ScarlettCat

Pimped.

2011-12-09T15:06:00.000-08:00

My lovely friend Catherine has recently been pimping my art out on Facebook.

Problem is I keep having to explain that I'm not making new stuff and not really selling old stuff. Until I remembered this morning that I do still have two shops that run themselves.

A shoe shop (yay shoes) that sells this kind of stuff:

And an art print shop that sells this kind of stuff:

Funnily enough I only remembered when I took a look at my battered old pair of Keds and decided I needed to buy a new pair of shoes from myself.

xk

Dear Ink and Butter Fingers

2011-04-24T17:56:00.000-07:00

Please don't ruin this for me, guys.

I know you love to drip in the wrong spot or think it's hilarious to spontaneously drop the brush (usually when it's laden with bright blue) on the artwork, but it would be nice if just once you guys could coordinate your efforts to produce something nice.

xk

Two good things

2011-04-23T00:39:00.001-07:00

Firstly I finally got my grubby mitts on my latest painting purchase - Laninya by Bec Winnel.

Bec and I have been mates for years so I managed to call dibbs on this piece while it was still a work in progress (I knew if she made it to the gallery unsold, I'd miss out!).

The final piece looks absolutely stunning. She's sitting above our computer desk, and Bill and I frequently find ourselves just leaning back in our chairs to stare at her. Thanks Bec!

Laninya by Bec Winnel

Laninya by Bec Winnel

Secondly, after spending a lovely afternoon with Bec (and Olive) and the girls from Just Another Agency, Toby and Melika I came away completely inspired and raring to draw.

Better yet, it doesn't seem like it's just a once off. I've dragged out the paints and inks and pencils and have a few other pieces on the go.

I'm thinking (for the near future at least), I'll just concentrate on drawing and painting and not sell anything. I think it was the pressure of having art as a second career that killed it for me. And I'm already overcommitted with career number 1.

Anyway, we'll see how this goes. Cross your fingers for me folks.

xk

Too close for comfort

2011-02-07T02:45:00.000-08:00

To be honest I'm in two minds about making this post.

It's kind of out of character for me (and perhaps a little mean-spirited). But it's been one of those days and I've had too much wine and to hell with politeness and all that.

There's an artist on Etsy who's certainly copied my style and, in a few instances, has pretty much element-for-element copied my art.

Technically I don't believe she's breaching copyright. My understanding of copyright law is that she'd have to be actually reproducing my images. And she's not. So let's get that clear.

But she's certainly 'copying' the art (below mine are on the left, hers are on the right).

And quite frankly it's pissing me off tonight.

I called her on these two some months ago and she said she must have seen them and 'accidentally' copied them. (Sure, if you have a photographic memory.) She took them down quick smart, so I'm guessing she knew exactly what she was doing.

Anyway, I popped over to her shop tonight and noticed this one which takes the pose from 'Lydia'.

And it just annoyed me.

It's not copyright breach

But these are far too close for my liking. Particularly when she also has the nerve to copy my copyright statement:

Mine:

(c) kate lightfoot 2009
This artwork is protected by copyright which does not transfer with sale. In plain English - while you're buying a piece of artwork, you're not buying the right to copy, print or reproduce it in any way. xxx kate

Hers:

(c) mikacoach 2011
This artwork is protected by copyright which does not transfer with sale. In plain English - while you're buying a piece of artwork, you're not buying the right to copy, print or reproduce it in any way. mikacoach

Anyway, i just felt like being a crochety old woman. They're MY girls - even though I'm not drawing them these days - so don't mess with them.

*pokes tongue out*

Rant over.

xxxk

A long time between drinks

2010-12-06T01:45:00.000-08:00

Flicking through my last few blog posts, I just noticed that I never posted the final work-in-progress pic of my first big-eyed girl oil painting.

And then I realised I'm close to hitting an anniversary.

In a couple of months it will be a full year since I've picked up a pencil or paintbrush and done any kind of art whatsoever.

A full year, people.

To be honest that makes me a little sad.

While I have no desire to create art, I miss the feeling of having made something out of a blank sheet of paper and some coloured pencil lead or paint pigment. And I was quite pleased with my oil painting - she was coming along nicely until I completely ran out of steam.

Maybe one day I'll have the urge to unpack the paints, finish her off and give her a name.

Until then, she'll just have to wait in my studio window like she has for almost a year.

xk

Meet Safety Pig

2010-08-21T00:20:00.001-07:00

He now has his own Facebook page and is gathering support. Just a shame he couldn't officially win today's election.

Who's Safety Pig? The best description I've heard is "he's the pig you need to remember when you're about to do something stupid."

Crumple zones

2010-07-07T21:51:00.000-07:00

I am getting back into art little by little, but in the meantime I'm blogging about innovations, ideas and marketing over at the CUBED Communications blog.

Thought I'd share my most recent piece, because it's the sort of thinking that can help arty folk too - whether it's coming up with a new angle for a piece of work, or finding new ways to get your art out there.

I have a confession to make.

I'm obsessed with crumple zones - you know, the weak points at the front and back of your car.

See, before crumple zones were first introduced in the 50s, car safety was all about designing cars to be stronger.

Tougher.

Able to take a crash like John Wayne could take a punch.

Problem was - doing this may have helped the car to better withstand a crash, but it meant the occupants took the full force of the impact.

So we should all thank our lucky stars that Mercedes engineer Béla Barényi started thinking passengers would be safer in a car that could absorb the kinetic energy of a crash. Instead of following the thinking of the time and developing a tougher, stronger, more John Wayne-like car, Barényi designed one to be weaker.

Brilliant!

The weak points at the front and back of the vehicle would crumple in a crash, absorbing energy to protect the passengers.

Now you may argue that this thinking wasn't a big deal - after all, it's based on high-school physics. But high-school physics had been around much longer than the automobile and nobody else seemed to make the link.

Barényi's thinking was revolutionary.

And here's what keeps me up at night:

What else are we looking at from the wrong angle?

What else are we trying to make stronger, when we'd be better off making it weaker?

What conventional thinking should we be putting to rest? Or at last challenging?

60 years ago, conventional thinking said that to make a car safer, you had to make it stronger.

20 years ago, conventional thinking said that nobody in their right mind would trust someone they'd never met on the other side of the world to honour a sale made over the internet. eBay turned that thinking on its head and paved the way for other micro-commerce sites like Etsy and Amazon's marketplace.

Today, conventional thinking still tells us that you must never bastardise a logo, yet Google's very successfully done the complete opposite. Not only has it not damaged their brand, it's built them a fan base!

And just last week, thought-leader Seth Godin made a post about working fewer hours, not more, to compete more effectively.

So what other conventional thinking should we be challenging?

Love to hear your thoughts.

xk

Like this piece? Think Kate's full of it? Let us know by adding a comment or emailing her here

Paint meet wood

2010-02-26T04:02:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd turn my hand to painting for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, I like the process of mixing colours and mediums and using a brush (though I have a loooong way to go before I get any of it right!).

Secondly, because of a point Bill made that's been rattling around in my brain for months. He reckons the average Joe places less value on pencil drawings because it's a medium that anyone can use. Sure, they may not be able to use it particularly artistically, but because we all use pencils every day, the artsy mystery is removed. So there's a perception that a pencil drawing is less valuable.

Now I'm not entirely sure I agree with him, but I can see his point. And after such a long break from art, it seemed like a good time to try something new and see how it goes.

So here's how it's gone so far.

Pencil on wood (done during babysitting my 2 month old niece who was courteous enough to sleep through the entire experience!).

After a couple of coats of some kind of timber sealer that Bill recommended, I tried a heavy pink background (oil paints). Bill hated it. Dave reckoned you should be able to see the wood grain if you're painting on wood. Plenty of people liked it, but I tend to listen to Bill and Dave because they don't pull any punches.

So I rubbed back the pink to a much softer level. I prefer this, though the wood grain here isn't the best looking grain I've ever seen. Once I get the hang of this, I'm going to track down some more attractive timber.

I'm still pretty crap at mixing colours. So I figured I'd practice by trying to match my own skin tone. At the risk of sounding like a loony, I did thoroughly enjoy painting on my hand.

Tonight I've redone the background, whitened her hair and started on her dress. But she's now at an awkward teenage stage, so I'm holding off on posting her until her blemishes clear up and she learns how to use makeup properly.

Wish us luck!

xk

In lurve with Lisa Mitchell

2010-02-13T18:59:00.000-08:00

And not just her music.

