LONDON
Just woke up in London; home of Big Ben, Prince George and Harry Potter!
Oh - and rows and rows of those amazingly beauty sorbet houses. Can I just move in, already?
TOKYO
Just touched down in TOKYO!
It's no secret that Japan is one of my favourite countries in the entire world and I'm so excited to be starting off my adventure with the bright lights and floral scents of Tokyo + Kyoto.
While I might have JUST missed out on sakura season, I'm bound to be blown away by the azalea and wisteria that will be in full bloom this week. Not to mention the sartorial choices of the cos-playing, colour-loving, Harajuku Girls. KAWAII!
P.S I wish I had the guts to take my hair to this colour...
BELLA HADID X MISHA COLLECTION
New work for luxe Australian label, Misha Collection, and their collaboration with the stunning Bella Hadid.
Attending this year's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia to open and close the Resort '17 show, Bella is also the face of their new 'Misha Gold' line.
I loved working on this image - after all, what can be better than monochrome brush strokes and a Hadid in a little black dress?
View more at www.mishacollection.com.au
Original photograph by Nino Munoz for Misha Collection.
THE LITTLE MERMAID
What girl DIDN'T grow up wanting to be a mermaid at some stage in her life? Looking at you, Ally, if you're reading this!
'The Little Mermaid' is one of the first Disney films that I remember seeing in the cinema. For years I was under the impression that I must have been at least 8 or so. But, no - I was 4! That's right - Disney's version of 'The Little Mermaid' was released in 1989!
You: Whaaaaat?
Me: I KNOW!
Needless to say, my earliest memories of the story were purely those of a sassy Sebastian, Flounder the guppy, and THAT scene which always made my Dad cry; when King Triton gives Ariel her legs back so she and Eric can get married and she whispers 'I love you, Daddy' before sailing off into the sunset. I know, Dad. It was emotional stuff.
So, imagine my HORROR when I first encountered the TRUE story of Hans Christian Anderson's 'The Little Mermaid'. You know, the one where she DOESN'T win the love of her prince (he marries someone else) OR get to keep her legs (they felt like walking on razor blades 24/7 FYI) but disappears instead into a cloud of sea foam, ceasing to exist.
Thanks, Ursula, you sea b*tch.
You can view a 1975 Japanese animation of the original story here. But, be warned - it's v.sad.
(But also kiiiiiiiiinda funny when her name translates simply to 'Princess Mermaid.')
This original ending does not a fairy tale make and just goes to show how sinister our favourite stories were before Walt got his magical, sugar-coated hands on them.
The final line from the 1975 re-telling goes thusly:
"Eventually, The Little Mermaid's soul was allowed to return from heaven to the sea, where it had dissolved to foam with the coming of dawn's first light. From that time on, through her story, the story of her love and her courage, she has guided the wayward hearts of men and so she shall, forever."
For this reason my version of 'The Little Mermaid' does not include a sassy sidekick, a singing crustacean, or even a well-coiffured Prince unable to reciprocate her love.
It focuses purely on the Mermaid herself, who, in my imagination, is something of a magpie of the sea; scouring shipwrecks in search of lost treasures and jewels. Of course in this instance they are sparkling gems of Chanel and Christian Dior, her tail wrapped in Tiffany & Co pearls.
Glittering prints are available in my store here: www.birdyandme.bigcartel.com
More mermaid-spiration below:
Jean Paul Gaultier S/S 2008 on display at the NGV, 2015
Lily Donaldson by Alexi Lubomirski, VOGUE Spain, 2012
Kristen McMenamy by Tim Walker, W Magazine, 2013
Lexi Boling by Laurie Bartley, Numéro China, 2014
Kristen McMenamy by Tim Walker, W Magazine, 2013
Daryl Hannah & Tom Hanks in Splash, 1984
'Untitled' by Alix Malka. Jean Paul Gaultier S/S 2008.
Alexander McQueen S/S 2012
RAPUNZEL, RAPUNZEL
High on a ladder in a Grand Château, amongst a sparkling crystal chandelier and the cascading wisteria and ivy that weaves its way through the large wooden doors, stands Rapunzel.
Although traditionally famous for her golden locks, in my imagination she is a raven-haired beauty, resplendent in a cascading confection of ruffled pink Giambattista Valli tulle.
As a child I had a curious fascination with the story of Rapunzel. While, to a young girl, that mane of glorious hair is the epitome of fairy tale fantasy, the original story is quite sinister - especially the end that sees the Prince blinded by the jealous witch. There was definitely always something a little bit frightening about it, but it captured me none-the-less.
My interpretation focuses on the fashionably-glamorous side of the woman at the heart of the tale rather than the twisted roots of the original.
Fun fact - I started this illustration almost 6 months ago...which is CRAZY. I had almost started to lose track of how long it had been taking me to complete it.
I don't know if it was the minute details, or the constant stopping-and-starting between client projects. As most creatives would understand, you can sometimes lose the enthusiasm for something when it starts to becomes a bit stagnant. But, little by little, I pressed on and finally - I finished! My Mount Everest. I have to say that I'm so glad I kept going as I love how she turned out, and I feel a real sense of accomplishment with this piece. (Although I may not do anything quite so detailed for a while...)
She is the latest in my storybook series, and available in my store now HERE.
I hope you love her as much as I do!
View more Rapunzel-style inspiration below via some of my favourites:
Lily Cole by Tim Walker, VOGUE UK, 2005
Kate Moss by Alasdair McLellan, Another Magazine, 2016
Magdalena Jasek by Maurizio Bavutti, Harper's Bazaar China, 2015
CRUELLA DE VIL
My next storybook femme is a villainous vixen that we all love to hate, the dastardly devious, Cruella De Vil,
from Dodie Smith's '101 Dalmatians.'
