London Fashion Week: Sister by Sibling

Hello! It’s London Fashion Week again, and I’ve drawn something new for Amelia’s Magazine. This is a look from the Sister by Sibling show, featuring a rhinestone-masked model, massive pink pom-poms and bright, cozy knitwear. As you can see, I went a bit crazy with the colours and patterns, as I am wont to do.

The image on the left is the finished product. The image on the right is the work in product, featuring piles of sequins and rhinestones. (I have a whole shoe-box full of sparkles and glue, as I never know when I might need to bedazzle something at short notice.)

You can see the full write up of the show (with plenty of crazy/cool photos) in Amelia’s Magazine, here.

Red, black and grey: A self portrait.

If you’re new to this blog, you probably don’t know that I love to draw portraits. That’s fair enough – I haven’t drawn one in a long time. I plan to change that, so be prepared.

I really like the colours in the one, with the warm greys contrasting with bright red paint. And, yes, I know I look miserable! I’m afraid that’s just how I look when I’m concentrating. (I’m happy on the inside, I swear.)

If you want to see more of my portraits, here’s one of my grandparents, my friends, and myself.

A tasty sketch: Speculoos Vs. Nutella

Last weekend I went to Brussels, and I brought back a little pot of Speculoos spread. I had noble, gourmet intentions. I was going to add it to brownie batter, or use it to make fudge, or something equally deluxe and exciting.

However, my boyfriend opened the jar – innocently enough – to spread some onto his toast. He may as well have opened Pandora’s box because…well…my drawing speaks for itself:

Given the chance, I will eat things out of  the jar with a spoon… 

…which is why the Speculoos spread has now been moved to the highest shelf of my pantry, right at the back…next to the Nutella. (I’m not joking.)

THE END.

A Valentine: Stuff I Love.

I love a lot of things…including your face.

(I made a card featuring a few of my favourite things.)

Happy Valentine’s day everyone, no matter what you’re doing.

Drawing Lyrics: Somebody That I Used To Know

I haven’t drawn song lyrics in a long time. I used to draw lyrics obsessively… mainly because I also listened to songs obsessively, on repeat. The last time this happened to me was in 2008, when I finally discovered Belle & Sebastian (this song blew my mind). It happened again, yesterday, with this song. I can’t stop pressing replay.

It’s a melancholy little sparkler of a song. It contains xylophones and an Australian, both of which are excellent things.

p.s. I’m an  Australian, so may be biased.

Got The Flu (again)

I am very talented at getting ill on holiday. I got back from Brussels on Monday afternoon, and by evening I was coughing. I now have a fever and have lost my voice. However, there is a silver lining! Being bed-bound always puts me in the mood to draw:

Being ill turns me into a self-pitying drama queen. If you’d like to see some more of my melodramatic sickness sketches, please click here.

The Random Project: Postcards, snails and scribbles.

Hello! Have you heard about the Random Project? In the run-up to the 2012 Olympics, the public has been invited to create hand-made postcards in response to a random keyword they are given. The postcards will then be exhibited in March 2012. I thought it would be fun to take part.

My random word was sport. Now, I’m not the most athletic person in the world, so at first I was stuck. But then I remembered it was about what the word meant to me. And so, I drew a good sport. (I guess that’s what the Olympics are about too.)

This is my favourite one. I like the idea of using a couple of snails to illustrate the idea of ‘sport’. Hee hee.

My initial attempts involved robots, but then I realised I liked snails better.

If you’d like to take part in the Random Project, click here for details.

Elsewhere

Hello!

It’s been quiet around here because I’ve been busy tinkering elsewhere! You may recall that I have another blog, called Top 5 Photos. It is finally up and running again after a major overhaul, and I’m pretty pleased with the result.

TOP 5 Photos simply consists of my TOP 5 images in various categories. I choose a theme, and then scour the internet (and my photos) for 5 images which best fit that theme. If you like art and photography, make sure you take a look!

p.s. Expect arty updates soon!

Pink Sky: New Year Doodling

Hello there! I’ve been very quiet lately, haven’t I?

I haven’t been doodling much in the last few weeks (doodler’s block, I believe it’s called). However, this morning I awoke from a dream that made me want to reach for my pen. This is a quick sketch I did this morning.

In my dream, I was hanging out in a garden with my late grandfather, like we did when I was a kid. The grass was wet, and I was walking barefoot, climbing into flowerpots and feeling my feet sinking into damp soil. An evening worth drawing, no?

The dialogue is in Greek. For a bigger version (with subtitles!) please click here.

p.s. Happy new year!

Private Commission: Joy In Small Places

Hello! This is a brand new piece, called ‘Joy In Small Places’. It was commissioned by someone who wanted something bright and happy for their new home. This was a hugely enjoyable piece to work on – it’s lovely when a client suggests something that triggers off a flood of ideas! In this case, my client wanted a piece inspired by Islamic art. No faces, no animals, just a sea of elaborate patterns.

This is the biggest commissioned piece I’ve ever worked on. It is loaded with sparkling rhinestones and luminous acrylic pearls, as well as lots of silver ink. I love the way it shimmers in dim light, and I like the way the stark black patterns keep it from being too ‘girly’.

I hope you like it, Miss T!

A Very Thefty Christmas!

Hello everyone!

Just a quick reminder that my online store is open for Christmas shopping, with the last UK orders going out on December 17th. There are Christmas cards galore, as well as colourful art prints and posters, photographic prints, and original paintings too!

You could get these for a dinosaur lover, or this poster for someone who’s an Apple junkie! There’s a print for a book lover here, and something for a sweet-tooth over here. Oh, and what about your lover? Wouldn’t they like this? (The answer is yes.)

