is very cute! He's also very shy, so I'm amazed that my sister managed to get this close to take a photo.

Hangin' with Muse

Wayne's World  Meeting Alice Cooper : We're not worthy!

If you've read some of my previous posts (like this one) you might know that I'm a massive fan of Muse. That's why I was super-excited last week, not only because I saw them in concert but because I got to HANG OUT BACKSTAGE AND MEET THEM! It was completely surreal to be casually talking to the Muse guys after years of listening to their music, reading countless interviews and seeing them live so many times. But it was great because they were super-lovely and very down-to-earth, happily signing my guitar for me and chatting to me about the cricket. Going backstage reminded me a bit of the 'We're not worthy' scene in Wayne's World. My pal Sarah (who I've mentioned before here) heard my incessant talk about Muse and came up with a comic to describe my meeting with them. It's cute! You can view it here, and you can also check out her previous weekly Friday comics here.

Mystery Guitar Man

Recently I've been working on a small video project, which is something I'm pretty clueless about. As a graphic designer and illustrator I'm so used to thinking about things as flat images, so this video project was a bit of a challenge at first. A friend suggested I check out the videos of Mystery Guitar Man for inspiration, and man, they are just amazing! Every week he comes up with a couple of short vids that combine sight and sound in a fun way. He even created a short film to propose to his girlfriend.
Check it out!

Patterns!

I've been looking at patterns for a while now, and it's something that I would like to have a go at, but sometimes it's so tricky getting your head around how to repeat the design. My friend Sarah does some amazing vector patterns, its the type of stuff I can imagine seeing on sneakers and notebook covers. Looking at it makes me want to try creating some! You can check out the rest of her stuff here.

Muse news

Ok, so I've been a huge fan of Muse since forever (yes, forever!), and last year I went to see them in concert in Glasgow. I was so surprised when recently I got an email from the people at Big Day Out, asking if they could use photos I took at that concert to promote their upcoming Australian tour in December. Could they ever! The pic here is taken from the BDO homepage http://www.bigdayout.com