Not Quite My Cup of Tea

Hmm, now here for my Frankie calendar’s October page is an unusual choice of illustration. It is the only month featuring a still life, by Lucy King. All the other illustrations make people, or in one case, a bear, the subject. I’m not quite sure why Frankie chose a coffee pot and creamer for October?

Do people drink more homemade beverages in the Antipodean spring? Or perhaps Australians give more afternoon tea parties when the weather becomes more clement? In which case we are in error, for Melbourne is being its usual trickster self, surprising its residents with one or two joyful sunny days, and then – having successfully lulled us once more (this happens every springtime) – subsequently shocking us for days later with a deluge to rival Noah’s flood.

Do people drink more homemade beverages in the Antipodean spring?

Illustrator and surface pattern designer Lucy King is English, but now makes her home in the Victorian country town of Kyneton. She has in the past worked for Wedgwood, which is apparent in her aesthetic. I do love surface pattern design (and have dabbled a little in it myself), but I must admit these very English watercolour florals on King’s website just aren’t my cup of tea. They are just a little bit too pretty and insipid for my taste … Like being given a cup of weak tea with lots of milk and sugar when one really wants a mug of Turkish coffee thick enough for the spoon to stand straight up in (although I have mine without sugar, so no spoons are involved).

See more of Lucy King’s work on her website and be your own judge.

Nail Art

I’ve been clearing out junk recently, which included going through my makeup drawer. I have a lot of nail polishes that I have collected over the years, and after recently suffering a spate of chipped manicures, I investigated the shelf life of nail polish.

Apparently nail enamel has a shelf life of only 1–2 years. Ooops. Many of mine are ten years old! An appropriate way to dispose of it is to tip out the enamel onto newspaper and let it dry until the solvents evaporate. Hmmm, I thought. I can do better than that. A drawing painted with enamel would be an interesting experiment.

Hair in Orange Flip :: Watts // Big Up // No flashSo today I quickly sketched out a drawing, the main concept being that somehow the finished illustration should involve polka dots – a) because they’re cute, and b) enamelled polka dots would create a great texture.

Most of my nail polishes are buff or blush tones, or strong shades of red. Very little pink (which is odd, for me). There are a few oddities amongst them – turquoise, navy, white – but they are new and still usable.

Dress in Glisten, Bow in Ballet Buff :: Watts // Big Up // No flashUnsurprisingly, painting with nail polish is rather different from any other wet medium I have used. Things I learned:

1. The brush is horrible – too long, flat, stiff, and not flexible enough. Also, it blobs unpredictably.
2. One needs to work fast. It dries quickly on the paper so it is difficult to create flat, smooth colour.
3. Pouring is fun, but enamel is far more viscous than ink for example (obviously), but equally unpredictable.
4. Two coats are better than one. (This we all already know!)
5. Mistakes, if they drop on dried enamel, can be lifted off relatively easily with a cotton tip if applied immediately.

Polka Dots in Firecracker :: Watts // Big Up // No flashI am quite pleased with the finished illustration, especially with its coppery effect. It’s tactile, and shiny. It glistens in the light. That copper colour that forms the dress is actually called Glisten – and I like it more in this application than I ever did on my nails! The illustration doesn’t scan very well though, which is not surprising, so I’ve included some photos (shot at an angle to take advantage of the sunlight) of the work in progress.

This was quite fun, and I’m looking forward to doing some more, although I think I might take advantage of the current craze for polish in every colour of the rainbow and stock up on additional shades.

A Snow Flurry in Van-Couvered in Snow :: Watts // Big Up // No flashColours used in this illustration: Orange Flip, Peach Chiffon, Ballet Buff, Sheer Blush, In the Buff, Sorbet, Glisten, Firecracker, Marooned (all by Revlon); Russian Navy, Passion, Van-Couvered in Snow (all by O.P.I.). 

A Flurry of Snow :: Watts // Big Up // No flash

The First Day of Spring

Spring’s arrived, hooray! And such a lovely sunny, breezy day for Father’s Day too. My Frankie calendar flips over to this bright and cheerful picture by Ana Albero.

Ana Albero hails from Spain, though she is currently based in Berlin. She also works in pencil, the drawings in that medium have a pleasant and spontaneous, naïve style. I like her playfulness with the picture planes too: Albero alters the perspective as the Egyptians did.

The fresh colour palette of this illustration makes me think of Gauguin’s Fauvist pictures and summertime – a little ahead of the season admittedly. But if watermelon is more rightly the flavour of summertime, for me, the delicious mock-orange scent of the pittosporum wafting on the night breeze truly heralds spring.

See more of Ana Albero’s delightful illustrations at her website. 

Mini Zombies Cold

Frankie calendar says it’s August. Where did the first half of the year go? The happy news is that it’s the last month of winter in Melbourne, hooray! These Little Ones look none too pleased though. Their expressions are so dour and cross I like to imagine they’re mini zombies, ready and willing to take over the world. Or maybe they’re just cold.

The painting is by Jennifer Davis, an artist from Minneapolis, USA. See more of her work at her website, or buy some from her Etsy shop. 

Whimsy for Winter

Here is a cute illustration for my July Frankie calendar page. Let me interject here to exclaim and fling my hands up in horror off the keyboard at the fact that half the year is officially done with. But this lighthearted image is a lovely contrast to the winter outside. 

The illustration is by American artist Jill Labieniec. Her drawings have a lovely retro vibe. By limiting herself to a simple colour palette, contrasting one or two muted shades of flat colour that are punctuated by strong black shapes, Labieniec creates striking images full of the inherent charm of 50s style paper cut illustrations. I do love those big red cheeks too.

Check out more of her work at her website, where you can also click through to her Etsy shop and make one of her prints or a letterpress card your own.

Have a great July!