The film clip to Coin Laundry is chock-full of drawing fodder. I'm definitely going to be using some of this as inspiration in the near future:

xk

Just playing around

2010-02-13T04:31:00.000-08:00

Just a quick sketch and a toy with watercolour on crappy paper. ;)

xk

Blog love

2010-01-29T14:10:00.000-08:00

Now I'm hunting down inspiration again, I've found some gorgeous new blogs and tumblrs you may like. Beautiful photo reference here and generally inspiring finds:

Where the lovely things are
There are lots of good things on the interenet. And 99% of them seem to wind up here - fashion, art, jewellery, homewares, general inspiration. I spent a good day and a half trawling through the posts on Where the lovely things are. I challenge you to keep your credit card away from the loveliness. ;)

Simply breakfast
Jennifer Causey is a photographer who takes droolworthy pics of her breakfast (hence the title).

A Cup of Joe
Joanna Goddard appears to have a direct link to awesome. She manages to find all manner of cool stuff to post to her blog. Thanks Jo!

Fuck Yeah Hollywood
Pretty girls, interesting poses. All the usual art-fodder. And lots of it.

xxx kate

Amazing what you find...

2010-01-25T20:47:00.000-08:00

..when you clean up.

For some ungodly reason, I had an uncontrollable urge to clean this morning (those who know me would be checking my forehead for signs of fever).

I cut a path through my upstairs 'studio' - really just a room-sized pile of canvases, frames, pencils, paints, paper, paintbrushes, wrapping paper, ribbons, fabrics and bubble wrap. And then got stuck into the kitchen and my desk.

I found a stack of originals - some completed, some half-done. Like these:

The bottom left one is a self-portrait I did for a magazine article some time ago. The other two I'll probably put up for sale in my Etsy shop when I re-open it later in the year.

xxxk

Back on the horse

2010-01-24T22:03:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who commented on my last post. It was just the buck-up/support/kick-in-the-pants I needed!

I've decided to practice and play and not try to do finished pieces for a while.

And I'm going to post what I plonk on the page regardless of how it looks. Comments (positive or negative) are more than welcome.

Some of these are going to look like utter shite. Some will probably look OK. None will be finished. All will be messy.

Here's today's scribbles:

I quite like the eye-patch chick at the top. I don't mind the bottom left one (though she's pretty much my usual style) and I'm playing around with Ana Bagayan style lines a la the one at the bottom right. Audrey Kawasaki does the same type of thing with her heavy and light lines. I really like that. Will play around with them again later this week.

All in all, fairly crap effort, but truth be told, it was good to pick up a pencil and get back on the horse.

Yee-ha.

xxx kate

Really rather terrifying

2010-01-24T00:04:00.000-08:00

OK, OK, after swearing black and blue that I was never going to pick up a pencil again, I'm now desperate - DESPERATE, people! - to create stuff.

But I don't know what.

And I don't know what with.

Should I stick with pencil? Try watercolour or ink? See if I can learn oil or acrylic properly?

And maybe I'll be really crap at it now.

I haven't lifted a finger artwise since September 09. Maybe it's not like riding a bike. And I'll have to start from scratch and be really bad at it for ages.

I had a go just before. And it was really bad. Of course, I wasn't really trying all that hard. Not taking enough care, just slapping something down. Wound up all muddy around the face and messy where I didn't want it to be messy.

And I've been painting something for work for practice. Again, not particularly happy with the result, but I need to start somewhere. It just feels like I'm repeating myself. It's nothing new, or fresh, or different.

It's really fucking scary.

I'm not sure I even want to try.

But I'm so bloody creatively frustrated. I've been moping around the house all day, doing a quick sketch here and there and hating the way they look. Looking at Audrey Kawasaki's work and getting completely bummed out that I'll never be as good as that. Searching for inspiration and having no idea what to do with it if I find some.

Anyone else been in this boat? Anyone given up art only to find that it won't give you up?

If so, let me know how it turned out.

I'll be here umming and ahhing over whether to pick up that pencil or paintbrush or just surf the net some more.

xxx kate

Into new music?

2010-01-20T03:20:00.000-08:00

Here's a brand new blog you need to keep an eye on.

My art director Dave is obsessed with music - pretty much every type of music. And he finds great tunes I'd never otherwise hear.

Anyway, he's just started a blog to share his new music finds. It's called Hey Graham Listen To This and he's already got a couple of pretty cool tracks on it.

Keep an eye on this one. I reckon there'll be some new music faves popping up there fairly regularly.

xxx kate

PS. If you like what you hear, give him a comment. He's kinda new to the blogging thing and it'll make his day. ;)

Oh Audrey...

2010-01-18T01:10:00.001-08:00

To blatantly rip off Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets - you make me want to be a better artist.

Hajimari was Audrey Kawasaki's first solo show in New York and I was thrilled to discover that she's posted her progress pics on her blog.

Get droolin':

xxx kate

Moving

2009-12-27T20:08:00.000-08:00

Mornin' kids,

Just wanted to let you all know that I won't be blogging here much in the near future (not that I've blogged much in the recent past!).

My passion for art has been overtaken by my love for advertising lately and most of my blogging time will be spent at the CUBED blog which I've helped put together over the past couple of months.

Some of the content may be useful for budding artists - there will be creative/design based posts as well as marketing how to's, so feel free to pop over and sign up to the updates.

I'm sure I'll pop back here from time to time, but for now you'll find me blogging and tweeting at:

xxx kate

PS. I'd love feedback - good or bad - on the agency blog. So let me know what you think.

Flirt

2009-09-19T18:55:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd post the artwork from Flirt and pics from opening night.

It's up for two weeks, so if you'd like to see it live, pop into 696 (696 Sydney Road, Brunswick) before September 30.

Lydia (2009)

Snowshoe Hare (2009)

Deerstalker (2009) SOLD

Pinwheel (2009) SOLD

String Butterfly (2009)

Orange Ripple (2009)

Kiss & Tell (2009)

Girl From Every Port (2009) SOLD

Lydia (2009)

Me and Bec Winnel

Rainy night = small crowd of close friends (including my boyfriend Bill - second from the left)

A couple of sales

Tease (2009) and Girl From very Port (2009) SOLD

Inxpriment (2009) and Inky Pinups (2009)

Much more relaxed a few days after ;)

xxx kate

See you on Thursday?

2009-09-14T05:36:00.000-07:00

Hope so.

Remember, flirting time starts 6-9pm, Thursday 17 September, 696 Sydney Road, Brunswick.

Pop along, have a few drinks, check out the art and say g'day to me.

xxx kate

Two weeks till flirting time

2009-09-05T04:07:00.000-07:00

Not long to go now.

My frames arrived last week and I'm now putting pieces into them. It's really quite satisfying to see them finished off in lovely fancy white frames. They're not cheap either!

I was planning to skimp and do half in the fancy frames and half in plain white (ie. less expensive!), but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

So here's a quick sneak peek. I'll post the finished pieces and pics from opening night in a couple of weeks.

Hope I'll see you there.

xxx kate

Cult Of Pop interview

2009-08-28T18:53:00.000-07:00

Cult Of Pop were kind enough to make me their feature artist this week.

Thanks guys!

You can read the full article here.

xxx kate

Getting there...slowly

2009-08-14T21:08:00.001-07:00

**** Please note I've changed the opening night to Thursday 17 September ****

My flyer is almost finalised.

Front:

Back:

I used to love it in old black and white movies when some young flirt would scrawl her name and number in a matchbook and hand it over to the dashing gentleman (they're always 20% more dashing in back and white, don't you think?).

So I've given a nod to that old pick-up with a handwritten message on the back of my flyer. ;)

32 days and counting....

xxx kate

Two down...

2009-08-08T06:33:00.000-07:00

Two new pieces (but only one title so far)

'Girl From every Port' (below) will be the flyer image for my upcoming show. Now...off to put that flyer together.

xxx kate

The scary new job

2009-08-04T04:27:00.001-07:00

I mentioned previously that my art has had to take a back seat lately. (Sorry art.)

Here's why:

Dave's the one that looks half decent, I'm the squinter (click on it to see just how bad that picture really is) and we've just taken on a new job as joint Creative Directors at CUBED Communications.

It's exciting - we leave each night positively buzzing about the potential in this agency and all the things we'd like to do.

It's also fucking scary.

Not just work-wise, but art-wise too.

I've got a solo show coming up, some interviews on the horizon and potential magazine work that I suspect I'll have to turn down. At the same time, I've been asked to judge The Globals (an advertising award show from New York) and put more time into industry events while figuring out how to be a good creative director.

There's too much happening at once - and it's all good. I just need to cram a few more hours into each day.

Anyone have a time machine? I'll return it last week.

xxx kate

How to write a blog

2009-08-03T14:50:00.000-07:00

Easy reading is damn hard writing
Nathaniel Hawthorne

Have you visited copyblogger yet?

It's a fantastic resource for bloggers...and copywriters for that matter. In fact, I stole that Nathaniel Hawthorne quote from one of their tip pages. ;)

Essentially it teaches you how to write in a way that will attract readers. And, as you'd expect, it's a very easy read.