While her taste in coats might be questionable, there's no denying that she is fashionably fierce.
As long as the fur remains faux, and no puppies are harmed in the making of her sartorial choices, she's okay by me.
'Cruella' is available as a limited edition print now, in my store here.
I've also been (slowly) working on my version of Rapunzel on and off over the last couple of months, all the while cursing my decision to draw the maiden with the ridiculously long hair in such detail. She has been beyond time-consuming, but hopefully she'll be worth the wait. Stay tuned...
WELL, COLOUR ME HAPPY!
If you don't understand this post's title reference, then you'd better go watch Pretty Woman the very second you close this window!
I channeled my inner Julia Roberts when I finally laid eyes on my illustrated cover for NEXT magazine's February issue which celebrates the current wave of popularity toward colouring books for adults.
I LOVED this concept when it was described to me by the Art Director of the magazine, and jumped at the chance to have my little lady stripped bare for all.
This whole colouring craze FASCINATES ME. Where did it originate? Why did it become such a THING? As a friend recently put it to me, is this what grown-ups have been waiting for their entire adult-lives? A socially-acceptable creative outlet?
I guess to someone like myself, who basically does the aforementioned for a living, (and is also enrolled at the Peter Pan school of adult-ing) it's easy to forget what it's like to have a job that doesn't allow you to express yourself creatively in any way.
I mean, once you leave school you're essentially sent out into the dark abyss that is adulthood, with its myriad of challenges and general life problems that we're immune to as children. And, while it's not ALL doom and gloom - most of the time it's pretty damn cool - it's definitely not as much fun as being a kid can be. I mean when else do you get to spend 6 hours a day pasting glitter on to cardboard?
I kind of love the idea that this whole craze has become a metaphor for adding a little colour and fun to our daily lives - as well as to a black and white sheet of paper.
After all, why should kids have all the fun?
If you're reading this from New Zealand, and you happen to pick up a packet of pencils to colour this baby, I'd LOVE to see your pics of what you end up with!
Funnily enough colouring my illustrations is always the part that takes me the LONGEST time, as I agonise over how much to use, where to place it, when to pare it back or make it bolder. So I'm very intrigued to see how everyone else uses it here...
If you post your pics, add the hashtag #birdycolour so I can find you on Instagram!
HAVE FUN! x
DOROTHY WORE DIOR
Paying homage to another of my all-time favourites for this storybook series.
(See previous interpretations here and here.)
Just like 'Alice in Wonderland', 'The Wizard of Oz' was one of the very few films we owned when I was younger, and definitely one of the very first that I remember watching.
'The Wizard of Oz' also started, for me, a life-long fascination with Judy Garland (do you ever watch 'Meet Me in St .Louis' at Christmas time? It's worth it for Judy's rendition of 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' alone.)
I dreamed of becoming Dorothy when I grew up; hot-footing it along the yellow brick road in those sparkling ruby slippers, trying to get over that rainbow.
So, when writing out the list of favourite fairytales and stories that I wanted to re-create, 'The Wizard of Oz' sat firmly in first with an emerald on top.
Of course Dotty has had a high fashion makeover, and her pals look like they could pull out the baby oil and a boom box at any given moment, but what girl could resist the idea of Dorothy in Dior?
In fact, one of the main inspirations for the piece was this perfectly appropriate gingham gown from the Christian Dior Spring/Summer '12 Haute Couture collection. SO Dorothy.
Christian Dior Couture Spring/Summer 2012, Image via Vogue UK
Just like 'Alice', 'Dorothy Wore Dior' is available in my store as a print in limited editions of 15 A2 and 40 A3 prints, respectively.
I can't even tell you how many hours (upon hours) of Oz-related films and TV shows I watched while working on this illustration....all in the name of art, of course!
If you, too, want more Oz in your life (and let's face it, who doesn't?!) be sure to check out the following:
The Wizard of Oz (1939) Film
Return to Oz (1985) Film
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1986) Animated TV Series
VOGUE's Wizard of Oz (December, 2005) Editorial, Photographed by Annie Leibovitz
Tin Man (2007) TV Series
And, of course, read the original books by L. Frank Baum.
Kiera Knightley by Annie Leibovitz, VOGUE, December 2005
DECK YOUR PHONE
So excited to announce that my 'Kissing Santa Claus' illustration is now available - for a very limited time only - as a phone case via The Dairy to smother your calls in Christmas kisses for the holidays.
Because, on the eleventy day of Christmas my true love gave to me...a giant candy cane and a bunch of mistletoe!
Matching cards are also available.
Purchase cases: www.thedairy.com
Purchase cards: www.birdyandme.bigcartel.com
150 YEARS OF ALICE
My favourite of favourites.
As a child Walt Disney's 'Alice in Wonderland' was one of approximately 5 movies we owned on BETA video. Remember BETA? It came before VHS. Remember VHS? It came before DVD. Remember - never mind. You get the picture.
Along with 'Sleeping Beauty', 'Pinocchio', and 'The Wizard of Oz' I watched it over and over and over again. I read the story books, I devoured the mini-series' (fun fact - there's a slightly terrible but kind-of-amazing 1980s adaptation of both 'Alice in Wonderland' and 'Alice Through the Looking Glass' that stars Sammy Davis Jr as the Caterpillar!)
I've been Alice-obsessed for most of my life, and I have still yet to meet a print edition that I didn't buy. Friends have even lugged precious copies back from overseas travels. See image above.
So, of course there was no question that I would need to pay homage (again) to the most curious of dreamers, Alice, on this, the 150th anniversary of her very first publication.
A Very, Very Un-Birthday to you Alice, darling, dear.
If you would like your very own Alice, I have added her to my print shop, in two sizes.
Limited editions of 40 A3 prints, and 15 A2 prints only.
Click here to purchase.