Three new girls

All animal lovers by the looks of things:


Turtle Garden (2009)


Glow (2009)


Escargot (2009)

These seemed to take far longer to put together than usual! I binned several versions before I finally managed to create something I was happy with. They're part of a show in at Mushroom Crafts (a tiny gallery in Leongatha) for the next month.

Next up is a solo show in September which I really should be starting work on...now!

It's a bit daunting to even think about having to start preparing for something that's four months away, but I'm getting pickier and pickier about my work now so each piece is taking twice as long to finish. I guess that's a good thing.

xxx kate

Swoon

I've just received a copy of the flyer for Swoon at Black Maria Gallery.



I sent my three pieces off to LA for this show a couple of weeks ago, but I didn't know who else was part of the show (apart from Bec Winnel, of course) until today.

So I'm thrilled to see that Jen Lobo will be part of it.

I've loved Jen's work ever since I first saw here in Wooden Toy magazine. She's an animal lover - which shows in her gorgeous paintings. I'm particuarly besotted with her slightly surreal seascapes:







The ships!

The whales!

*sigh*

xxx kate

Droooool!?

Nothing's more inspiring than finding a tumblr full of fashion photos you haven't seen before.

I spent half the evening drooling ones like these at a tumblr called !? (or !! - hard to tell):






















Lucious poses, gorgeous fashion and heaps of juicy links.

Check !!/!? out.

xxx kate

5 new artists

OK, they're not new new.

But they're new(ish) to me.

I'm putting time aside to track down artists whose work I haven't seen before. These are the five I found today:


1. Shannon Bonatakis



2. Ria Brodell





3. Si Scott




4. Lya Yoshikawa Nagado






5. Chris Ryniak



xxx kate

A bloody brilliant blog

I usually write about art here, but I had to recommend - to everyone - this blog by David Trott.

David Trott is the creative director of CST Advertising in the UK. So his blog is largely advertising related, but the 'lessons' are appropriate for any business - even art!

He writes insightful posts about creativity, ideas, business and life.

Most are told through stories like this:



They're not only interesting, but more often than not, useful. And motivational.

In fact, I frequently find myself printing them out and sticking them on my wall, or emailing them to friends.

Well worth a look.

xxx kate

Bugger bugger damn

So I was casually taking a look at Audrey Kawsaki's new work on her blog this evening.

And Bill politely asked if this:



was where I got the inspiration for the hair in 'Koi' (thanks Pippi for the name):



No I didn't, Goddamn it.

But I can sure see why he asked. Don't you hate it when you come up with something, only to see that it was done a few weeks ago by someone else.

Particularly when that someone else is your favourite artist.

Bugger.

Oh well.

Truth be told, I actually got the inspiration for the hair from this:



As much as I'd like to lay claim to channeling my 'inner Audrey' I was really just drooling over a McDonald's soft serve.

Mmmm, might just scoff another one to drown my disappointment!

xxx kate

Fish

A new piece for Swoon - two down, one more to go.
Thankfully, there was an extension deadline which has made my life much more pleasant! So she'll be off to LA on Saturday. (Bon Voyage!)



She still needs a name, and I have to figure out where to put my signature on these new pieces. It's about time I incorporated it into my work with a little more thought!

xxx kate