RUSSIAN SWEETIES

I returned home this week to some beeeautiful Russian sweeties. Our guests had brought us a hand picked selection from a Russian chocolate shop. I find the patterns and colours really inspiring and did a coloured pencil drawing. I love the weird baby faced one and the little bears which were apparently painted by the Russian artist Shishkin, CUTE!

SECOND LADY

I created a couple of different looking ladies for the Something You Said project. This was lady number two (who you can witness in full Technicolor further down the blog posts!) She is a little bit cooler and poutier than the vintage flapper girl used on the main site. She makes an appearance on the Something You Said facebook page. Why not head over there and give the page a liking to keep up with the best in music, fashion, art and culture...

https://www.facebook.com/somethingyousaid

SOMETHING YOU SAID

I'm super excited to announce that Something You Said, the new, shiny, upgraded version of Bobbysix, the much loved music, art and fashion blog, is now live. Featuring some brand spanking new Owlstation work in the banner. Have a butchers and spread the word!  

http://somethingyousaid.com/

HAROLD MOCKFORD AT THE TOWNER

Per the previous post, Sussex landscapes as if half remembered in an eerie dream. Really interesting paintings by Harold Mockford, on at Eastbourne's Towner Gallery til September 30th

http://www.townereastbourne.org.uk/exhibition/harold-mockford/#.UBY3DV2kyRE.facebook

TOWNER GALLERY

A few weekends back I made another trip to Eastbourne's Towner Gallery to see the Harold Mockford exhibition. His paintings were really interesting, very dreamlike and slightly unnerving, mostly depicting our lovely sussex countryside. But
the thing that caught me the most was just how beautiful the Towner building is, especially when set off against a stormy sky. Well worth a trip. (recommend Favo Loso across the road for lunch though, much cheaper and it has a mexican cuckoo clock)

LIFE DRAWING

A bottom and some feet. Experiments with chalk pastels and colored pencils.

LITTLE OWLY

    Pencil sketch

TELEPATHETIC E.P!

Well lookee what I got! The Telepathetic E.P finally arrived covered in Owlstation Tiki men and looking hot! Notice how shiny it is. Also, that if you put your finger through the C.D you can give the Tiki man a nose! Telepathetic will be selling the AMAZING sounding E.Ps for a reasonable price t a gig near you. Or if you can't wait that long, get in touch via their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/telepathetic.uk

SKETCHBOOK MESSING

I had a little play about with some fonts in my sketchbook to help prepare me for a new project. Definitely starting to fall for type a bit more.

PINK LADY

Pink Haired Lady is part of a wee project i'm working on at the moment which I shall be able to share with you soon. Can you spot the bunny rabbit?

BIRTHDAY!

Lovely Birthday treats! I got a good haul this year including 3 books by the amazing Czech Illustrator M Sasek, whose work I am completely in love with at the moment.

Also...OWLS! A lovely and informative picture book. I am a lucky girl!

Check out this little feller, giving some unsuitable neighbor the stare.

LE CHOU

This piece is called Le Chou and is an oil pastel sketch on a brown paper bag.

BRIGHTON FASHION WEEK 2012 - THE BRIGHTON FROCKS SHOW

The 2012 Brighton Fashion Week ‘Catwalk show’ at All Saints Church, Hove, had all the pre-show excitement, anticipation and awesome looking guests of previous years. Also the same lengthy queue for the bar (allowing more time for outfit perving). And the promise of an entire week’s worth of fashion to follow.

I had the great fortune of being seated on the front row, close enough to the catwalk to see every sequin and goose pimple. Also possibly close enough to be blinded by the whirlwind of an opener that was Celia Arias designs. A display of outlandish characters took to the catwalk. An evil puppet mistress steered a sumptuous Japanese puppet into view. They were followed by a cautious gollum sporting a skull and plastic aeroplane helmet, who checked his surroundings before beckoning a shy green monster onto the stage in Little Sister, Big Daddy style.

Latex was next, Lucky Dame showcased a collection of naughty, nude and pastel colored dresses led on by stunning BFW model Tess Georgia Dimos (pictured below). Despite latex’s saucy vibe, the outfits still had something cute about them, although along with Arias' creations perhaps fall into the not so wearable on a daytime/public spaces basis.

Frantic About Frances followed. The range of vintage style boudoir underwear is glamorous enough to get the sailors wolf-whistling whilst still looking pretty damn comfy. At this point my neighbour turned to me and asked ‘Are the gussets big enough?’ to which I replied ‘Yes, I think they are’, a special moment and a rarity in modern underwear, I’m sure some will agree. It was also brilliant fun getting into the vintage spirit with a burlesque striptease and union jack waving.

