art inspiration : black and white love

 

One good thing about losing my old stuff is that I gave myself  some time to go on a search for more wonderful artists that are out there and somehow I found myself stumbling on this artists online home

and fell in love with her work.

Without the need to detail her portraits, she manages to capture every emotion in soft brush strokes, splotches of black ink, acrylic and varnish. I love that she can do that ... 

Sometimes you don't need colour.

Sometimes simple black and white does the trick.

Sometimes it's all you need.

the one that i love

i fall in love with this man more and more everyday.

...... and i love him in his chef whites; it was what he was wearing the day i first met him.

see the way he thinks at food the way i see it.

one day his feet will be bigger than mine

..... and it is not too far away.

I'll blink and it'll happen in no time.

london dreaming

I had to write a list for a question on a friends blog on things I missed about London food. and became nostalgic.  In a place where food is known to be bland, my list was surprisingly long and easy to fill up.

Oh, I miss it, more than just the food. I really do.

My culinary "miss" list:

1.  Pork and leek sausages

2.  Tesco's Finest Angus Aberdeen Rib Eye steak and lots of other Tesco things. Oh, and Sainsbury's too!
3. Good sushi to go. Sometimes my friends and I would walk to the Japan Centre in Picadilly Circus to catch the 5pm 50% off sushie they were selling, which was still fresh, and in the summer we would take our boxes over to Green Park and chomp away on our yummy and still fresh, cheap sushi! :)
4.  Pret-a-Manger.
5.  THE CHEESES! What a wonderful selection.... When I was up for it, I'd walk to Whole Foods in Kensington and head straight to the huge, refrigerated cheese room and treat myself to a chunk of Manchego with quince jelly.
6.  Solero Exotic fruit Sorbet Ice Cream
7.  Healthy ready made meals, especially the ones from Waitrose. They were perfect for the nights I didn't have enough time to cook.

8.  Sunday Roasts at the local.

9.  Gastro pubs. I love the concept of hanging out at a somewhat contemporary pub with history to drink beers on tap but also be able to eat gastronomic, restaurant food in the same spot.

10.  I miss my favourite restaurants! Busaba Ethai, with three spots in Central London. My fave is their Thai Green Pepper Calamari. Belgo's Centrale in Covent Garden for AMAZING mussels by the pot, my local pub (The Queens Head in Brook Green) for last minute meals out, Wagamamas around the city for ramen cravings, and most importantly Chelsea Bun in Fulham for their English breakfasts! Oh the wonders of the English fry-ups....

11.  Good and  reasonably priced berries. Strawberries, rasperries, blueberries....

12.  Fresh bread that doesn't need to be put in the fridge.

13.  Magners Cider. Yes, it's not food but I still miss it.

14.  The chocolates. Galaxy especially. I can buy it here, but it's not on every corner shop. It's in one shop and three times the price.

15.  Smoked salmon, cream cheese and onion bagel from Oi Bagel.

Ah, so much more. but I think it's time to stop before I buy a ticket over to London to eat all of this.

because i love doors and windows

“Our senses are indeed our doors and windows on this world, in a very real sense the key to the unlocking of meaning and the wellspring of creativity.”

--Jean Houston

What is it about doors and windows that cause my lens to gravitate in their direction?

Is it that I am curious of what stories lie behind each shutter?

Or that maybe I often create fairytales in my head about situations that may exist once each door is shut?

But sometimes i just like the door. An object of entrances and exits, exteriors and interiors. Suggestively symbolic or generically typical. Ancient or modern.

And sometimes I just think the window is pretty. An object of openness and privacy. Blatantly uncovered or mysteriously restricted. Aged with time or contemporary glimmered glass.

Sometimes it's just because they captivate me.

Just like that.

the way it is

art inspiration : Meo, Watinee Paleebut

okay, so i've been a little under the weather .... but now there has been a little time to kickstart my inspiration folders again. i grieved for awhile now, grieved for my 'because' folders that were lost in the massive fry-up my hard drive decided to do. and now that i'm in the acceptance and moving forward stage., i'm beginning to love my computer again.

and what a way to start filling my folders up once again.

this artist from bangkok made my heart do a little dance when i first chanced upon her work through 'simply hue'. her illustration style is very girly, with her delicate lines (by now you must know i fall hard for delicacy), her pink hues and dark dramatic shadows. i love that she layers her curvy lines over hair, dramatizes lips with dark colour, but also how she mutes her lines in her fashion illustrations by using soft brush strokes for highlights and shadowing. i couldn't help but collect and save almost EVERY picture from her blog, me & a cup of hot chocolate .

i love it, i love her style and i love how she uses her illustration talent to sell scarves (which i would totally wear), postcards and even wrapping paper in her Etsy store. 

this chick knows how to work her talent and it's great. one of my favourites.

i needs to get me one of those beautiful scarves.