Socks with Sandals & Getting Dressed in the Dark

Photos Source: Anna Magnani: here / House of Holland: here & here / Lula photoshoot: here

Was watching "Rome Open City", and after seeing Anna Magnani running around her apartment with little ankle socks scrunched down around her tiny oxford heels, was excited for spring and getting to wear this look that I love so much. Ok, so the Rossellini film has nothing to do with hosiery (trying not to trivialize an important historic film, which you should definitely see), but why not borrow style from a fictional war-time heroine as opposed to a magazine? I found the spread in Lula's spring/summer issue entitled "Starlet-Laced", photographed by Justin Hollar, does justice to the poverty-influenced practicality of socks and sensible shoes, but with a more fresh and colourful presentation. Also some House of Holland, with their always wild socks that sure don't suck.

Ericka Lugo

Images Source: Ericka Lugo on vanitasdaily

I'm online at Starbucks, browsing for colour palettes to use in my own illustration work, and lookee what I found! lllustrator Ericka Lugo has a special fashion project on vanitas daily, and the fashion plates are so darn charmant. These quirky drawings offer the perfect infusion of colour and style as would be needed on a rainy day like today.

Truth is I don't like a lot of contemporary fashion illustrations out there, but Ericka's stuff has such a vintage flair to it. From the clean, tapered legs of the figures, to the manilla-tinted backdrop that resembles aged paper, and the refined yet eclectic colour palettes, these elements echo the past, yet the actual outfits and styling are fresh as daisies. It's good to see some artists are reviving the illustrative style of Erte and Poiret, my favourites.

Lots of getting-ready time

It's not that I haven't been enjoying the slower months of winter. But this is usually my most productive time when it comes to making art, and I feel as though I've been squandering my time elsewhere. Dim Sum outings with my friend Mia at Kim Moon, followed by thrifting adventures at Courage My Love. Ramen for Valentines Day brunch at Santouka (also bought myself some pussywillows and chocolate truffles, because I asked Manny to get me something practical for the apartment instead, and I still couldn't resist). Making big batches of Borscht and madeleines, and re-reading the ever-amazing Pullman trilogy His Dark Materials (I'm on the last book!). Much walking through the park, and much painting! I thought I would post a couple of days worth of painting, below my shots of the delicious ramen. The watercolour stuff is more personal, but the illustration works I started in January is still going on, and I will be putting prints into my shop in a short while.

I almost feel as if January 1st was not my new years, that Chinese new years is more accurately the time for me to be celebrating. The reason is purely timing-wise; come March 1st there will be some new and exciting events that will propel me into a more productive and happy environment. These new things have also been the reason for my lack of presence on my blog. I want to support my Vintage shop, Siouxvenir, but there have been a couple things holding me back. This is why:

1) I actually have no internet in my apartment. Now who has the brilliant idea to launch a business online without internet?! The internet is not only an important tool for me when it comes to showing off the goods I'm trying to sell. I'm an artist, and I find image resources online extremely valuable for daily inspiration, as well as a source for imagery (for those who don't have access to live models, and are too sensible to go jetting into the freezing day sketching landscapes!).
Well running across the street to Starbucks, buying a tea and madly fitting in all my internet activities into their schedule (it actually requires quite a lot of organization!), is going the way of the dinosaur (a fitting word for folks like me). I've resolved to get internet into the apartment in March.

2) My roommate is moving out of our apartment on March 1st. We will miss him! Good news is though I will be acquiring a studio space, with ample natural light, and room for all the watercolour/sewing/vintage-selling projects I've been dreaming of and working on. I've known about this for a few months now, and am so full of anticipation just to get in there and set up a proper studio. A friend is also moving and donating lots of neat furniture. I really want to deck out my place in simple, unobtrusive yet very functional pieces of furniture that will establish an environment of few distractions.  I can't describe how ready I am to finally have a studio.

I just have so many projects I want to complete. It is an exciting time! No hibernating for me (well.... maybe just a little of that too).

Bright Times, Thanks to Delpozo

     

 Photos source: WWD

I've just put a round of vintage clothes online (on Etsy shop Siouxvenir!), and have been rewarding myself lately by checking out some slightly less-than-mainstream designers to fawn over. I just came across a Madrid-based label called Delpozo. For those who think our culture is running low on original ideas, which is a legitimate concern, I do believe a few designers are at least bringing fresh perspectives to historical ideas and styles that aren't scraping the bottom of the barrel. Basically I think this collection is reminiscent of Céline's soft, oversized coats from the RTW Fall 2012 collection, but would go on to say that this Delpozo line is ultimately more refined and flattering to me. There is a certain Victorian modesty (floor-length hems, silhouettes that veer away from the body, fabric that is concealing the form) to the shapes. That harshness is absent though thanks to more celebratory colours, and decorative patterns that remind me of gold trinkets worn by Catholic bishops.