Aneta Mackonyte’s ‘Rainbow Warriors’ are influenced by Tibetan, Mayan and Incan mythology. ‘I am trying to unite my own knowledge and emotions by mixing fantasy and the everyday in a child-like way.’ Mackonyte explains. Happy models, wearing relaxed chunky layers echoed her message. Clashes of tribal prints, bright woven fabrics, bear hats and knotted prayer flags would be great for snugly winter outfits.

Other highlights included feisty punks at Charles of London and Flash Gordon futurism at Shara Haze. The hairy zombie men clawing at us from the catwalk were also a big hit. Student and BFW fan Astrid Harbour commented, ‘What Jylle Navarro created with a pair of knitting needles was absolutely extraordinary’. My only complaint of the evening being the large number of lollipops carried throughout the show and the slightly abrupt ending after the final designer.

This year the models were stronger than ever. Local beauties (stand outs including Ellis Anthony, Desiree Laidler and Liv), many modelling for the first time and doing a spectacular job, were supported by the talented backstage crew as returning BFW model Dimos explains. "A team of hardworking individuals backstage power through the hours to perfect the look on the already very beautiful models. Make-up artists, hair stylists, dressers and designers were all working round the clock to get the models out and ready on time. Backstage madness is always worth it in the end; the models graced the catwalk in their stunning garments. Brighton Fashion Week has done it once again and put on a show to remember."

I quite agree.

BFW takes place every year in May. For more information visit: http://www.brightonfashionweek.com/
Follow Tess Georgia Dimos on Facebook. Follow BFW on Facebook.

Review by Alice Parsons. Photos courtesy of Theresa Power and Brighton Fashion Week.

IN THE BEST POSSIBLE TASTE.........

If you watch 1 arty program this weekend I reckon it should be this one. Grayson Perry takes a trip to Sunderland to explore the sensitive subject of taste.

Watch it on 4oD!

AUSTRALIA, THE OUTBACK

The Outback was undoubtedly my favorite part of Australia. It's so vast, miles and miles of nothing but uninterrupted countryside. Except for the rather large, orange interruption that is Uluru! I tried not to take too many photos while I was there as I wanted to just soak it all up, but below are a few that came out really  nicely.

OWLSTATION IN ZIIINE!

I'm in this month's Ziiine! Rambling about Oil Pastels and their virtues! Also there is a new piece of Owlstation work in there so please do have a look :)

Check it out here!

TRAVEL SKETCHES, SYDNEY

I love sketching on holiday, it seems to be the only occasion when there is ample time for sitting down and drawing without having to rush off somewhere (provided you have an amazing friend that is willing to sit and wait with you). The top sketch is a view we had from a restaurant window in Manly, the sketch below is looking out across Sydney Harbour.

ME,MARIONETTE

I seriously recommend a trip to Brighton's Ink'd gallery this week to see Graham Carter's Me, Marionette exhibition. His laser cut wooden sculptures are made with 100% attention to detail, every piece is unique and beautiful and the little world he's created is just lovely. There, gushing over. It comes down Sunday though so be quick! Info and cool animations here: http://www.graham-carter.co.uk/me-marionette/astronaut/

AUSTRALIA

I'M BAAAACK! Did you miss me? After two weeks of Australian adventures, I have returned to dear old England and seem to have brought some sunshine with me. I'll be popping a few sketches and photos from the trip up on Owlstation over the next few days. Starting off with some sketches from the outback (above). This was definitely the highlight, whilst it may be barren, hot, dusty and dangerous out there, it is also very special indeed and a very bright shade of red.

ESKIMO/THE THING

Whilst watching 'The Thing' with Kurt Russell at the weekend, I found inspiration to draw a few snowy scenes featuring eskimos. Brilliant film, I love Kurt. I was a bit dissatisfied with the ending though, I didn't think the final 'thing' was quite big enough . Lots of lovely snowscapes and blizzards to be enjoyed in between the gory bits however. 

ZOMBIES

I like to try out different styles of working, accept projects that are a bit unusual and generally pull out my safety blanket from underneath me, as I think this can help any creative to learn and improve their skills. To this end I have recently been working on some concept art for a Zombie film! It's early days yet and I'm not allowed to give too much away but I have permission to share some of my work with you, be warned it might get grisly!

WILD WOODBINE

Present to self this week: 1 cardboard box from Snooper's Paradise. But not just any cardboard box, oh no, a vintage container bearing the Woodbine Cigarettes logo on the side. SO PRETTY! I'm going to have a side framed up for my wall as an early birthday present (or late Christmas present, either will do)

TYPOGRAPHY FOR SPINDLE MAGAZINE

A nice surprise for me yesterday to find that a piece of typography I did for Spindle Magazine just before xmas has now been published, YAY! Their fifth issue is now online http://spindlemagazine.com/