My artwork is being exhibited!

Hello everyone!

Sorry I haven't posted in literally months... woops.. I've been so so busy!

Firstly, I have just started my final year at Uni so been bogged down with dissertation stuff. I've also been getting really back into my fitness regime after a super greedy Summer.. but lastly, I've finally started expanding my portrait business!! I am so so excited about this. Up until now I've been doing the odd bespoke commission for people.. but now my little venture has taken a new direction - my stuff is being exhibited in a shop!

After being approached by Violet Rose Vintage in Shrewsbury, I've started to put together a small collection of pieces based on 50s and 60s icons. Here are a few of the pieces that are now up in the shop!

"Audrey Hepburn in blue" A3, watercolour and marker pen

"Elvis" A3 in gouache and pen

"Marilyn in pinks and whites" A3 in acrylic and marker pen

'Twiggy in blue' A2, in gouache, oil and watercolour paint.

Please please please pop in and have a look! I am really hoping that some of my work sells. :)

10A St John's Hill  Shrewsbury SY1 1JD

01743 232831

My favourite items at the moment...

My loooovely housemates had a little surprise in store for me the other day. Coaxed to the Bullring despite a hangover from Hell, I was greeted upon my arrival with a...

PIZZA HUT BIRTHDAY PARTY!

No joke, salad bar, ice-cream factory: the lot. I am not lying when I say I was moved to tears.

And to top it all off, they bought me a prezzie too... This gorgeous rucksack.

 

 

Upon asking where it had been sourced from, I was answered with an ambiguous "somewhere" - which gives me a sneaky feeling it may be from U.Outfitters. (Getting stuff from there as a present is a delight - don't get me wrong. I just disagree with their business morals. I do not disagree with this bag - it's amazing.)

As well as this bag, I've treated myself to a new "school bag." Getting a new school bag was always one of the few perks of going back to school.

Year after year I would pester my mum for the latest must-have bag - which were mainly, in hindsight, horrendous. I endured the Warehouse epidemic, the Jane Nor fad and I even have faint memories of being the envy of my friends with a (somewhat dykey) Animal rucksack. But any way - here it is...

 

Only £18 in the monsoon sale. YUM.

Now, just because it's snowing does mean you shouldn't look G. I've been LIVING in my pink Timberlands. Great grip, eye-catching.. I get a lot of sticks from the housemates for looking like a single mum called Shaneekwa but I love them. They're so sturdy. And make me feel a bit less white. :)

Pat Butcher, eat ya heart out

I have been a very very spoiled girl this year.

 

I don't really know where to start - but I think it all really started a few weeks when I was round at my Grandma's house. It was the start of the Christmas holidays, and I was happily chilling with Grandma when the inevitable question arose:

 

"Have you thought about what you want for Christmas?"

 

I hate this question because I always feel like I'm being really greedy by asking for something. My Grandma has always been excellent at presents, but as I've got older she's asked me what I want so that she knows it'll be something I will actually wear/use.

 

So I bit the bullet.

"I really really want a fur coat."

 

My Grandma smiled slightly put down her sewing.

"That's handy," she said.

 

Now I should give you some background information here. My Grandma, having had my mum at 19, is a pretty young Grandma. She's very feisty, and is never seen without a full head of highlights. In short, she's a very trendy (ew, hate that word) Grandma, and cares a lot about what she looks like. Which I guess is maybe where my mum gets it from, and in turn, where myself and my sisters get it from.

 

"I have one up in my loft. I was planning to send it to the Hospice Shop with Grandad."

 

 

 

This is my Grandad. ^ My Grandad is the love of my life. He's very soppy and silly and has spoilt us girls rotten all our lives. He's retired but he works in a charity shop for the local Hospice every Friday. Before I knew it, Grandma had dispatched Grandad to crawl around in the loft to look for the garment in question. I waited in excitement until I heard the words:

 

"Here it is! I've got it!"

 

It. Is. Perfect.

 

A dark mahogony brown, with a small, single latch to fasten it at the front. The sleeves are just long enough for my lanky arms - which is always a pain for me when buying jackets. It's a size 12, but that's okay because I can always wear one of my big chunky jumpers underneath to pad it out.

 

 

The photo just doesn't do it justice... but I'll upload some photos of me wearing it soon! (It's not actual fur by the way. Just in case you were wondering. I know I have admitted before that I am all for fur but this is faux-fur, and therefore even better.)

 

I've worn this coat to death ever since Grandma gave it to me. I've worn it out for meals, I've dressed it down with jeans and boots in the day... I even wore it to bloody Morrison's for God's sake, and I have never felt more middle class in my life.

 

 

 

I've been called everything from Pat Butcher to Cruella but the truth is - when I wear this coat I feel fabulous. and it has that gorgeous 'Grandma smell' that we all know and love.

 

So thank you, Grandma!

I have been made a very happy girlie with this coat.

Macklemore - Thrift Shop

Everyone should listen to this song. It literally sums my blog up in about 3 minutes. Plus it's as catchy as Chlamydia!

Ode to thrift

At dawn I wake, with good intent

To make sure all my money's spent

I'll head to town, I will not wait,

Knowing my day will surely be great.

don't have a job, hence little cash,

To squander on this worthy trash.

But what I've got, I must make sure,

Is destined for velvet, silk and fur.

I head to Digbeth, knowing full well that,

There I will find my abundant tat

I'm greeted by satin in all patterns and shades,

My desire for bright colour never fades.

Before I know it, my hands are full,

With denim jackets, blouses, and wool

It smells of must, but I don't care,

Some are even a little threadbare.

I try them all on and to my delight,

They all fit wonderfully, perfectly right!

It's amazing how, in piles of junk,

One can find such wonderful funk.

I dash to the counter, tenner in hand,

This escapade has gone just as planned.

So remember this, my frivolous friends,

A real fashionista customises and mends.