Here are three of my favourite recent posts from them:

How to Motivate People to Buy
Is Commenting on Blogs a Smart Traffic Strategy?
5 Simple Ways to Open Your Post With a Bang

Good stuff. Easy to read.

Off you go.

xxx kate

Progress - The Girl From Every Port

2009-08-01T00:40:00.000-07:00

She's coming along nicely (the little tart).

There's still a lot of work left in her, but now it's all details.

I don't want to crop the base of this piece with the frame. I like the look of her fading away - So there'll be a hell of a lot of blending work in that part.

But at least the piece I want to use for my flyer is almost there.

One (almost) down. Nineteen (or so) to go!

Wish me luck.

xxx kate

Back on the horse

2009-07-25T15:02:00.000-07:00

I'm finally putting pencil to paper.

Thank God!

The show I'm working towards is 'flirt'. It'll be my first solo show and given the (entirely self-inflicted) time crunch I need to finish the art I'll use on the flyer quick smart.

It's going to be a naughty nautical piece called 'The Girl From Every Port'. She's certainly flirty enough.

Here's a sneak peek:

I know, I know. Not very impressive yet, but I can see where she's going and I'm liking her.

xxx kate

New tattoo

2009-07-25T01:12:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, a lovely girl from Vancouver Island let me know she liked Turtle Garden (below) so much, she used it as inspiration for her new tattoo.

She asked if I'd like a pic for my blog - hell yes!

This is the fourth tattoo I've seen of my artwork. I'm making a little photo collection - so if anyone else has a tatt of one of my girls, please email me a pic. :)

Thanks!

xxx kate

Two steps in the right direction

2009-07-21T19:16:00.000-07:00

Step 1. I'm changing (day) jobs

Dave and I resigned a fortnight ago. In a couple of weeks, we'll start at a new agency as creative directors.

It's scary.

But also really, really exciting – a chance to spread our wings and do things the way we think they should be done.

Hopefully we won't be shit at it.

;)

Step 2. I'm desperately seeking inspiration

And it's about bloody time.

My solo show is coming up in September and with everything else going on job-wise I'm justifiably nervous about getting everything (anything?) done in time.

I've been blindly hoping inspiration will strike (it didn't) so yesterday I took matters into my own hands and started scouring the net again. Eye-candy proved particularly fruitful. As did coup de foudre and fashion victims.

Here are the images that pushed my artistic buttons:

Hope to post some new pics in progress soon.

xxx kate

Stop the world. I want to get off.

2009-07-13T05:17:00.001-07:00

Dear Blog and Etsy shop,

I'm sorry guys. You two have been completely ignored lately. But, as I've explained to you, sometimes my day job has to come first.

I know, I know - it doesn't seem fair.

I promise I'll make it up to you both in a month or so.

xxx kate

Gallery

2009-06-16T16:08:00.001-07:00

Just moving my gallery from one blog to another (I have a sneaky set-up of two blogs which is currently backfiring!).

xxx kate

Rivalry (2009)

Koi (2009)

Glow (2009)

Slumber (2009)

Escargot (2009)

Nutkin (2009)

Nest (2009)

Bluebird (2009)

Early Bird (2009)

Maggie (2009)

Cherry Bomb (2009)

Rosie (2008)

Urchin (2008)

Swoon - I nearly did...

2009-06-15T00:44:00.000-07:00

...when Ally Takeuchi, the curator of 'Swoon' at LA's Black Maria Gallery, sent me this pic of Audrey Kawasaki there on opening night.

Wow.

Audrey Kawasaki.

At a show I'm in.

*faints with delight*

xxx kate

My new gallery

2009-06-09T03:10:00.000-07:00

A virtual one. I just updated it with Picnik (only took about 15 minutes too).

Here's a sample:

The rest is here.

And if you'd like simple instructions on making a gallery with Picnik, I put together a quick forum post on Etsy this evening.

xxx kate

Life's a Picnik

2009-06-05T17:55:00.001-07:00

I'm usually well behind the eight-ball with these things so apologies if I'm posting about something everyone else in the world already understands!

So, have you discovered Picnik yet? It's free online photo manipulation software.

It's a great way of sharpening up photos for your Etsy store - and they do say that clear photos lead to more sales. Here's the before (left) and after (right) shot of one of my pieces.

To be honest that's probably the most practical application. But they have some fabulously fun impractical applications too. Such as:

Turning an image into a pencil sketch (though I'm sure I had one for this piece at some point!)

Something called HSL - I have utterly no idea what this is, but I love her dark-blue eyeshadow colour now, so it's given me a new idea. Thanks Picnik.

Focal zoom.

Invert - again, not sure why you'd use this, but it's giving me ideas about new colour schemes, so it could come in handy. Actually, it's a great way of working out inverted light if you don't work from reference photos.

Duo tone. This one could be useful if you're doing one of those 'two colour only' jobs for a publication like Edtn Magazine

Add a frame - could be a nice way of displaying art work in a gallery style.

Curvy corners - personally I love these. They remind me of the photos you used to get in the 70s!

Polaroid.

There are heaps more features - some only for those who subscribe - but most for free. And it's great for photo touch ups as they have a 'blemish fix', 'shine be gone', 'tooth whitening' and 'red eye' functions - I'll be using those ones regularly!

Have fun.

xxx kate

Blanket Magazine

2009-06-02T20:32:00.001-07:00

I've always been a fan of Blanket Magazine. Even more so, now that I've managed to get my mug (at least an illustrated version of my mug) in it!

This month, they've devoted the publication to portraiture and have some fantastic articles.

My favourite piece is a games of 'Chinese whispers' where a photographer takes a photo and sends it to a writer. The writer writes a story based on the photo and sends the piece (but not the pic) to an artist. The artist creates an illustration based on the prose. It's so much fun and my friend, Bec Winnel, is one of the artists involved.

The magazine is 74 pages of art, photography and inspiration – and I reckon it's great value for just $2.

Grab your copy here.

xxx kate

PS. It's well worth submitting art to this gorgeous online publication - they're always on the lookout for new artists. :)

Three new girls

2009-05-30T05:05:00.001-07:00

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

2009-05-19T20:49:00.000-07:00

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!?

2009-05-18T21:14:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-11T16:23:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-10T17:55:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-07T03:07:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-06T03:40:00.000-07:00

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

Newbie in progress

2009-04-28T05:42:00.000-07:00

But I'm putting her to one side as I've had a better idea for the Swoon show. Maybe I'll finish it after I've sent the Swoon pieces off and have some time to figure out what to do with it.

I do quite like that little tree stoat!

xxx kate

Decisions, decisions

2009-04-24T18:51:00.000-07:00

I've got a week left (insert squeal of panic) before I send some work to LA for the Swoon show at Black Maria Gallery.

So it's decision time. I think I've figured out what I'm sending. I have one piece completed and ready to go, one almost finished and one sketch ready for colouring.

The piece that's almost finished is this one:

I spoke to Dave, my trusty art director, about it and he thought it needed another element at the top right - something that both the girl and sneaky owl could be looking at.

So I tried a second owl on tracing paper to see if it would work.

Now I've drawn and cut out my second owl and have to decide exactly where to place him in relation to the rest of the piece. I think I may wait until my frames are here so I can see how it will look in the space.

At the moment, the middle one is my preference.

xxx kate

Drip

2009-04-16T06:08:00.000-07:00

Just finished my final ink class and managed to create a piece I'm pretty happy with in tonight's 3 hour session.

She's a bit messier than I'd like in parts (note to self - learn to not drop brush on work) but overall, I like her:

This is based on the piece I'm doing in pencil for the show at Black Maria (Swoon) in June - I'm starting to realise just how labour intensive pencil is compared to something like ink!

xxx scarlett

Besotted with Berens

2009-04-12T00:00:00.000-07:00

I've just remembered how madly in love I am with Dutch painter, Chris Berens.

Riders Of The Storm (2008)

Years ago, a gallery owner explained to me that it's the emotional appeal that will draw someone to a piece of art in the first place, but the technical mastery behind the work that sells it.

Berens' works - and heartbreakingly gorgeous characters - are so full of emotion and beauty that I feel that little pang in my chest (the one that has nothing to do with heartburn) when I see them.

Passed (2008)

Various details

Take a look at The Kiss (below). Doesn't it just make you want to climb in and wrap you arms around that darling little polar bear? Also, for an extra *sigh*, take a look in the top right hand corner where the porpoise is completing 'the kiss'.

The Kiss (2008)

And as if that kind of talent isn't enough, Berens has developed a unique technique that defies belief.

In De Raadskelder (2006)

For starters - he uses inkjet paper. Yup....well, sort of.

Lady Of The Dawn (2007)

Next, it's not oil paint that he paints with...

Little Captain Sparrow (2008)

..it's ink.

Fuck me.

Ink?! That the wishy washy stuff that runs all over the place and looks watercolourly? Apparently not when Berens uses it.

