Trelise Cooper

Very soon I will post images of my newest pieces of art, highly detailed paintings which are incredibly special to me. Until then I am excited about my two newest purchases from New Zealand designer Trelise Cooper. For months now I have been enamored with the 'Yankee Doodle' jacket (left) and 'Neck Romancer' white shirt. Tonight I was lucky enough to get the thumbs up from my husband. The jacket makes me think of adventures in hot and exotic places and I believe that if you can't physically get there it's fun to pretend.

Boudoir Queen

Sunset Boulevard Skirt

I was lucky enough to pick up this skirt from the very talented Dawn Michelle Younger-Smith who makes the most intriguing and beautiful creations from antique and vintage pieces of clothing. Her work can be seen in photo shoots for Vogue, Rolling Stone and People magazine.

http://www.theboudoirqueen.com/

http://www.etsy.com/shop/BoudoirQueen

Masonic Collars

I love the pomp and ceremony of these wonderful items.  Last week I purchased these three Masonic collars from America to use in my sculptural works for my November exhibition in Perth.

'The Secret Society' 2011

French Hair Work Necklace

Last night I saw this wonderful creation online in Kathy Barrick's French Sentiments shop on etsy and my husband who is incredibly sweet bought it for me for my birthday. The intense and sentimental Victorian attitude towards mourning has fascinated me since I learned of it in my late teens. I admire the way that Kathy has taken this precious keepsake and given it a second life. In my art this theme is very important and I love the way that through objects like this I can bring the beauty of the past into my everyday life.

Nap time!

Nik and Mucha have a nap.

Someones just waking up.

Keiko having sweet dreams.

Little Windows

These four works are paintings I have made for a commission and I absolutely love them. There is something so attractive about only seeing part of an image as if one were looking through a keyhole or a porthole. I love working this way, fitting an image into the void within the frame to give it life and a sense of mystery.

Sarjeant & Co.

My art concentrates on taking discarded items (photos of the past and dolls) and giving them a new life and vitality. I love anything with a sense of age and history and I am always looking out for little items which I will add to my sculptures or jewelry. These two pieces were constructed with some very special Masonic items I found in my friend Donna’s Etsy store Sarjeant & Co. She is a great collector herself and luckily for me has chosen to share some of her treasures with the world. She is also an incredibly talented jewelry maker and her pieces can be found here; Gabriellalucretia. Donna was the one who inspired me to start making jewelry, she is one of kind just like her beautiful creations.

This necklace consists of a Masonic medallion found at Sarjeant & Co. And an Edwardian glass intaglio brooch I picked up at a church fair in London.

Wrist cuff made from the belt of a Masonic apron, Masonic collar tassel and embellished with sacred heart medallions gifted to me by the very talented Donna Sarjeant.

The Lily

The Lily

The modest Rose puts forth a thorn,

The humble Sheep a threat’ning horn:

While the Lily white shall in love delight,

Nor a thorn nor a threat stain her beauty bright.

William Blake - 1789

'The Lily'
Screen printed wooden support  with bamboo intaglio  on leather hide finished with ink detailing.

This is a very detailed and textural work and glows in the right light. To the printed ground I have added subtle paint and pen and ink detailing as well as tooling the leather of the dress with miniature flowers.

Layers of extremely thick leather hide have been built up to create a wonderful three dimensional effect and cast shadows. 

I was so glad to see this work become part of the collection of some very good friends who also have a set of my Alpha and Omega panels inspired by Medieval church decoration. 

Alpha & Omega panels shown with Eternity Knot (central panel)
Oil on canvas with gold leaf and indian ink. 2009

Oh, Banquet Not

Oh, banquet not in those shining bowers,  Where Youth resorts, but come to me,  For mine's a garden of faded flowers,  More fit for sorrow, for age, and thee.  And there we shall have our feast of tears,  And many a cup in silence pour;  Our guests, the shades of former years,  Our toasts, to lips that bloom no more.  There, while the myrtle's withering boughs  Their lifeless leaves around us shed,  We'll brim the bowl to broken vows  To friends long lost, the changed, the dead.  Or, while some blighted laurel waves  Its branches o'er the dreary spot,  We'll drink to those neglected graves  Where valour sleeps, unnamed, forgot.  Thomas Moore  'The Meal' Bamboo Intaglio on Stonehenge paper, 1998

New Tintypes and Cabinet Cards

Every day I spend about 20 minutes searching the internet for cabinet cards and tintypes which speak to me. I never tire of trawling through hundreds of such images hoping for that moment of utter connection where my heart jumps into my mouth and the photograph on my screen comes alive for me. Here is a selection of cabinet cards and tintypes that I just had to have, no matter the cost and I feel that each in its own way is exceptional. I can't wait to get to work on the paintings they will inspire.