Summer Show-time!

Today was the final day of the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and here above is a particularly colourful corner. Every inch of space was used and all things considered I think my favourite room was the room crammed with smaller works. Insects painted on to buttons, paper moths and paintings no bigger than a coaster. Also liked this Rob Ryan 'Closer and Closer' crafted paper piece below-his details along with his words are quite beautiful... as always.

'Look closer and closer and further and further and listen harder and harder to the noise of the earth and the silence of the stars and what you will hear is a small voice that whispers- Don't try to get, try to give...'

It's a really diverse exhibition as any artist can submit work... may yet dig out a bit of canvas and get that application form come january!!

Friday 'F'ought...

Papped earlier today

Bon Belleville!

Walking through west London today I came across Belleville Boutique on westbourne grove... a shrine to all things francais, from food, antiques, art installations and even pictures hanging on the wall. These two pics below are from a series by Christina Mary Ann Gestra (who I think may buck the trend and be of angleterrean descent!) BUT she takes pictures in Paris and right now they are hanging up there as part of her Unconventional Photography exhibition. 

by super-imposing layers of images and playing with varying levels of transparencies she aims to 'recreate the frenetic complexity and confusion of urban landscapes with its austere non-communicative silent population' 

Really like the multilayered aesthetic... makes me want to dig out my Holga. Would've been great to get some recent double/triple exposure London shots post chaos of this week... but I think walking east London streets with a big gold-coloured camera and matching chain the day after ("it's not reeeeeeal!) ... well I suspect it would not have been mine for long!! Perhaps there is still some left over carnage to document...

ps-there was also a really cool Duralex glass exhibition in Belleville Boutique where different artists had been asked to create something from these french classiques! J'adore...

bellevilleboutique.co.uk

Quaint Quay

 Took this snap of the quayside down southerly english countryside way... 

Was so beautiful, surrounded by shingle coastline peppered with mini sail boats.
Probably a better view before the sun set though!
(... kind of wishing I was still in that tranquil spot right now as opposed to fiery London town!!!)

Shaka Steeeeeeeeeeez

So my lovely pal Shaka Maidoh is amongst the finalists for 'Best Dressed Real Man' competition in Esquire mag. He's the steezed out man on the far left here... and clearly the undeniable front runner!! This motley crew line-up was in the Metro paper here in London yesterday and now final judging goes to a distinguished panel including Paul Smith.  

Really hope the old boy wins as he's clearly way above all these guys-he's a designer/stylist/photographer n general artsy extraordinare and whenever I see him he has some homegrown garbs n accessories on that always look wicked. Frequently papped for style blogs-I stumbled across this beautiful snap here below of Shaka in Paris for the blog STREETFSN (which has such gorgeous photography)

GOOOOOOOO SHAKA!! A well turned out gent if ever i knew...

Have a looksie here at Shaka's ART COMES FIRST blog.

Lady Luck...

... 'Lady Danger' is the actual title of this beaut new matte lippie from Mac that i purchased mere minutes ago. Amazing red base with orange tones-ohhhhhh lala! I lurves it! 

(n.b. this has not been enhanced post production (no lash inserts here!)... this be real teamed with the skills of Madamoiselle Emily... merci!!)

Londoner Calling!

Caramel, cream, brown seat and ikkle perfick basket... yup this bike aptly titled 'Londoner' is firmly on my wishing list. If only I wasn't sh*t-scared of the London traffic and could instead ride through wild flower meadows... pilfering said flora in the way and placing in my dreamy oh-so delightful basket...

Mini obsessed.

Maud Mentalness!

Was drawn towards the window of Electrum upon South Molton St today to see this neon display...

'Apocalyptic Landscape'
-by the jewellery designer/artist Maud Traon. Showing my fave here as the small child within would like to believe that this is in fact the Finders Keepers Swan circa my childhood that looks like its been dipped in a billion hundred-n-thousands! 

There were a load of sculpture pieces in this similar neon chaotic style which apparently

'Maud used her early work to provoke conversations about consumerism and popular culture. Working in precious and semi precious stone, plastic polymer and heaps of glitter' 

Am imagining these are speaking of those themes as children's toys and lots of Disney-esq plastic is evident. Consumerism debate aside would love to get involved in some polymer n glitter!

www.maudtraon.net

Feathers n Leif

Having my feather head-dress adjusted on location. 

Love the beautiful green tints on these feathers... amazing head-dress handmade by Mr Leif -orders taken no doubt!

Location reminded me of something from Alice in Wonderland-but perhaps that was just the huge wafting roses... visual reference below!

Bargain Bling

Rather pleased with my magpie nature today spotting this dazzling number in a charity shop. Sure to be adorned during this wedding season or perhaps even as I nip to grab some milk... loving them faux diamondz!!

3D Me...

Got introduced to this 3D camera the other day 

-which apparently is very very useful if you also have a matching 3D computer screen (?!) like circa arcade booths...?? But have to say looking at pictures on this little contraption is a baffling one, strangely mesmerising but yet feels like my retinas heat up in the process! ...Hmmm.

Don't think it's gonna replace my 1D Golden Halfie just yet!!

Tanqueray Upon Tuesday

Tanqueray Tonight

Click on the link above to see my finest faux shock/relief/besotted-ness showcased! Unfortunately my stunt action of slipping over didn't make the final cut but still I got to be man-handled and stare deep into the mr barman hero's eyes for many a take!!