The Whaler, The Ermine And The Bait (2008)

His technique also involves plenty of painstaking cutting, pasting and layering. And not an ounce of computer.

I know I won't do it justice, so for a full explanation of how he achieves this look watch the video of the interview he gave to Kirsten Anderson of Roq La Rue Gallery in Seattle.

Graceful Reign (2008)

I'm still gobsmacked.

Check out his site for more of his artwork. And take a look Erratic Phenomena for a superb blog post about his work.

xxx scarlett

PS. On the back of his works (and on his website) there are little surprises - you can find out how to find them in the Erratic Phenomena post. ;)

Some half baked ideas

2009-04-10T23:11:00.000-07:00

Against my better judgement, I thought I'd share what I've been doing lately in my ink classes.

Now I'm warning you, it's all rather rough and loose. None of them are finished pieces. I'm essentially just exploring different techniques and trying new inky things. So don't expect anything great, OK?

OK.

In our first lesson we started playing with different techniques and I really love the textures you can create with ink. These could wind up being nice material textures in a finished piece.

And I tried a cartoon turtle at the end of the class, but then didn't have time to let him dry properly. Patience is certainly not my my greatest strength.

And my friend, Annella, gave me this fabulous apple with a leaf still attached. Never got around to eating it though :(

I tried the stoat that I posted a photo of a while ago - but suspect I'd be happier if he was red or blue ;) Naturally-coloured stoats just don't float my boat.

I loved painting this octopus, but then I got a bit too heavy handed with the black in his tentacles. Subtlety is also not one of my greatest strengths - but I'll have to learn as ink is rather unforgiving.

I was happier with the girls I did in my third class. I really like the textures I can get through their hair, but it's a very different look to the pieces I've been producing over the last few years.

And I keep dripping ink in inappropriate places. I had to clean up the green-dress girl up there because there was a blob of blue on her lip that made her look like a domestic violence victim. Which is coincidentally exactly how my 'winking' girl in the striped dress has ended up looking. Hmm, better watch those drips!

Anyway, that's what I've been up to, as well as a few pencil projects that are coming along slowly and my insanely busy day job (I broke my all-time record last week with an 'in a 5:45am, out at 10pm' day - utter killer).

I plan to post something a bit more finished next time. But as always, I think it's fun to see other people's work in the half-finished/learning stages. So if I'm going to expect you to show me yours, I figure I should show you mine!

xxx scarlett

Art obsessions

2009-04-05T00:35:00.000-07:00

A while ago, I mentioned that I'm using twitter to post links to some of my favourite artists. Now I've also started a new tumblr to post pics of my favourite artworks.

Hush by Audrey Kawasaki

Grotto of the Old Mass by Mark Ryden

Brothers by Ana Bagayan

Three Ama Enveloped in a Crashing Wave by kozyndan

You may find some new favourites here (and some old favourites!) and maybe some inspiration.

I've also found a few painting demonstration videos from various artists and I popping them on this site too. Like this one from Ana Bagayan:

So pop over to artobsessions.tumblr.com and take a peek.

xxx scarlett

Slumber

2009-04-03T05:43:00.000-07:00

A sleepy little piece for the 'We Love Ladies Too' show at 696 next Wednesday.

There's a fantastic line up of artists, including Andrea Innocent, whose work I've adored for years. Everyone's welcome to come along and I'd love to see you there if you're able to make it.

xxx scarlett
xxx kate

(Now I'm just hedging my bets on the name dilemma!)

Changing my name

2009-04-01T21:38:00.000-07:00

I've been painting as 'Scarlett' for a few years now, but I think I'm about to go back to my real name - Kate Lightfoot.

I really just started using Scarlett, because it was easier when writing on the Etsy forums for people to call me by my shop name.

But if a potential customer googles 'Scarlett' they get this:

Now it would be nice if that were me (particularly nice for Bill) , but it isn't.

So to make it easier for people to track me down, to make it easier for me to explain who I am to galleries and for the sake of honesty, I'm pretty sure I'm going to be signing my art with a 'k' from now on and going by 'Kate Lightfoot'.

Comments? Suggestions?

I'd love some feedback on this as it's doing my head in and keeping me up at night.

xxx kate (I think)

Ink and anteaters

2009-03-30T01:39:00.000-07:00

OK, I'm obsessed with a few things right now.

Firstly, ink.

I can't wait to put my pencils down for a while and get into the inky goodness in these gorgeous little packs.

Sadly, it's going to have to wait a little while as I have a heap of deadlines for pencil work that I have to focus on.

But I'm doing my ink classes on Thursday nights, so I can be as inky as I like for those three hours. I've only had one lesson so far, and I'd forgotten how much fun dabbling in puddles of paint can be.

I wasn't really planning on doing a course in anything, but when I googled Anna Hoyle, one of my favourite Aussie artists, and discovered she taught an ink class - in the same street I work on - I just couldn't resist.

Here's my favourite piece of hers, from her Power Moai Pastorale exhibition that's on now in Sydney at Harrison Galleries.

I'm hoping some of that talent will rub off on me!

I also suspect she's going to be an appropriately timed influence as my second obsession right now is with obscure animals and I think ink drawings could be a good way to bring some cute little critters to life.

My current favourite is the freakish looking anteater. Seriously, what the hell is going on with this thing

I'm also quite enamoured with stoats...

..sloths...

..fennec foxes...

and squirrels

My girls aren't going anywhere, but I would like to supplement my art with an extra dash of cute and furry.

;)

xxx scarlet

Two new prints

2009-03-23T13:24:00.000-07:00

Just a short one today.

I've just added a couple of new prints to my Etsy store (the two that have been sent up to Curvy. in Sydney).

Early Bird:

and Vixen:

xxx scarlett

Lucky last

2009-03-20T04:08:00.000-07:00

My last piece for Curvy is about to be packed in bubble wrap.

'Vixen' drove me insane over the last few days. I ended up completely redrawing her twice. So I'm pleased to be shipping her off with the others tomorrow morning.

Bon voyage girls!

xxx scarlett

Early Bird

2009-03-17T03:47:00.000-07:00

(Appropriate titled considering the working hours I've been keeping lately!)

I finished her last night and just popped her in the frame:

I ended up adding a third bird to the end of the fishing rod/branch as the balance felt wrong with just one bird right in front of her plait - the composition was just a bit too clunky.

Onto the next piece with a few more days to go. Too tired to start tonight, but I'm planning on being an early bird tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to starting something new again - I love the first stage of flicking through my scrap books searching for inspiration.

:)

xxx scarlett

Curvy exhibition

2009-03-14T20:56:00.000-07:00

I'm in the process of drawing two new girls for the Curvy 6 exhibition in Sydney.

Unfortunately, work is extremely busy at the moment (and I mean arriving at 6:30am and leaving at 7:30pm kind of busy) so I've really just been snatching spare moments here and there to work on these.

But I woke up early this morning and had a good run at this one:

I'm a bit stuck on what colour the birds should be. I was almost ready to go for robin red-breast colours (brown with a red chest) when I realised that that's far, far too realistic for my liking! So I'll ponder for a bit longer.

I've also found some frames I'm really happy with.

They're much fancier than my usual ones, but I don't feel like they're overshadowing the work like some of the other heavy frames I've tried.

Anyway, better get back to it. Day's a wastin'!

xxx scarlett

Twitter

2009-03-12T14:02:00.001-07:00

OK, I'll confess. I don't really understand it.

I've been twittering for a couple of months now. I started out talking about Etsy store and blog post and upcoming shows - zzzzzzzz. I think I even bored myself.

So now I'm just posting a tweet every few days about my latest lowbrow art crush!

I considered blogging this sort of thing, but it's not my aim to critique or analyse these artist's work - just to pop up some links to art people may not have seen before. I'm currently up to 'Lowbrow Fave #10' Nicoletta Ciccoli (drooool).

So if you're keen to find some new artists, you can follow me here...but I still don't understand Twitter.

Does anyone really?

;)

xxx scarlett

Curvy 6

2009-03-08T15:21:00.001-07:00

I had to do a double take when Yen Magazine emailed me to tell me I made it into Curvy this year. (Cue happy dance) I've been trying for a few years now, so I was both surprised and thrilled to make it into this year's book. And also pleased to see a few familiar names on the full artist list - including Bec Winnel and Nicole Tattersall.

If you're not familiar with Curvy, it's a showcase of some of the best female artists from around the world. It's where I've found some of my favourite artists, and this year looks to be another treasure trove of artistic finds, including:

Alana Corra

Flossy-P

Phresha Le Vandale

Fumi Nakamura

Yvonna Zago

The launch event is scheduled for April 2, so the books will be available in about a month. I can hardly wait!

xxx scarlett

Scarlett tumbles

2009-03-02T03:20:00.000-08:00

After pouring over everyone else's tumblr photostreams, I've decided to create on for myself.