The Delpozo Ready To Wear collection for Fall 2013 is so lovely, taking a bright autumn palette of gold, coral, cinnamon into a spring scene of crisp, fresh and airy silhouettes. There is my full dream wardrobe included in this collection: trousers, pretty dresses, diaphanous gowns, and smashing coats (I'll also take the shoes, please!).

I love that you can achieve softness without sacrificing the definition of the dress's silhouette and pleats. Speaking of pleats, whoa! Soft and structured, coral and nude. And the gold embellishments! Spring flowers are pushing through my winter goggles.

Helene Georget "Duette" S/S 2012

Helene Georget's Duette (S/S 2012)

I just discovered Parisian artist Helene Georget and am finding her illustrations more and more irresistible as I explore her site. The wallpaper behind the model is so nostalgic: black & white with train tracks and cliffs from a generic destination. The train and forest motifs evoke a mysterious mood to surround the more upbeat colours of the fabrics. The clothes are so casual, and the prints are exciting, very approachable. Feels like a perfect wardrobe for traveling around the South-Western United States in an airstream trailer. Hair piled high and hair-sprayed up into a bee-hive, fastened with a colourful silk scarf. No make-up, though. Taking photos with a manual camera loaded with black & white film along the journey. But the most perfect thing is that this could be anywhere in the world.

So loving artists right now that cross-over between illustration and textile design. Being able to wear an item that would normally be put on a wall and admired from afar creates such an intimate connection with another person's art. Also it gives people on the street a chance to check out new visual ideas without the intimidation factor of seeking out gallery shows. win/win!

In fact if there wasn't a blizzard going on in Toronto at the moment. If. I would be itching to go on a little trip to the country (and maybe do a little thrift-hunting on the sly). But it is just so wonderful to see the snow falling, falling so much that it doesn't have the chance to become grey and dirty...

source: Helen Georget at Cargo Collective

Muskoka Winter Wildlings

 

A few days ago, a group of buddies and I made the trek up to Muskoka to check out the Muskoka Wildlife Centre, to see what animals were kicking around in the dead of winter. Unfortunately for us the bear was hibernating, but there were plenty of other creatures milling about. Some of the animals were a little shy (or uninterested), like the Grey Wolves and the Fox, but the Bobcat and Lynx were oh so friendly! I'm glad I've got my wild cats straightened out now, because the difference between a Cougar and  Bobcat is night in day; Cougar is horror! Knowing the difference when hiking around Northern Ontario may come in handy some day. The Bobcat & Lynx were irresistibly adorable, with their giant paws and strange house-cat faces, and I kept fantasizing about a cuddle-fest with the Bobcat (who had an eye removed from cancer, giving him a permanent *wink). Another trip is in order, perhaps this summer, when we potentially get to handle the animals.

This trip left me fantasizing about keeping some sort of wild animal as a pet, my favourites being the Bobcat & Fox (and an Owl!). Of course it is illegal to keep any native wildlife as a pet in Ontario (for good reason), but it doesn't stop their images from being incorporated into any artists' visual repertoire (including mine). I thought I'd look for photos of some prolific artists who found a wild animal enter their life, and see how they incorporate this animal bond into their art. My favourite story of artist-animal bonding is of painter Suzanne Valadon, who kept a pet goat in her studio in Montmartre, and would feed her goat with carrots that dangled from her neck like a necklace. Too bad I couldn't find any photo documentation of this! Below is a picture of Frida Kahlo with her deer, and following is Picasso with his little Owl, who flew into his studio one day in  Antibes, France. Coincidentally, both Frida's deer painting and Picasso's owl visitation happened in 1946. I can't stand how fierce Picasso's owl is looking despite that it is just a twee bundle of feathers ! It has that same intensity that Picasso himself possessed, and in the same way the fawn echoes Frida's gentle and beautiful nature.

Painting: Frida Kahlo, The Little Deer, 1946

source for Frida images: here & here 

Photos: Michel Sima, Picasso and an Owl, 1946.

source for Picasso images: here & here

(Leisure Hours, John Everett Millais, 1864, oil on canvas, Detroit Institute of Arts)

Well today is my day off, and I don't know about you, but this is what my leisure time looks like...