Inspiration : Flowers

Florals are everywhere in design and the arts & crafts right now, re-inspiring florists and crafters alike, and even retail designers, like this enormous paper flower is hanging in Calgary's Anthropologie ...

{photograph courtesy of Blair Marie}

Some of my favourite flower sayings:

I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers. ~Claude Monet

When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other. ~Chinese Proverb

With daffodils mad footnotes for the spring,
And asters purple asterisks for autumn -
~Conrad Aiken, Preludes for Memnon, 1930

God loved the flowers and invented soil. Man loved the flowers and invented vases. ~Variation of a saying by Jacques Deval (God loved the birds and invented trees. Man loved the birds and invented cages.)

I really love my job, being surrounded and creating with beautiful flowers everyday, so much of what surrounds me inspires and shapes my own arts & crafts, like a back and forth dance between the two ...

Cold days are dreary, but can be creatively productive ... I painted at home this morning ...


This is why I love my job - We had a bit of a lull at work yesterday morning, so we made these cute mini-signs for display in the shop, mostly props to handwriting genius Lauren ...

Some tulips in bold colours sitting on our front counter, which made the cold day a lot brighter and spring seem a little nearer ...

Finished my mother's portrait with her hands on the piano ...
She choose to play F, G sharp and B ...



Last post for awhile ... we're vacationing as a family for the first time!!! On our way through Saskatoon ... summers look much different than winters there ... so excited to be on the prairies for a week ...

(Saskatoon Winter, 2003)

Inspiration: palimpsest.

Here are some paintings I started working on yesterday evening. The paintings are in antique frames. I plan to paint layer upon layer, leaving traces of the previous layers, so they show through. This is the first layer, I'm just showing my work in progress ...

Here are some of my most recent creations, paintings and bracelets...







Visit my shop to see more of my creations...

Pictured below is the most recent painting I have almost completed. This is just a detail of the larger painting.


I am doing a photo shoot this coming weekend, and if all goes well, I will have some of those photographs posted soon. Here are some pictures I had previously taken last fall of Zach.

I found some great photographers' websites. The first two are New York based photographers Sarah Wilmer and Meike Nixdorf. Sarah Wilmer is mainly a portrait photographer, whereas Meike Nixdork mainly focuses on cityscapes. Both of their work is stunning.

Another photographer I really admire is The Polaroid Kid. He mainly photographs people. I especially love how he will take 2 or 3 photographs of the same person, gradually moving closer to reveal what they are holding in their hands; a way of giving a clue into their character. I love the rawness of his photographs, and I especially love his polaroids. Pictured below are two of his polaroid photographs "The Bird Man" and "Long Live the Derelict".


Oakland-based artist Monica Canilao's work is amazing!! She is very versatile, she works with many medias. I love her illustrative style and her uniqueness. Pictured below are two of her works "Destroy Everything" and "Typewriter Hands".

Click on images to view at larger scale.

Here is the latest 'fashionista' painting I am working on. I have nearly completed it, but I thought I would post what I have finished so far. Below there is detail of the background as well. For the background, I used an old sewing pattern and layered paint over top of it.



Here is an old painting I dug up from storage, I painted this about three years ago. It's kind of hard to believe that I have been working on raw wood backgrounds for this long! I thought I'd post it because I used to dislike it, but now this painting is starting to grow on me...


I will be posting some new illustrations I have been meaning to finish for quite some time, so please check back soon, as I will have them posted in the next week or so.

Tonight I picked up the March 2007 issue of Romantic Homes magazine and there were a few things I absolutely loved in it...

There was an article on England-based artist Kate Sutton. She describes herself as an illustrator/maker and finds inspiration in knitting, children's books, vintage fabric, nature, the sea and goats, among other things. She also donates part of the proceeds from several of her projects to breast cancer research. I like her simple line-drawing style and her playful childhood designs.

Pictured below are some examples of her work.


Kate Sutton's "a beautiful scrap paper project"


Kate Sutton design on a product for nookart

The magazine also featured designer/crafter Alicia Paulson's Home in the article "a colourful outlook". She is one of my favorite crafters, and the photographs of her home are eye-candy; everything is sweet and pretty and showcases her nostalgic style. Her home is absolutely colour-saturated, and also reflects the style and creativity found in her crafts. Her home is like a museum for nostalgic, pretty and feminine things, as they are craftily composed into vignettes throughout every available space.

Pictured below are some photographs of her home from the Romantic Homes magazine.



I am constantly working on new bracelets and here is one of my newest creations. It is named 'hearts and saints'. I made this bracelet with springtime in mind. The soon-to-be season has also inspired my most recent painting. It is watercolour inspired and is pictured below, showing the first touches of branches and blossoms that I have painted.

I always thought I disliked 'nature' paintings, but now I am finding that this subject is really my most favourite! I am a sucker for any works with birds, branches, and really any reference to nature in it. And this is why Jen Garrido is one of my favourite painters at the moment. I love her use of colour and her process of building layers with paint and then blocking in the shapes using large white negative space. Here are a couple of her paintings.


Jen Garrido's can't see you


Jen Garrido's candy color cradle

Another artist I really admire is Saskatoon-based artist Matthew Feyld. He is so creative and so dedicated to his work. I love seeing his work pop up here and there around Saskatoon, he leaves his mark everywhere it seems! He has amazing style!


Matthew Feyld's bird returning bird

I also have to mention the cutest little shop ever! It is Red Shoes Home Goods. I saw these candles on the website, and they look good enough to eat! I like how the store-owner is so creative herself, she is one crafty lady!

I have a new series of paintings for sale at Modern Country Interiors. The work is composed of mix medias, including painting, drawing, collage, and printmaking. I drew inspiration from fashion and textile design for these new works. Using my own images, I designed all the textile patterns seen in the wallpaper, clothing and other fabrics.

I have new series of both bittersweet berry paintings and magnolia paintings at Modern Country Interiors on Broadway Avenue.
They are undergoing renovations, so I will be dropping off more art over the next few months to help fill up their wall space.