So, I hyped it up for long enough and worried about it just as long, but a couple of weeks ago I picked up my birthday painting. It was my present from my parents and was painted by my oldest friend Adam Kerr. Adam has been an amazing friend to me over the years and that made me all the more nervous about how it would turn out. Not that I doubt his talents, you can see how amazing he is, just that part of the picture was to include a photograph of me and I HATE pictures of myself.

Why have me in there then? Well, I didn’t want a traditional portrait but liked the idea of a painting of ‘me’ to live on after me (sounds a bit ego-centric when I see it written down like that). So in the end we decided on the idea of 30 things to represent me but that seemed to busy and too much like a plain still life so went for the composition below. I’m quite annoyed my camera/the web doesn’t convey the staggering detail of the piece but if you click on my flickr you can see the larger pics.

The items in it include: pin cushion (to represent my crafty side), flyers and badges from my old website rise-and-shine.com, the logo Adam designed for the site before that called Boarderland, a U2 ticket from the first gig I went to of theirs, various badges including the Kwik Save staff badges from my first ever job, a small Eiffel tower as that’s where Matt proposed, a photograph of me, a wristband from the gig that was me and Matt’s first ‘proper’ date, my favourite book (Name The Baby), the watch I got for my 21st, my eyebrow ring, various rings that mean different things to me, my sheep jar (to represent my sheep thing) and Alan (a toy Matt and I bought which we take photos of on our travels to make a book for any kids we may have one day).

Posted: December 10th, 2008 under Art/Illustration, Life stuff.
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I must admit that when it comes to saving money I can take things to extremes but I’ve very much a believer in the old saying that if you keep an eye on the pennies the pounds will look after themselves. One of my habits is holding out until February (sometimes even March) to buy my calendars/diaries but this year there seems to be so many great free calendars available I may not have to wait until then.

First is a nice little printable desk calendar from Amanda at Vintage Glam. Each page is designed to fit into any CD jewel case and you can customise it with your choice of backing paper (you all know my need for colour co-ordination).

The next was brought to my attention by Holly at the always inspiring Decor8. You have to join the 2Jane mailing list to be able to download the free calendar but the bold graphics mean that, once used, each month can also be cropped and used as print or whatever else you crafty kids can think of. The fact the images involve birds also gives it an extra star from me.

These are just a couple of the free options out there but the sheer volume of gorgeous calendars available for 2009  has even me getting out the cheque book with a smile on my face.

Check out the great round ups on these sites:

Decor8

Paper Crave

All Things Lovely

PoppyTalk

Or you could go for something totally unique and special and get some quirky portraits of you and your loved ones in a calendar over at Kiki & Polly.

So many choices I think my poor wee head’s going to burst!

Posted: November 25th, 2008 under Art/Illustration, Freebies, Inspiration.
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Posted: November 4th, 2008 under Art/Illustration, Events.
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The Affordable Art Fair returns to Battersea Park in October, bringing together 110 galleries from across the UK and overseas to exhibit contemporary art. All the artists on show will be different from the Spring Collection earlier this year.
The fair’s easy going atmosphere invites you to browse amongst the thousands of paintings, sculpture, photography and original prints – all priced under £3,000. For those of you looking to spot the next big thing, the Recent Graduates’ Exhibition showcases the diverse range of talent emerging from Britain’s art schools.

Our Education Programme offers a wide variety of free and informative activities which are suitable for all ages and abilities.  Working under the title ‘Me, Myself and I’ the printmaking, drawing and sculpture workshops will focus on self-portraiture.

Charlotte Hardy, our Artist in Residence, will be in the café covering the walls with whimsical illustrations of extravagant cakes and indulgent puddings.

A complimentary shuttle from Sloane Square ensures the fair is easy to get to. With a wine bar, café and children’s crèche, AAF is an art-buying opportunity not to be missed!

Book tickets for fast track entry.

Take a tour around the fair (it will take a moment to download).

Posted: September 24th, 2008 under Art/Illustration, Events.
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There’s nothing like a child’s creativity to give you that warm feeling of ‘wow, they’re so imaginative’. As a kid I loved entering competitions and remember one particular evening being completely incredulous that I wasn’t the winner of a Blue Peter competition to design a save the polar bear t-shirt and equally stunned at not winning one on The Clothes Show too. Ahhhh, the arrogance of youth eh?

Well, it’s in your power to make some little artists day by voting for them at the Doodle 4 Google page. They’re actually pretty damn good.

Posted: September 24th, 2008 under Art/Illustration, Competitions.
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You may recall a while back I was on the hunt for a nice colouring book…well, it’s seems my wish has been granted in the form of Peer. This great new colouring book features self portraits from 25 contemporary artists and is available to buy now from wolfie and the sneak.

Posted: September 19th, 2008 under Art/Illustration, Books.
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I have been going through a serious phase of loving any kind of crafting featuring animals, particularly birds. Artificial birds, nests, eggs, wings.. the whole shebang. Some of this has cultivated into a couple of ideas I’m keen to get up and running…but more on that later!

The most recent birdie brilliance to hit my radar is the work of London-based illustrator Hellovon . The sheer detail of each piece is amazing. I particularly love the Shears series of prints and my favourite is, you’ve guess it, the bird shears.

Hellovon’s current work is Migration. Taking place in 2 cities (London and New York) where a flock of abstracted birds will be first seen on the Truman Brewery, London and then reappear in New York facing towards the billboard on the side of the Espeis Gallery in Williamsburg – a project inheriting the migrational nature of its content.

Posted: September 10th, 2008 under Art/Illustration, Inspiration.
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For those days when you need a reminder that it’s worth all the effort.

Craftifesto Silkscreen Poster available on Etsy.

Posted: September 8th, 2008 under Art/Illustration.
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After a long wait, Merulapie is finally open and ready for business! It’s fully stocked with homewares, gifts and art – and more stock will be added over the coming weeks. As a special thank you they’ve created a discount code for 10% your first order – available until the end of September. Just enter ilovemerula into the discount box at the shopping cart and you’re good to go!

Go and visit the blog at www.merulapie.com/blog for regular updates and info. They’ve apparently got some great new stock being added over the next month, so visit the blog for extra information. If you’d like to sign up to their mailing list, then email them at hello@merulapie.com and just mention the mailing list – and they’ll add you straight away. The mailing list will feature gift guides, discount codes, special offers and other goodies…

Posted: September 5th, 2008 under Art/Illustration, Inspiration, Jewellery.
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Perfect if you happen to know any eternal worriers with a passion for rock music and a birthday on the way….

Available now over at theposterlist.com

Posted: September 2nd, 2008 under Art/Illustration.
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