Beads A-Bright

Ohhhh lala bright shiny colourful beads gathered today hopefully much much more to come tomorrow! Scouring those London streets firmly upon the agenda right now... yet also slightly tempted to throw some on too...!

Ochres n Oranges

Am currently in the midst of a love affair with the colour orange, I'm talking clothing wise as I've been donning a lot of the bright shade of late which has now filtered through into my jewels. Today I stocked up on orange and amber beadies to start getting busy busy with!!

Power Pouting/Painting

Some piccies from We The Urban Magazine, bold colours, painting partings and half faces!

Looking vaguely Jack Nicholson-esq here!! 

Sweet Smell O' Sweetpeas!

 Sitting here with the most amazing scents coming off these FOUR little flowers next to me... the whole room is filled with their summery stench... picked fresh from my window.

Sunday Snoooooood!

A snap from a recent look-book although perhaps not quite the season for knitted garms right now, was lovely working with all the hand-knitted and handmade clothing and accessories.

Saturday's Swansong

Having spent a large proportion of my week in the hairdressers my magazine time was greatly increased over the past few days and I was overcome with envy when I saw Florence in this particular beaut of a dress by Givenchy... apparently she wore it to the oscars earlier in the year. DREAMY!!

And THEN i clocked the back... too too amazing. Get me swanning about in this any day!

Portrait Perving...

The National Gallery Portrait Award beckoned today... so many beautiful compositions, colours and just astounding technical ability on display. Neither of these two were prize winners-but I found them particularly mesmerising nonetheless!!

This bloke at the bottom is apparently 'The Lord of the Rings'...! 

The furry face detailing on both was just so amazing.

npg.org.uk/bp-portrait-award-2011

Bleached n Bandaged!

Looking slightly inpatient-esq today as my sleek hairstyle was being meticulously preserved under these layers of stretchy paper... no eyebrows due to bleaching and no hair... quite the look!!

The lavender inspired finished version below:

Born to Butterfly!

Whilst helping my mum clear through some old relics at the weekend-found this stone which I gave to her on her birthday-being the generous sort that I was!! Haven't quite grasped the notion of butterfly symmetry so guessing I was just a tiny thing... but clearly still with a small butterfly fascination.

... May do something similar this year!!  

Leopard Lippies!

 Playing around with leopard print lip tattoos on a shoot... think the rainbow ones below are amazing but maybe not that practical when food and beverages get involved! Check out Violent Lips online SHOP for their full range including flag-inspired pouts!

Furry Friday

A Missoni cape merely accessorised with a small dog-like flurry chain bag!

This may be a little bit breezy in the real world/ bordering on the illegal flashing-wise! But guess there's always that fluffy bag you could cuddle up to for a bit of warmth and essential coverage!!

Baby-Buttz

Miniature butterflies being crafted today... may make into rings or something a little more decorative yet... watch this space! 

Petals & Papillon SHOP

Anchi et Alex

An Alex Lambrechts snap from the Anchi bag shoot capturing my immense moustache amusement...  

Like the colours he captures... have a looksie at his BLOG

Handy Hosiery

An unusual pair of tights I got to sport the other day... perhaps a hark back to 'make-do & mend' era. Where as my good old Nan tells me stockings were a total luxury and when the boys from the boats came back empty handed a bit of improvisation with some charcoal and a steady hand was called for! ... Or alternatively a handy visual guide!! Tights from Wolford.

Crew & (Hidden) Cast

A picture of my window box predominantly... but deep in the background-a few crew members hanging around in the sunshine, as there be filming going on outside my abode for a tv series. Therefore the most overheard sounds today were of 'rehearsal', 'aaaaaaction!' and sheer screeching from one enthusiastic thespian! ... And in the foreground-strawberry plants, thyme and non e-coli salad leaves!! :)

Sunday Styling

My pretty pal Abi getting papped by Grazia Style-Hunter for her colourful clashing outfit. Just love her vibrant garms and the beautiful shade of her shirt... cue wolf whistlin'!

www.graziadaily.co.uk/style-hunter-gfw-the-clash

Bleachin' Brows

Spent this week in Die Deutschland having my eyebrows made to match the rest of my barnet aka bleached up!! Until they were barely visible to the average human iris... and my head was just one long blank canvas!!

during the procedure...

... apres

... interestant! Dankeeeeeee!!

Monochrome Moley

 Was lucky enough to meet a delightful illustrator last week on set 

Moley Talhaoui -a Swedish based artist who seems to have a penchant for black & white, animal heads, detailed hands and black cat faces. 

All of which I think make his work really wonderful... 

...have a little peek moleytalhaoui.com

Lithuanian Lands

Some snaps from my Vilnius trip... HERE'S the link to the rest of them.
Sun filled skies and many blue eyes...

Flickr Album

Blog Spot

My mate told me about this spot on Philo-Sofia blog... which from what I can gather is a blog inspired by her love for Sofia Coppola and her films, the author citing; 

"Her films evoke a sense of ethereality and speak to us like no others; and she herself epitomises utmost sensibility, wit and elegance. "

She has pieced together a wonderful selection of photographs, images and quotes which i like lorra lorra lots. This snap was from Columbia Road upon one sunny sunday.

philo-sofia.tumblr.com