eBay Madness

I've started working through my belongings, putting aside things that have been untouched for at least a year to sell on eBay. It's so easy and is steadily making me a bit of money. It's very tempting though, while I'm online, to have a peek at what's for sale too. There are lots of bargains to be made but the auctioning style of eBay brings out the competitive side in me and I have to reason with myself, 'Is this bag really worth that much? Probably not.'

Cyp(rus) Hyp(e) !!!

Got back home from two weeks in Cyprus, Pathos, at about 4am this morning. It was lovely just being allowed to relax for once in ages. While there I read a book that I'd bought at Gatwick called, 'The Little House' by Philippa Gregory. It kept me in sympathy with the main character, even when she did things that were wrong as it was often insinuated that these were inevitable or forced by another character. The ending was a big shock although I really should have seen it coming. It made me rethink my opinion of the main character and whether she really was sane or not.

Pop Colour

I'm constantly finding myself surrounded by colour this summer...and I love it! Everything is so much more interesting when there's colour involved.

J Brand have brought out a Haute Hues section of jeans and they're so bright and bold and I want all of them! But I'll just have to save up enough to buy my ONE favourite pair, which I still haven't decided.

http://www.jbrandjeans.com/store/productslist.aspx?categoryid=135&PageNo=1

This colour obsession has also arrived in the form of block colouring. I haven't seen many people master this look yet and I have yet to dare it.

René Magritte

I came across this article on the guardian website and I'm only half way through reading the comments of other arts appreciators. I hadn't heard of this artist before now but reading the comments made about him and his art was just incredible and like reading a book before seeing the film, I began to imagine his paintings and his mind's workings before actually seeing them. I've included some of the pictures that have been mentioned in the article.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/jun/19/rene-magritte-surrealist-favourites-tate?INTCMP=SRCH

The Human Condition

The False Mirror

The Ellipsis

Time Transfixed

Young Girl Eating a Bird

                                                                                             

Fabulous Fringing

A key trend this summer has been fringing. It is a great way to add something a bit different to a standard outfit. Unfortunately I haven't adopted this look yet as I'm still on the search for a good statement fringe piece.

Here are some I've got my eye on:

                                                              Knitted Fringe Cardigan


                                                                   Click to see details

Fringe Dress

Click to see details

Suede Fringe Clutch

Click to see details

Texture and Tone

Alison Lambert is an artist whose work I really like. I especially like the texture and tone of the faces.

I will be adding to the blog my own attempts at her style soon.

I've got out of the habit of posting recently but am now trying to get back into it. I was given my art exam this week as they give you a few months to prepare before the actual exam. It gives you about seven options as starting points and you can pick any one and go from there to do almost whatever you want. One of the options is Self-Image. I went to the National Portrait Gallery with my family to get some ideas. We had dinner there first, which was amazing, before looking around at the 20th century art and then some of the contemporary.

Some things that I particularly liked:

Isabella Blow by Tim Noble and Sue Webster

Edgar Holloway Self-Portrait

Winter Wonderland

Revision has taken over my Christmas holiday and I've found myself having crazy outbursts. Hopefully I can calm down during my break for Christmas Eve to Boxing Day, ready to start again minus the strangeness in character.

Saturday's snow was mental. Archie and Bertie loved it, despite the cold, and they even dared the frozen pond.

And here they are afterwards, enjoying the fire. Awww..

Sky High

Sorry again for a late post I've been having some internet problems lately.

I've been thinking about last years Christmas and it's getting me excited for this year. My family has quite a structured Christmas day and my dad limits our present opening to make sure that it lasts us the whole day. Last year my sister bought us all some flying lanterns for us to light together as a family. We took them to the common and had a go, one by one. It was lovely watching them float away.

'where new red gas-pumps sat out in pools of light'

Apologies for not posting last Sunday; it was a busy week. I've been thinking about my GCSEs more and more as I'll be sitting the mock exams straight after Christmas. So for art I've been practising painting which is something I haven't done a lot of as I'm more into drawing and making things. It's been driving me a little bit mad but I think it will all be ok, eventually..

This is the one I had a go at painting-one of my favourites of Edward Hopper's



This reminds me of The Great Gatsby where they fill up with gas

'gas'-Edward Hopper



 The famous 'nighthawks'