It's quite risque in parts so it's not really work safe (ie. tits ahoy!), but I'm slowly building up a collection of my favourite reference images for my artwork. There are photographs of clothes, cute furry animals, not-so-cute slimy animals, hair, hands, poses and gorgeous faces - including that of my number one flirty, quirky girl, Zooey Deschanel.

If you'd like to take a peek, visit scarlett tumbles.

My favourite part is bouncing from one tumblr to another to another and delving further and further into the depths of the internet in my neverending quest for good reference material. Journey to the centre of the net!

The other tumblrs I've been frequenting lately are:
suicide blonde
photographer
oleiah's findings
meepmeepmeep
the cellar door

If you have a tumblr account of your own - or a favourite one you like to visit - please let me know in the comments section here.

I'm completely addicted to them!

xxx scarlett

Meet Bonnie and Blink

2009-02-28T18:29:00.000-08:00

I finally hauled my lazy arse to my drawing table (OK, OK, it's really just the dining table) and worked on a couple of ACEOs this morning. I've been procrastinating lately and I really need to get back into the swing of drawing every day.

So without further ado, here are my two new little cuties:

Bonnie...

and Blink...

Both are in my Etsy shop and will (hopefully!) be joined by a few new ACEO friends soon.

xxx scarlett

In love with Amber

2009-02-27T14:50:00.000-08:00

Amber Alexander's quirky animal portraits are just the type of art I adore - apron wearing squirrels, violin-playing cats, otters, octopi, the odd pterodactyl. Right up my alley.

I haven't visited her Etsy shop for a while and when I popped in today I saw that she's listed a whole range of prints I'd never seen before.

And I love them!

Here are three... four...make that five of my favourites:

Black Swan - Amber Alexander

My Baby - Amber Alexander

Eunice - Amber Alexander

Byron - Amber Alexander

Donald - Amber Alexander

Please visit her online shop and check out her wonderful, whimsical, quirky creations.

xxx scarlett

Time for a spring clean

2009-02-21T03:24:00.001-08:00

It's high time I had an Etsy spring clean. There are pieces there that just aren't reflective of the type of work I do now, but they sell so well I've been reluctant to ditch them.

Anyway, tomorrow's the day.

My grand plan is to:

delete anything over 18 months old (that's going to hurt)
update my banner
make a few original ACEOs (really, it's about bloody time!)
list a fresh set of ACEOs - all the art from Sugar & Spice

These are the ACEOs and 5"x7" prints I'll be listing tomorrow:

Can't wait for a fresh new spring-cleaned store.

(Of course, my house is another matter entirely...)

xxx scarlett

Oh Audrey...

2009-02-16T20:40:00.000-08:00

At lunchtime, I walked down to Outre Gallery to check out the Audrey Kawasaki exhibition. It was, to state the bloody obvious, gorgeous!

Plenty of framed prints hung around the walls. And she'd painted one original piece (below) for the exhibition which I started at until my eyes started to ache. Her technique is flawless - such soft delicate lines and blends. I could look for hours.

I'm always amazed at how effective she makes a piece by leaving things out - like the birds' heads in this piece. I think if she'd included them they would have distracted from that beautifully serene face.

Anyway, I ended up buying a framed limited edition print of this piece - which I believe is only available in Australia at the moment), so 'Overlap' will be taking pride of place on my feature wall in a couple of weeks time (sorry Mark Ryden).

Oh Audrey - you are such an inspiration.

xxx scarlett

Sugar & Spice was sweet

2009-02-14T22:03:00.000-08:00

My Sugar & Spice exhibition with Bec Winnel was great fun last night.

After staying up late on Friday night making treat bags, finishing our framing and writing a little poem for the wall, Bec and I (with lots of help from Toby and Melika from 696) spent all day positioning and repositioning and repositioning and repositioning the artwork on the walls in 696's The Yard - a gorgeous outdoor gallery space.

Here are the pics from the night (thanks to Louise Stewart for half of the photos!):

Looking into The Yard from the laneway.

The poem we wrote and decorated with odds and ends. We never did find anything appropriate for 'green bamboo'!

I saw one small child eat 5 lollipops within an hour. Sorry parents!

Grandma's hat box full of take-home treat bags

The lovely Bec Winnel

Bec and I with our well-deserved drinks.

I made the big heart years ago to decorate my flat. It's a heap of wires wrapped into a heart shape and then decorated with fairy lights. It looks much better when the sun goes down.

My friends, Nina and Bridget, came along. Check out the giant lolly bowl in the back. Our evil scheme was to get people on such a sugar rush that they wouldn't know what they were buying - mwoo ha ha ha.

'Courtship'

'Nuts About You'

'Chloe'

(Told you that light looks better at night)

All in all, we both sold about half the pieces we exhibited and got a great response from everyone. Our aim was to create a sweet exhibition that would leave people with a smile on their faces and that's exactly what happened.

:)

xxx scarlett

More, more, more

2009-02-05T19:36:00.000-08:00

But still not enough. And only a week to go.

Could someone please send the art fairy to my house this week?

xxx scarlett

Bluebird

2009-02-01T00:24:00.000-08:00

I think she may need a bit more dark in the dark areas. May play with that tomorrow.

The bird was inspired by my little Bruny Island pal:

xxx scarlett

One ice coffee and a blue squirrel thanks

2009-01-31T01:08:00.000-08:00

In spite of worrying that I'd ruin this when I added the colour, I'm pretty happy with it.

Quite chuffed, actually.

A few hours of colouring in an air-conditioned cafe (one iced coffee, one muffin) seems to have done wonders for both me and Nutkin. Which is just as well, because Sugar & Spice is now only two weeks away.

One down, lots to go.

xxx scarlett

Thank you, thank you, thank you

2009-01-29T08:05:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who voted for me in the General Pants 'The Bubble' art competition.

I won my category by just 13 votes, so I'm very grateful to all those who took the time to sign up and help me out.

Please visit some of the wonderful Etsy shops who voted for me:

Thanks guys!

xxx scarlett

Ahhhh, Bruny Island

2009-01-28T03:17:00.000-08:00

Bruny Island is about as south as you can get without hitting Antartica - right at the bottom of Tasmania (hi Kelly!) - and it's gorgeous.

My (sort of, but not quite) parents-in-law have a holiday house there and Bill and I spent a wonderful five days beachcombing, walking, drawing and reading.

Here's what I drew (all for Sugar & Spice - once they're coloured properly):

'Bluebird' (inspired by events detailed below!)

'Nutkin'

'Cherry Bomb'

And here's what we saw:

Amazing caves on the adventure cruise. There were seals a bit further on, too.

Impromptu rock 'sculptures' on the walk to Grassy Point. These are just done by passers-by. It's impossible to walk past them and not add your own little pile of rocks, so the beach is now covered in them. It's such a lovely surprise on your bush walk!

Someone obviously decided a rock pile wasn't creative enough - it made me laugh!

My custom Keds held up quite well over a couple of kms.

I found all sorts of treasures during the walk. I'm trying to build up a collection of reference photos to use in my illustrations.

A silver-eye flew into the window and ended up a little dazed before flying off. So we got a few pics of the sweet little thing sitting on my hand. Too cute!

So we had a great (and productive) trip.

I'm now melting in Melbourne's hideous 40 degree heatwave and wishing I was back on Bruny!

xxx scarlett

Sugar & Spice and All Things Nice

2009-01-27T00:09:00.000-08:00

That's what this show is made of...

Bec Winnel and I are having a show together this Valentine's Day at 696. It's one night only so it will be short and sweet, but also full of new works from both of us.

‘Sugar & Spice And All Things Nice’ That’s what this show is made of. Bec Winnel (MyCharlieGirl) and Kate Lightfoot (Scarlett) share a passion to send a little love and beauty back into the world through their art. And that’s precisely what their upcoming exhibition, Sugar & Spice And All Things Nice, will do.

Bec’s dreamy, soft and impossibly delicate beauties are inspired by modern fashion, strong women and a touch of nostalgia. Scarlett’s flirty, quirky big eyed girls are adorned with flowers and feathers, tattoos and teacups.

So Sugar & Spice up your Valentine’s night with some sweet feminine art."

We'd absolutely love to see you there!

xxx scarlett

PS. Here's a sneak peek at what we'll be showing:

Advice and help needed!

2009-01-20T04:10:00.000-08:00

OK, I'm a little needy today.

First, I need your help:
I really need about 10 more votes before The Bubble competition ends. I'm in the lead, but it's going to be mighty close and there are still seven days left.

So if you haven't already voted (and if you have - thank you SO much) I'd be very grateful if you could do so now by clicking this link:

It only takes a moment to sign up and if you uncheck the 'mailing list' box when you do, they won't send you anything.

Second, I need your advice:

These are my two new girls. I'm struggling to decide whether to go full colour, or leave them in grey pencil. The outlines have really grown on me and I'm terrified I'll ruin them if Ihead down the coloured pencil path.

