This was cool! I just came across it… in the UK Marie Claire (Oct 2010 edition)… there’s my picture! No, not the one with the bra – the wading girl illustration. It was to publicise the Roger la Borde celebrations and creations for sale at Liberty in London. The collection got mentions all over the place but I loved that this had such a prominent image 
So many lovely things in that collection. I’m still trying to get hold of some of it myself to sell. I’ll let you know if I manage it!
So how d’ya like these apples? A real Mondoodle. On a Monday. Drawn on a Monday. Yes, this Monday.
Hooray! My hands were having a good evening and let me draw a bit. Yes, still tingly and weird and sensitive and sore but – hooray!
She’s the Hummingirl. I have always been a huge fan of art nouveau hair – especially as drawn by Rackham. But by so many others too. My attempt is a bit shakey but so were the hands. In this case quick = good.
Mondoodle drawn in the lounge on a stack of cushions as the boys kicked my belly like crazy. The humming girl and I are both being very very patient.
Monday 17th January, 2011 at 10pm.
Here’s another snippet for a Mondoodle until I get the use of my hands back! Should be soon… Typing isn’t too bad but I do a lot of key mis-hitting through lack of feeling. Ah well.
It’s fun to look back at some of my pictures and have a close peek at things in the background. As the pictures build so slowly, rarely being planned all at once or with a clear vision of the whole picture, these elements are often as important as the main focus. I loved doing these characters – the upright seal who takes his work very seriously and the romantic cat desperate to watch the serenade. Technically there was some stuff that did need planning – leaving the whiskers, the light straps of the apron, working out the flow of light and dark across the figures so that they don’t pop too far forward, nor do they become too indistinct against the background.
Drawn in my Moleskines collection, book 4, I think.
Here’s one of my favourite character sketches of all time – it was for My Boots in Season which came out this… no! last year. Well, there we go. Happy New Year! What did you do? I sat quietly at home and dodged the heat. Waaay too hot in Melbourne that day with a score of over 41′C in the end.
Yet another time when the character sketch is light and loose and fun because it doesn’t matter how it turns out. Unlike finished art – where it is so hard to capture that spontaneity.
x elise
I didn’t even realise it was Monday yesterday!
And then I worked it out when I found out that today is Tuesday already. Genius. Funny how days sneak around on holiday…
Anyway, I was watching the latest Dr. Who Christmas special the other day and I found myself encountering what must be a common dilemma for artists. That moment you see someone using an idea you have had too – and you have that uncomfortable feeling that is a mixture of ‘No!‘ and slight resentment and yet begrudging (or wholehearted) happiness at watching someone playing with the same concept you like. Happily, I’ve learned to generally Not go all-fetal-in-the-corner when someone has a similar idea. They’re just out there. Maybe we watched the same thing, read the same book, connected the same dots, registered the same delight as a kid over something… Then things percolated, waiting for the right moment to fit in with other ideas, to find the vehicle that would let us play with them and give them voice… Occasionally someone kills one of my ideas by doing something just to damn similar, but generally you just have to wait it out, play with it further until it becomes yours again and remember that you probably got your idea from somewhere too, even if you don’t remember where. So you really shouldn’t get bent out of shape about it.
And what was it? Flying fish.
Here’s a bit of one of mine from a little while back.
Of course, there may be a time when I am sure someone has actually stolen an idea, then… feel my wrath! What is annoying is seeing someone copy something too closely – like all those ads on tv recently in the style of an Amelie memory clip – right down to visual effects, lighting, colour and the voice-over actor. Did they think no one would notice? There’s a big distinction between inspiration and borrowing. We must all make everything our own. It’s like using someone else’s photo from the internet as reference but not bothering to change it, incorporate an aspect into a different scene or make it new in any way. We all get material from somewhere. But the onus is definitely on us to be creative and bring something original to the party.
That wasn’t meant to be a rant! I think it may have turned into one. Sorry Long story short… I enjoyed the flying fish and will keep enjoying drawing and painting them myself too.
Have any of you experienced the same thing?
Hello dear friends I just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, a belated happy Hanukkah and wonderful festive time with friends and family (or perhaps a long-awaited quiet moment by yourself)!
You can’t quite see it but the baby bump is Big (4 more weeks I think) and the Christmas tree is all the best bits… but without the tree. Yep, I like to experiment sometimes
I’ll post something a little more exciting than this picture very soon… it’s just taking a little while to get it ready. But it was a great project and I can’t wait to share it with you. Talk to you all very soon!
x elise
Hello friends! Here’s something in the Christmas spirit of sharing all good things – those being, of course, drawing and chocolate. If you happened to wander through Melbourne’s Royal Arcade of late you would have seen the delicious Koko Black window display featuring my soldier and ballerina characters! Hooray! I’m also spying some other beautiful things there… chocolate snowmen, trees and perhaps some gingerbread houses… Too delicious! I mean, delightful
Oh, to be a magically animated window display figure in a chocolate shop in the dead of night… The snow men, I’m afraid, would not make it to morning!
xx elise
It’s the pointy end of the year (that’s a bizarre image) and we’ve hit the last weekend before Christmas. If you hadn’t realised – I’m very sorry for the shock you just got. But All Is Not Lost. There are two markets this weekend and they’re hot ones.
The Sister’s Market @ the Brunswick Town Hall (Sydney Rd) on Saturday 10 – 4pm
The Maker’s Market @ the Abbotsford Convent (find the big-tree courtyard to the right of the bakery) on Sunday 10 – 4pm.
There is also the Shirts and Skirts market on the Convent Grounds on the Sunday so it’s a double whammy. Christmas shopping solved! I’ll be there with goodies galore and definitely doing some shopping myself as I just hate those department stores. The crowds drive me Nuts and all the same-old same-old… Give me a good coffee and let me wander around looking at cool original stuff any day.
Oh, and you can pick up things from me next week if you have an emergency. Just check out the shop for what’s on offer and email to arrange a time.
xx elise
Today’s offering is a little different… as you know I am on a little forced break from drawing (not by choice!) so Mondays is surprise day until the twins arrive
Today we have a snippet from my show at No Vacancy. Ahhhh takes me back, it does. The wrists need to get better soon. I want to paint!
In the last fortnight we had a little give-away-comp happening at my online shop and here are the lucky three winners. Huzzah!
The Hot Chocolate print – L. Fanning, Queensland
A limited edition print from The Night Garden – E. Long, Victoria
Bad Tidings print – V. Bell, Victoria
It was a pretty awesome response to this special thanks and I-love-yous-all give-away. Congratulations you three, your prints will be winging their way to your homes this week. I hope you enjoy them!
And, speaking of the shop – I’m really happy with it. It seems to be working beautifully, I have lots of lovely things to share and nifty-post-packs for sending them wherever you might need them to go. Can you believe we’re so close to Christmas? I haven’t even thought of a tree yet.
