Oh Arthur...

I recently finished off this lovely book about Arthur Rackham. I haven't read a biography in forever, so I really enjoyed reading this one, about one of my favourite illustrators.





I love how this book is packed with illustrations. I thought I might share a few of my favourites.

Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii

When one of my dear friends sent me the link to this amazing site, I came across the work of Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii. Prokudin-Gorskii was a Russian photographer around the beginning of the 20th century. Of course I had seen his most famous photograph - the only colour photo of Tolstoy - but had never really thought about just how early it must have been taken! While photography as a form of art has never hugely interested me, I love looking at old photos; I particularly love early colour photographs. I am also madly in love with all things Russian! So many of my favourite books are by Russian authors and I have always dreamed of travelling there. So needless to say, I find Prokudin-Gorskii’s photos amazing. They provide such an amazing view into Russian life at the time. I have spent quite a while reading about his life and photography techniques. These are just a few of my favourite pictures.

[caption id="attachment_477" align="aligncenter" width="353" caption="Tolstoy 1908"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_487" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="1905-1915"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_479" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="1910"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_480" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="1909"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_481" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="1905-1915"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_482" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="1905-1915"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_483" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="1911 or 1912"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_484" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="1912"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_485" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="1910"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_489" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="1905-1915"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_491" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="1905-1915"][/caption]

Frida Kahlo

I am heading to Mexico at the end of the year, and as my trip draws nearer, I am getting more and more interested in all things Mexican! I have loved Frida Kahlo forever, but am getting so excited about having the opportunity to visit her house and see the country which is so strongly represented in her work. I think that, like most people, I am just as interested in Frida Kahlo the person as I am with her actual work, so visiting her house, which has been preserved as a museum, should be such a treat!

The Harrow and the Harvest

I have been a little bit in love with Gillian Welch for quite some time. I bought her latest album – The Harrow and the Harvest - a few weeks ago, not long after it came out. While I was rather excited to have a listen, I decided to save it. I’m heading overseas at the end of the year – to America and Mexico, and I thought that would be the perfect time to hear the album for the first time. Country music must sound better in Texas, right? So I popped it away, hid it from myself, until December. But then my dad kept talking about it, saying how he must buy it, and so I ... er... wrapped it up and gave it to him for Fathers’ Day on Sunday - but not before popping it onto my own iPod. Haha. Worst daughter ever.



Anyway, we have listened to it a few times and, I must say, it’s just the most beautiful album. It’s been 8 years since their last release and I think it was well worth the wait. Like most of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings’ music, it’s the pretty, melancholy feel that makes me really love it.



And me oh my, I just love the artwork by John Dryer Baizley! So lovely.

Vienna: Art and Design

Another one of my favourite things about winter time is the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibitions at the NGV. Yesterday we finally went along to the Vienna: Art and Design Exhibition. I literally look forward to these exhibitions all year and am never disappointed! While it didn’t quite blow me away like the Dali exhibition did a few years ago, it was still pretty amazing! We’re so lucky to have exhibitions of this standard every year. One curator said that Klimt’s portrait of Fritza Riedler would never leave the Belvedere again!



For me, Klimt was definitely the highlight of the show, and Emilie Flöge (1902) was my favourite. I could have looked at it all day. Despite having majored in art history at uni, I got away with never really studying Klimt. That may well be why I like his work so much; I only really judge it on beauty and my initial reaction, rather than background knowledge and analysis. Although, maybe if I had studied Klimt, I would have been less disappointed to discover that it was not the original Beethoven Frieze (1902) which was on display, but a replica! It was still amazing though.





While I’m not usually particularly interested in photography as art, I do love the works of some of the early pictorialist photographers. Heinrich Kuhn was one of the earliest photographers to use photography as a form of art and a few of his works were included in the exhibition. I am particularly in love with his autochromes. Although they didn’t actually have any on display, a number were shown on a little screen alongside lovely Mary Werner (1908).









It's definitely an opportunity not to be missed!

hey there

So I’ve decided to start a blog. I want to share my thoughts, ideas, drawings, yummy vegan recipes and things I make and do. Will anyone read it? Probably not, but I like the idea of making a kind of visual diary and putting it out there - just in case.