So what do you think?

Leave them as they are (with a bit more shading and depth), colour them in, or do something in between?

Any comments would be appreciated.

xxx scarlett

Sketchels - part 2

2009-01-17T03:05:00.000-08:00

Oooh, they're coming along quite nicely. And I am thoroughly enjoying playing with my paints and tiny, tiny brushes. (The smaller, the better!)

This one is 'finished'. ie. I'm still umming and ahhing, but don't think I'll do anything more to her:

And this one is still in progress:

I'm going to add a few more layers to the faces (and give the one on the right some eyeballs!) but I'll leave the hair and dress white and just add some pencil tones to give it all some shape.

Then these two will be off to 696 for the Sketchel show (February 7) where they'll be turned into bags.

xxx scarlett

Slowing down

2009-01-15T03:13:00.000-08:00

"Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast."
Romeo and Juliet

I'm taking a leaf out of Mark Ryden's book and slowing down for a change.

He paints at a snail's pace - and it shows. As you can see in 'Yoshi' below, every brush stroke is deliberate, everything is considered and planned out. There's nothing rushed about it.

Audrey Kawasaki, too.

Every pencil mark is a deliberate decision. There's been time taken to think about the work and how the piece will fit together. No wonder her girls have such a languid feel to them.

So for a change, I tried slowing down this afternoon and spending more time considering how this piece will work. I toyed with different movements for the hair, different styles for the dress.

And after a frantic day at work, I must say, I found it all incredibly relaxing.

She hasn't got a name yet, but she'll be part of my Sugar & Spice show with Bec Winnel. Now I just have to very s l o w l y create another 20 or so of these.

By February 14.

;)

xxx scarlett

Inspiration overload

2009-01-12T14:21:00.000-08:00

Chances are I'm the last to know about this fantastic site, but just in case I've found something new, check out foto decadent.

It's all avant-garde fashion photography and magazine pages - so for any artist who draws figuratively it's a treasure-trove of inspiration.

I've been working my way through these wonderful pages for over a week now and there's still no end in sight (yay)!

Here are my favourite finds so far:

xxx scarlett

Sketchels

2009-01-10T02:45:00.000-08:00

I'm in the middle of painting artwork for a couple of Sketchels.

If you haven't seen these art bags before, they're terrific (in fact I couldn't resist buying one myself during last year's Curvy exhibition).

Just imagine an enormous sturdy bag that can carry just about anything, decorated with original art. In fact, don't imagine - here's what they look like:

So the canvas panel slips under the plastic and hey presto you have an original art bag.

Mine are still in progress, but they're coming along nicely.

I always find it quite freaky to see my girls without the black pupil (below). For me, there's absolutely no life in them until that part is complete.

They also look so washed out at the moment. To be honest, I'm a tad embarrassed to be showing them at this stage (*winces*). But by the same token I find it incredibly useful and interesting to see how other artists start their work, so I may as well contribute too!

I'll post updates, or the finished pieces, soon.

These will be on show and for sale at:

696 vs Sketchel
7 February
6-9pm
696 Sydney Rd, Brunswick

Come along if you're in Melbourne - there should be some fantastic pieces on display.

xxx scarlett

One little...two little..three little newbies

2009-01-08T14:21:00.000-08:00

I've just popped three new ACEOs into my Etsy shop - the three new girls I've illustrated for the Linden Postcard Show 2009.

I love the way these three look as a little set: Isabel, Rosa and Martinique.

xxx scarlett

Tattoo

2009-01-04T14:03:00.001-08:00

I'd love to get a tattoo myself, but my taste changes from month to month, so there's no way I could settle on a design I'd be happy with forever.

So I always find it a little bizaare to find that someone likes my work enough to have it tattooed on their left leg...as i discovered this weekend:

The tattoo artist also let me know that this pic may be appearing in a Tattoo mag - Tattoos Down Under (Issue 68).

xxx scarlett

One down, three to go

2008-12-31T18:16:00.000-08:00

I'm on a tight schedule here, folks.

I have four shows on the horizon, three of which I require completed artwork in less than three weeks. *cue mild panic attack*

After procrastinating all through Christmas - as is my God-given right - I've finally knuckled down and finished the three pieces I'm submitting for the Linden Postcard Show. That's the one where I've already submitted the titles and now have to hope that what I draw will suit them

So without further ado, here's:

'Rosa', who reminds me of this commercial:

'Martinique', my sweet little Indian girl...

And 'Isabel' who'll protect her whale pals from boats with a flick of her hand.

Isabel could have been more aptly titled 'Hurricane Isabel' - or even 'Kraken' (as her hand is a bit giant-squidesque around that boat), but it's too late for that.

I didn't realise until I'd finished them all, that my blue Derwents seem to have taken over the pencil case. They'll have to sit out the next few dances, I can't cope with any more blue hair for a while!

xxx scarlett

PS. These are all in my Etsy shop as 5x7 prints and will be listed as limited edition ACEOs soon.

Art on your Sleeve

2008-12-19T16:42:00.000-08:00

One of my first exhibitions next year is a group badge show at Stay Human Gallery. There'll be about 500 badges on show from 30 or so artists. So far the line-up includes myself, Beastman, Lisa King, Nicole Tattersall and Nickas.

My grand plan is to make all my badges originals. I'd never considered putting original art on a badge before and I must admit, I'm quite taken with the idea!

Here are the first two.

I haven't had time to think about names for these lovelies, but I'm really happy with them.

The opening night for this exhibition is Thursday 29 January (6pm onwards) and it runs until Wednesday 11 February.

xxx scarlett

Deer Blog Readers,

2008-12-15T19:11:00.000-08:00

Here's some more free gift wrap to download and use. A deer pattern this time.

Now, I think I should get bonus points for having created him in PowerPoint. Nope, none of your fancy Photoshop or In Design for this little black duck - though only because I can't afford it and wouldn't know which buttons to press.

Have fun. I did.

xxx scarlett

Stay Human Christmas Party

2008-12-09T22:30:00.001-08:00

Stay Human is a fantastic gallery in Richmond (cnr Bridge Rd and Coppin St, upstairs in the Boheme Restaurant) run by a very nice man called Rocket.

He's made a cool space with some awesome artists on the walls (not literally - though tomorrow night there may be some on the floor ;) - including Nicole Tattersall, Lisa King, Nickas and me.

Here's what Rocket has to say about Stay Human:

Our mission is twofold, not only are we trying to give customers easy and affordable access to ethical products. we are also trying to prove that businesses can operate with morals and still make reasonable, but not obscene profit. So if you support what we do please lend us some energy and time and tell someone about us. We get almost all of our business through word of mouth and from people telling their friends about us. Thanks for the support.

-rocket
stay human
building a world we like

Well worth a look - particularly if you're free Thursday night for their Christmas party.

xxx scarlett

New shops open

2008-12-08T05:37:00.000-08:00

OK, I'm trying out a few new sites (I'm quite disgruntled with Etsy at the moment and I'd like to see what else is out there).

So I've signed up with ecrater - which looks very crisp and clean.

And artfire which is still in beta testing.

I only have a few prints listed, but will be filling these up some more in the next few weeks.

And I'll probably try a few other venues too. So if you have any favourite online shopping stores, please let me know and I'll check them out.

I'm planning to report back on how these different sites stack up against each other.

xxx scarlett

Triplets!

2008-12-07T13:36:00.000-08:00

I'm pleased to introduce three new girls, brand spankin' new this weekend - and unlike normal triplets, none of these need changing or feeding.

Meet Zoe, a French schoolgirl showing of her sassy new beret on casual day. Lovin' those purple pigtails and the softer colour palette in this one.

Slouch, a lanky, languid and bored model (aren't they all?!). Nice dress, though.

And Martinique...

..who was inspired after a visit to Kelly Smith's blog where she shared this stunning photo by Gemma Booth.

I love the warpaint, the feather headress and Indian inspired jewellery. Thanks for the insiration Kel! (And thanks Gemma Booth).

Martinique is going to be one of my entries in the 2009 Linden Gallery Postcard Show.
I always do things arse-about for this show. Entries close 1 December, but the artwork isn't required until January, so instead of creating pieces, and naming them once I've seen what they look like, I've already entered my three titles and now have to come up with artwork that suits each one.

So now I have to draw an Isabel and a Rosa.

(Actually, Isabel may suit my little Indian miss better than Martinique - opinions?)

xxx scarlett

Interesting? Not so interesting?

2008-12-04T14:24:00.001-08:00

That's the question Nicole Tattersall asks every artist she interviews.

In a desperate attempt to appear interesting, I had no choice but to tell Nicole about my marshmallow pig art, staunch opposition to flying cars and impressive juggling skills.

