job done

It has taken a while but I have finally finished re-upholstering a couple of sofas, a job I started months ago, the fabric was a £5.00 per metre bargain from Brixton market so not much lost if it all went wrong. New sofas prompted me to make a few other changes, new shelves above the sideboard - these are vintage dutch Tomado shelves - hours of fun arranging things, and a new colour in the kitchen. The books just because I love them!

wise words

I am full of admiration for a married couple that can work together (frankly, I am full of admiration for a couple that can even live together - but now is not the time or place!) These two, Alice and Martin Provensen are my current favourite illustrator pair, working together from the 1950's, they were also creators of breakfast hero Tony the Tiger. My sister and I are slightly competitively hunting down their portfolio of beautifully illustrated children's books and I know she will be coveting this one. Aesops Fables retold by Louis Untermeyer with the loveliest illustrations packed full of funny little details and busy characters.

cats everywhere

I spent some time over Christmas researching cats for my Pisces illustration for Red Magazine (I think I was feeling a bit mean at the time, those poor little fish) A great source of inspiration was my small collection of Cat story books from the 1960's written by Joan Cass with stunning illustrations by William Stobbs. And favourite ceramics from around the house a cat bank by Briglin pottery and cream jug by Arabia Finland.

goat love

I have been researching goats, and heres a fabulous one from American illustrator Abner Grabof. He illustrated a huge portfolio of amazing childrens books in the '50s and '60s, fantastic colour, design and humour, love it.

More about him here on the very entertaining and informative Fishink blog.

weekend in pictures

We spent the weekend in Broadstairs looking after Otis, pictured here with his sad look. The illustrations are from one of my sister's vintage books, a lovely but battered edition of A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Lewis Stevenson, with appropriate illustrations by Alice and Martin Provensen. So lovely that I found one on Abebooks and ordered it for myself (at a bargain price, the other editions on the site must be in tip top condition as they are hugely expensive). I visited a rain-lashed boot fair on Sunday. Not much to be found apart from this Briglin daisy pattern pottery bowl and a set of six whale shaped teak placemats (the sort of slightly mad thing only ever found at a boot fair) which I was going to buy but forgot. I wish I had snapped them up as I am pretty sure that whales are set to be the new owls, everybody loves a whale.

****!

Isn't it annoying when you spend a lot of money on a new computer and within a month you can't use the fancy new wireless keyboard and mouse because the bluetooth stops working grr...

(The picture from The Story of William Tell with illustrations by Aliki published in 1960)

dragon tales

Happy Chinese new year! it's the year of the dragon. This one is not very Chinese but one of my favourites. St George and the Fiery Dragon by Elizabeth and Gerald Rose published in the sixties. Fabulous exuberant illustrations and a happy ending, the remorseful dragon promised to stop eating beautiful maidens so they gave him a large parcel of pancakes and sent him on his way.

and pepper

I was digging around looking for my other Let's Read and Find Out books and I came across my old copy of Mrs Pepperpot to the Rescue. I loved Mrs Pepperpot! This children's classic by Norwegian writer Alf Proysen was published in 1963, illustrations by Bjorn Berg.

textures 2

  

Another place to look for textures, one of my favourite books The Big River by Elizabeth and Gerald Rose. It tells the story of a river from its start in the mountains, so the story line is a bit predictable! but beautifully illustrated by Gerald Rose.