Luna Moth Fairy Painting progress

This is how my new Art Nouveau inspired fairy painting is looking so far…

I have been painting it on Fredrix watercolor canvas, which is proving to be somewhat of a challenge as it is very slippery and I am finding that the water-based pigments do not adhere too well on the specially coated canvas. it is also very sensitive to any natural oils that come off one’s hand whilst painting, making in effect waterproof! I will be using acrylic to give this painting more adhesion and substance – will post the next and final stage in the next 2 days…

Thanks for looking! – You can see the first stage of this painting Here

Cat and Moth new Choker style necklaces from my original designs

These necklaces have just been cast in beautiful shiny lead-free pewter right here in South Africa, from designs and wax carvings that I had made a few years ago. I loved the idea of turning my little cat into an unusual necklace, and the moth, or butterfly, was inspired  by the bold designs of the Art Deco era.

The whole process of carving an original design from jeweller’s wax, then casting it with the lost wax process and centrifugal casting is an amazing process and one which I have learned over the last 5 years. I hope to be able to make many more unique and soulful design in the near future…!

The choker style necklaces are really stunning, and are adjustable in length. You can see more of my own jewellery designs: Necklaces, Brooches and even Keyrings here on my online shop.            Or view my exclusive range on the menu bar to the left!

“Luna Moth” : New Fairy Painitng, Art Nouveau style…

It is time for another fairy painting! To me, fairies represent the feminine spirit in Nature: ethereal, transcendent, beautiful and inspiring.

I love the work of Art Nouveau artist Alphonse Mucha  ; his illustrative style is highly decorative yet maintains a wonderful evocative realism that captures the feminine essence within the natural world exquisitely. I also have a fascination for the exotic luna moth and want to combine those two inspirations with the magical ambiance of a crescent moonlit night… ~ You can see more of my original fairy and fantasy paintings here. ~

Here is the quick sketch, and the beginnings of the painting. I am using Fredrix watercolor canvas which is so interesting to paint on. It has a smooth and very watercolour- paper like canvas surface, but one can achieve beautiful blending and painterly techniques.

 

New Art Deco Butterfly Brooch

well !

I have been plundering my collection of glorious Art Deco books and have designed a new brooch. It is cast in lead-free pewter right here in South Africa from my original design which is based on a butterfly-moth combination. You can purchase it internationally by clicking on my online Shop.

Here are some examples of this amazingly versatile art movement which was prevalent for some decades after the end of the First World War. It lent itself imaginatively to many areas of every day life and if I had my way I would lead a resurgence of both this and the Art nouveau movement in contemporary art & design – things are just not as lovingly and originally crafted as they were in these times….!

a beautifully bold chocolate wrapper

an exuberantly colourful painted tile

Studies in Blue

Got the oil pastel and oil paints out to create the first picture “I Dreamed of Silk” – I was enjoying using wax resist again with watercolors and lots of blue. I scraped away textures and symbols into the paint – just experimenting with the medium whilst trying to capture a woman sleeping whilst dreaming she has the wings of a moth, and is kind of wrapped up in her sensual dream of silk.

Still working on it – I feel it needs more black around the wings, like night…

The next picture is rendered in pen, ink and watercolour on blue paper. Still seeing where it’s going. It is a lady of the lake, I think she is a seductress…I will concentrate more on her hair and the flow of it and the water around her. I always love drawing fish – their orange goes well with the overall blue.

Will put them up again here when I finish them!