You can read the full story here:

xxx scarlett

The ACEO drought has broken

2008-12-03T14:00:00.000-08:00

It's been a long, long, long time since I've had an original ACEO for sale.

So it's nice to see two new originals in my Etsy shop.

There's Batgirl:

And Carrie:

Both are available in my Etsy shop.

And hopefully they'll have some more original ACEO friends soon. :)

xxx scarlett

I need some love...

2008-12-01T04:23:00.000-08:00

...in the form of votes.

You see, I'm trying to win The Bubble competition at General Pants Co.

If you're an artist yourself, you may like to enter. You just set up a profile with a gallery of your work and they determine the winner by the number of votes they get. There are some pretty cool galleries there, including my friend Nicole Tattersall's.

Anyway, if you have a spare five minutes I'd love it if you'd sign up and vote for my girls. :)

xxx scarlett

Free christmas gift wrap

2008-11-25T02:40:00.001-08:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas - in fact it's been looking that way mid-October. So I'm jumping on the festive bandwagon with some free gift wrap featuring this little guy:

It's available for download from my flickr in black, yellow and white.

Just download at full size and print it out on A3 paper.

If you do decide to use it, I'd love to know about it - either comment here or drop me a line. These things honestly make my day (sad old life I lead!)

Enjoy!

xxx scarlett

4 rabbits and a tea-bird

2008-11-24T02:44:00.000-08:00

I've just added three new ACEOs to my Etsy store.

There's the brand new, Princess Lapin, whose three rabbit subjects are fawning over her - playing in her crown and picking fresh peonies for her...

There's the super-fashionable Candy Apple (I'd LOVE that dress in my wardrobe) with her little blue bunny friend..

And Tea-bird, holding her little yellow bird-in-a-cup and balancing a tea-pot (with doily) on her head - as you do.

xxx scarlett

Make a Moleskine pen holder

2008-11-23T00:26:00.000-08:00

The only thing I'm more obsessed with than gift wrap is my Moleskine collection. I always have at least one, usually two (and sometimes five) in my bag.

Lately I've been reading about Moleskin 'hacks' - customising your Moleskine to suit you. I've always plastered stickers all over the front of each of my mini folios, but I thought I'd try an idea one smart little forum user had for adding a pen holder.

It's dead simple.

You'll need:

1 fresh Moleskine (in this case my new 2009 diary)
1 nail (Can't find one? Steal one from a picture hook like I did)
1 hammer (or shoe, or brick)
1 nice button
needle and thread

Step 1
Basically you're sewing a button to the front of your moleskine.
So mark where the button holes are...

Step 2
..rest your moleskine on a surface you can safely nail through and nail holes in it to correspond with the button holes.

Step 3
Sew on the button.

Step 4
If you're a crap sewer (pun intended) like me, you'll end up with a rather untidy looking inner page.

So hide it.

Step 5
Technically there isn't a Step 5. You're done.

But here's how you can now attach a pen or pencil

Ha!

In your face Moleskine! Pen successfully attached.

xxx scarlett

PS. If you're interested in other Moleksine hacks, take a look at these:
Building a Moleskine Hard Drive Case
More Moleskine Hacks
Pigpog Moleskine Hacks
The Monster Collection of Moleskine Tip, Tricks and Hacks
Homemade City Moleskine
How to Build a Designer's Moleskine
Moleskine Indexing Hack

New shoes

2008-11-22T04:39:00.000-08:00

Just a quickie.

After watching Mission Impossible III tonight, I sat down and created a couple of new Keds shoes in my (small but growing) shoe shop.

So these should appear on the site sometime tomorrow.

Tea-bird - with a tea-cup bird on the heel.

And Rosie - I really like the flowers around the base. (In fact I may be ordering a pair of these myself next year!)

xxx scarlett

They won me over (and then some)

2008-11-20T04:47:00.000-08:00

nineteen seventy-three that is - the online store I miserably blogged about a couple of days ago during a random gift wrap buying frenzy.

See, despite their superb range of paper, there were a couple of things I wasn't at all happy about. So I got huffy, left the store, shot them an email and ranted on this blog.

But I take it all back. Every single word.

Within just 4 hours (and we're talking different time zones here!), Lucy and Jacqui from nineteen seventy-three:

1. responded to my email
2. offered to roll the paper for me
3. thanked me for my feedback, and
3. told me I could order via email...
4. while their web designers fixed the glitch in the shopping cart.

This is rave-worthy customer service. I wouldn't hesitate to recomend these guys to anyone.

They even updated me today to let me know that now I can put up to 100 items in my cart:

"Just to let you know, the website shop issue has been resolved and you can now fit 100 items into your virtual basket before we ask you to leave the store!
Hope this will be sufficient for your wrapping paper requirements, but any problems do get back to us."

They have been courteous, generous and - so refreshing to see in business - humorous!

Please, PLEASE take a minute to visit their site and see what they have to offer.

I can't speak highly enough of their customer service.

Now, want to see what I bought?

I can't wait until it all arrives! I'm all giddy.

xxx scarlett

My new foot fetish

2008-11-19T03:03:00.000-08:00

I've taken the plunge and opened a new online shop on www.zazzle.com

This is the site where I had some custom shoes made for me earlier in the year - I was really impressed with the way they turned out.

You can also design shoes (and cups and aprons and mousemats) and post them for sale, so I opened a store there and have started putting my flirty, quirky girls on darling little Keds shoes.

Here's what I've designed so far:

What do you think? Wearable?

I love the little bunny peeking out from the heel on the last one. (In fact I love it so much I've ordered it for myself ;)

If you have any footwear requests, please let me know. These can easily be altered to any size between 5 to 13 and I can tweak the colours of the stitching and panels.

It really is a neat tool - well worth playing with if you have artwork of your own that you'd like to see on your feet! I only wish zazzle would team up with a high heel manufacturer - then I'd really go to town.

This weekend I'm going to check out their other custom products and see if anything would suit my girls.

xxx scarlett

I could cry

2008-11-18T00:23:00.000-08:00

----------------Update. Problem solved perfectly.----------------
---------------------------Please read PS---------------------------

I really could.

I haven't admitted this publicly before, but I have an unhealthy obsession with gift wrap. I spend a fortune on it each year. I order ribbons and wrap from stores in New York and London because Australia just doesn't have the range.

So why am I getting misty eyed?

Because I discovered nineteen seventy-three today.

It has THE most wonderful gift wrap I have ever laid eyes on.

My heart started beating faster when I saw this Eboy design:

I swooned when I saw they'd turned Catalina Estrada's artwork into gift wrap:

I couldn't help but grin when I saw Jon Burgerman's designs:

And I nearly died when I saw this:

"please note. wrapping paper will be folded twice."

You're kidding, right?

You're going to FOLD my gorgeous lush arty paper?!
Nooooooooo!

I can buy cheap folded paper anywhere. If I'm buying paper for two pounds a sheet, I expect it to be shipped in pristine condition.

So I left the site and went back to work.

...

Two hours later I was back at nineteen seventy-three.

I'd figured it out.

Surely I could iron out the creases in the paper (extreme I know, but I did say it was an unhealthy obsession). A gentle setting, a couple of towels to protect the paper - perhaps the lines could even be steamed out somehow.

After all, the paper was irresistible - and unique.

So I went back, started filling my cart and that's when I discovered problem #2 with this gorgeous site.

A full cart. Literally.

What the?

I'd only put 12 sheets in it. That's some tiny cart.

So as stunning as nineteen thirty-seven's product is and as beautiful as their site looks, I didn't buy a thing.

Nope, I left my full cart sitting near the register and wandered off to find a new favourite gift wrap site. If I find one, I'll let you know.

In the meantime, someone hand me a tissue.

xx scarlett

PS. UPDATE
The lovely people at nineteen seventy-three responded to my emails and said they'd be happy to roll my paper. And that the shopping cart is a glitch that they're looking at. So I guess my credit card's about to have a work out.

*happy dance*

Munny

2008-11-17T05:06:00.000-08:00

I've been painting a Munny recently for the Villain Custom Toy Competition. The deadline is this Thursday, so I'd better paint fast!

While it's a hell of a lot of fun, I must admit I find painting a 3D figure rather challenging - if I'm not smudging an arm, I'm accidentally dipping a foot in the paint pot. In fact, I think I've managed to get more paint on my fingers than the figure.

She looks like this at the moment:

So I'm planning on adding more detail to the flower and giving her a glossy coat - which may just make all the colours run and destroy the whole thing. It should be an interesting week!

xxx scarlett

Twitter competition - short and sweet

2008-11-16T19:18:00.001-08:00

I'm running a little competition on Twitter at the moment.

The first Twitterer to find my images on The World's Picture and tell me which girl I've posted on wins 5 ACEO prints from my Etsy shop.

I'll let you know what happens...

OK, Twitter being the fastest show in the west, I already have a winner!