Prices start from £1.50, and a large A2 print is less than £33. I try to price my prints and cards so that people like me can afford them!

Thanks to everyone whose already done their shopping in my store. If you fancy anything, please get your orders in quick! There’s only a week to go!

Christmas ‘Cootie Catcher’

Hello! As a Christmas present for all of you, I’ve made a printable Christmas ‘cootie catcher’! I think it would make a funny little stocking stuffer, or a cute decoration on the Christmas table! I hope you like it.

The fortunes are as eye-roll-inducing as you’d hope. (See below for the rest of them!)

The template below can be printed straight onto A4 paper (click here for full size version). All you need to do is print it, cut off the excess at the bottom, and fold it up! (Folding instructions here.)

Happy fortune telling! Let me know if you decide to print some – I’d love to know what you do with them!

p.s. Don’t forget – I’ve also got a bunch of Christmas cards in my shop, in case you haven’t bought yours yet!

John’s birthday: A sketch.

When my brother was little, he had an obsession with rockets (evidence here). My mum’s the kind of awesome mum who made spectacular birthday cakes, and one year, John got a rocket cake (see it over here). John is all grown up now, but I thought I’d make him a rocket cake anyway, in the best way I know.

Happy birthday, John.

Hope it’s OUT OF THIS WORLD! Love, your sister.

p.s. If I lived in the same country as my bro, I’d have printed this out as a HUGE poster and used it as a party backdrop. But, alas, he’s far away! Sigh. (On that note, kitsch party banner commissions are welcome!!! Ha! But, seriously.)

Burnt Sugar: Robots & Fudge.

Hello! Burnt Sugar is a company that makes really good fudge (I used to work near Borough Market and, trust me, I’ve sampled it more than once). Burnt Sugar are running a competition to design the packaging for their Borough Market Bag.

Here is my entry! I described it as ‘Mr. Fudge-Bot and the Lumpy Bumpy fudge are pictured in the fudgy hall of fame.’

The winner is decided by vote, so please click here to vote for me! Any votes for my fudge-bot would be greatly appreciated!

Thefty @ Sunday Upmarket

Guess what? I’m taking my wares and hitting Brick Lane! For the last four Sundays before Christmas (dates below) I’ll be selling Christmas cards, prints and posters at the Sunday Upmarket on London’s Brick Lane.

I’ll be sharing a stall with two creative ladies (see here and here). If you’ll be in East London doing your Christmas shopping, make sure to come and say hello!

Click here to view the Facebook event!

Market dates: Nov 27th / Dec 4th / Dec 11th / Dec 18th

Of course, if you’re not in London, then you can still shop online. Check out my shop over here!

London Skies: A Private Commission

Hello! This piece was commissioned by an Aussie living in London. She’s here for a limited time only, and she wanted this painting to serve as a non-corny souvenir! Here’s the finished product (I wish metallics weren’t so hard to photograph!):

The words are lyrics from a Jamie Cullum song, and they say, ‘The sunlight always shines behind the clouds of London Skies‘. I was asked to include these words in the painting, and they inspired a lot of the imagery.

If you look closely, you’ll see the Queen having a G&T with her corgi, a squirrel tea party, the London Eye on a bad hair day, a pigeon, Kate and Wills, a lot of rain, and quite a lot more. I hope you like it Miss A!

Feasibility Study (commissions and contraptions)

Hello! I’ve just finished a brand new private commission! After chatting with my client, we settled on an eccentric contraption, featuring the word ‘feasible’ (he’s an engineer, which is fitting). Teal and gold were his colours of choice.

I had so much fun working on this. Dinosaurs, robots, speech bubbles, metallics, ridiculous details … all my favourite things on one canvas. Here are some close-ups:

I emailed these pictures to my client last night, and the reply was:

‘I’m so excited,and I just can’t hide it, I’m about to lose control and I think I like it!’

Hooray! I hope you enjoy it Mister R! (To everyone else: don’t hesitate to email me if you’re considering commissioning something! theftyart@gmail.com)

Thefty does Christmas cards!

Hello! If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you’ll have noticed that I’ve been designing Christmas cards. I’m pleased to announce that they’re ready! If you’d like to buy them, click here to visit my shop.

I’m selling the cards in packs of six (with two designs per pack).They can also be bought individually (the individual cards are hand-decorated with acrylic rhinestones, which I think looks extra cool).

I realise that frogs, kiwi fruit and dinosaurs are not exactly traditional Christmas imagery. However, I think the cards look festive and joyful, which is what the Christmas season is about for many people. I hope they make you smile!Click here to buy cards from my art shop! (Oh, and keep in mind that art prints make great Christmas presents, wink wink.)

p.s. I baked the cupcakes and gingerbread robots featured on the cards – I can confirm that they were very tasty.

Rainbow Aztecs

Hello! For Halloween, I thought I’d show you my ‘Aztec Mask’ drawings.

I don’t know why I gave them this name, as they bear very little resemblance to Aztec masks. Maybe it’s the toothy grins and precious stones?  Either way, mine are more colourful and less…sinister.

I have made a blue version and a rainbow version, and you can find them both in my print shop. Click here!

Sketchbook Characters

Hello! I am one of those people who has about ten sketchbooks on the go at any given time. I don’t know how it happens, but it does. The result is that I draw things and then forget about them until I stumble upon them months (or years!) later. I decided to look through some of my sketchbooks yesterday, and some of the stuff really made me laugh:

There was a fair bit of material, so I posted the rest in a Facebook album, here. Check it out!