Congratulations!

xxx scarlett

Twitter for Twits

2008-11-12T17:03:00.000-08:00

Like me.

It seems that everyone’s talking Twitter at the moment - I didn't have a clue until a few days ago. Here’s a quick guide to how it works and why it could be good for you and your business.

What is it:
Twitter's essentially a social networking site like MySpace or Facebook.

The big difference is that on most networking sites you have a large profile page and a short status report.

Twitter is the reverse.

Your profile section (little green box on the right) is small and doesn’t really get used all that much. The bulk of your time on Twitter is spent reading and posting 140 character status reports (called tweets).

Like reading the paper
Scrolling through everyone’s tweets is a little like scanning newspaper headlines before deciding which articles to read.

Most people have links to other sites, their blogs, their shops, funny photos/videos etc. So if you see something interesting you can usually find out more.

Getting started
You've signed up to Twitter. Now what?

Well, start following people. (Like me!) Many will follow you back.

And get tweeting.

Naturally, who you follow and what you tweet will be depend on why you're there.

If you're just out to have fun, find some interesting people to follow. Or track down your friends (if Twitter's search isn't working, there's a link to an alternative search on the bottom of this post). And tweet about anything you like! But try to keep it interesting and relevant and try to limit yourself as constant tweeting is a little like hogging a conversation.

If you're on Twitter to market yourself or your products, you'll need to find an appropriate audience for whatever you're selling (which is an art in itself):

Marketing on Twitter
Twitter is great news for marketers. A few Etsy Twitter users have reported immediate sales from their tweets.

But the danger with Twitter is it’s incredibly easy to produce spam. So when it comes to promoting your business, gently does it! Remember, the 'BLOCK' function is only a button-press away.

You’re really just trying to get people to visit your site, so use your tweet as a headline.

You've only got 140 characters, so keep it short, relevant and write something that will interest your audience. The general rule in writing advertising headlines is people don't care about you, they want to know what's in it for them. If you can reflect that in your headline, it will work a lot harder.

Also:

Show off your product in your avatar. If people see it and like the look of it, they'll track down where you sell it.
Change the background on your profile so it features a range of your products. If people see them and like the look of them, they'll track down where you sell them.
Make sure you have a link to your site (or blog) on your profile. So it's easy for people to track down where you sell!

Finding your market.
Sure, you can randomly follow people and hope they'll buy something for you.
Just like you can wear glass slippers to a ball and hope to marry a prince.

But it's much smarter to narrow down the people you're targeting to those who are most likely to want to buy it.

A great way to do this is to figure out what these people are likely to tweet about (that relate to what you're selling) and then search for tweets using those keywords.

For example, if you're an artist, a great way to find the right people is to think of a famous artist (anyone who's likely to be talked about) who does similar work to you. When you find someone who's tweeting about how much they adore this artist, chances are you've found someone who may be interested in your work too.

The difficult part is finding the right keywords.

To find these, think about what your audience does each day, what TV shows they watch, what they're passionate about, what sports they play, what they eat, what they buy.

Eg. If you're selling children's products, think about what their parents would talk about: 'kindergarten', 'day care', 'the wiggles', 'santa', 'tooth fairy', 'little aths', 'scouts', 'lost a tooth', 'playgroup', 'first birthday', 'turning two' etc.

Some useful Twitter tools
tweetlater
This lets you set up delayed and automated messages. Handy if you want to automatically welcome new followers.

twhirl
You can get Twitter on your desktop if you want immediate updates.

search.twitter
The easiest way to search twitter (as the onsite search function seems to be a little glitchy).

Links to other Twitter info
Twitter marketing dos and don'ts
17 ways you can use Twitter
twittermarketing.net
5 reasons to use Twitter for network marketing
5 Twitter tips and tricks
Create your twitter account

Good tweeting,

xxx scarlett

New and free.

2008-11-11T19:45:00.000-08:00

Two of my favourite words.

And in this case, used to describe the desktop wallpaper below - download it, enjoy it, send it to your mates!

xxx scarlett

Bonsai (2008)

Rosie (2008)

Candy Apple (2008)

Rebecca (2008)

Tea Bird (2008)

Candy (2008) - Naughty or Nice version

Something old. Something new.

2008-11-07T14:25:00.000-08:00

Nope, not getting married. Just getting organised.

It's taken me weeks to get a decent scan of my final piece for the group show that's been and gone and is all but forgotten! I was in the throes of a mild obsession with chickens (ever seen the book Extraordinary Chickens?) when I illustrated Fox:

So now that's out of the way, I can focus on Christmas.

I've been toying with an idea about using candy canes in a different way. Slightly cabaret. Slightly burlesque.

By the same token, I'm cautious about being too blatantly risque with a Christmas card image as this may not be the merry message everyone wants to send!

So 'Candy' may be sexy, but she's also keeping herself nice:

I've popped her in my Etsy shop as a single card, pack of 5 and pack of 10.

Have a great weekend!

xxx scarlett

The idea well (part 1)

2008-11-06T18:05:00.000-08:00

I currently work in not one, but two creative fields - advertising (as a copywriter) and art. So clearly, it would be (double) career suicide for me to run out of ideas.

Personally, I agree with those who suggest the best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas. I like to have my head to be constantly full of stuff (which may go some way toward explaining why I'm not able to sleep!) and my wall at work is regularly updated with my latest flash-in-the-pan interests.

Currently it features sea slugs, lips, a giant rubber duck, gemma ward, a slow loris, audrey kawasaki, a couple of quotes, an owl and electron micrographs of plant cells.

It looks like this:

Most of the creatives I work with are also interested in and curious about almost everything. We're all pack rats - we collect ideas and images and information and postcards and pencils and toys and stickers and magnets.

I thought I'd write a series of post showcasing some of the places I've found inspirational.

TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) has a very simple mission statement: 'spreading ideas'.

Here's what they have to say about themselves:

We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we're building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world's most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other.

Visit TED and you can hear all kinds of experts to talk for 3-30 minutes on topics as diverse as:
• How do ants know what to do?
• How to survive a nuclear attack
• Where does creativity hide?
• How photography connects us.
• Sliced bread and other marketing delights
• Three things to know before you ski to the North Pole
• Why do crack dealers still live with their mums?
• Do schools kill creativity?
• How blogs are building a friendlier world
• What can we learn from spaghetti sauce?

You can also get their podcasts for free through i-tunes. Well worth a visit.

xxx scarlett

This is fun

2008-10-26T17:57:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across Krista's Creations today where you can make words out of 'photo letters' and order them as framed pieces, or even etched marble tiles.

It's a cute idea and so much fun to play with. Perfect for the names on kids' bedroom doors or just as a piece of wall art using words.

Try it!

xxx scarlett

Lessons learnt

2008-10-25T22:28:00.000-07:00

After years of watching my brother grow bonsai trees (yep, big Karate Kid fan - wax on, wax off) it was time to use one in a painting.

For the first time ever I decided to do a study first to check colours and the overall composition:

I'm pretty happy with the way she turned out, but I want her bigger. So I'm currently working on an A3 version. It's all done in gouache on thick mat board.

And I was very pleased to have learnt a few lessons from this exercise:

1. Thick black outlines don't work for me.
I adore the way other artists can use a heavy black outline:

Kill Taupe does it beautifully and it makes his work look cute.

I thought I'd try it on the piece above, but it just doesn't work for me. I think it makes my girls look too cartoony and doesn't really fit with the tones and shading I put into them.

Audrey Kawasaki creates a dark outline around certain parts of her art which works really well (check out the hands below). That's closer to where I want to be.

2. Details matter.
Some artists can get away with a minimal detail. I can't!

Audrey Kawasai is able to do it beautifully:

Of course, many of her paintings are incredibly detailed, but she's able to paint people who aren't wearing fancy clothes, or jewellery, or makeup - with no background, no props...and although there isn't a lot to look at, it makes you want to look for a long time.

I can't achieve that in my work. I've figured out that it's the little details in my art that people respond to. The tattoo shapes, the floral hair accessories, the clothing, beauty spots, pocket detail etc. So I'm consciously trying to up the level of detail in my work.

Speaking of detail, I have to mention my favourite artist of all time, Mark Ryden. His work is detailed to the point of obsession!

Take a look at The Creatrix:

Now take another look. This section is from the bottom left hand corner:

How amazing is the level of detail here (and everywhere else in the painting). The man has painted the brand on the block, he has the shine on it's face just perfect and check out the detail on her skirt. When I consider just how much of the final painting this section take up, I'm flabbergasted at the effort and time and care he's taken with it.

And here's the bottom right hand section. From the full view of the painting, never in a million years would I have thought you could walk up and see what the driver of that toy car is wearing (a blue suit, BTW). Insane.

I'd love to have his patience - and skill. Or Audrey's.

OK, back to the paints. I've still got a long way to go.

xxx scarlett