Once Upon : Cinderella

thursday met us with a heatwave and also the opening of once upon at ambush gallery. the night was quite overwhelming in all its delight! putting aside melting makeup and a stifling temperature, my friends and i travelled down to ambush gallery. coincidentally three of us were dressed in black and looked like a funeral posse. behind the golden arches of McDonalds hid ambush gallery and a swarm of art adorers and fairytales bordered by white baroque frames. i had to step outside and compose myself a few times. the quantity and quality of art shown was astounding. i am just so glad i was lucky enough to be able to take part. overwhelmed, i was so overwhelmed!
all in all, the night was stellar. i met some lovely people, saw alot of great art and enjoyed wine, free frankie magazines and the company of my extraordinarily supportive friends.
highlights of the night included seeing works by courtney brimms, bec winnel and sarah mcneil in the flesh, midnight nachos with alejandro, beetle brooches, nervous conversations and fran drescher adoration.
i was also pleased to find that one of my paintings had sold on the first day! yay.
the exhibition and leeloo pop up store are open until the 22nd of November, so go and have a look if you live nearby.
(4a James street, Waterloo, Sydney.)
p.s. if you are interested in buying works, there are some available here:
http://onceuponexhibition.wordpress.com/art-for-sale/

current work and sneak peeks

i finished all four cinderella themed paintings for the once upon exhibition and sent them in. the opening night is next thursday (the 19th) at ambush gallery in sydney and i am realllly looking forward to it. i cant show the final paintings until the show happens, so these sneaks will have to suffice.



ive gone through a weird melancholy bout of ennui and havent even wanted to touch a paintbrush. i guess this comes and goes in waves. so i had to imaginarily slap myself in the face and get going again. there are alot of drawings waiting to be coloured in.





and to my surprise, when flipping through the latest frankie magazine, i found my swan girl sitting there.
also, amelia at further ado asked me some questions about my art, and so there is a little interview here: http://www.furtherado.net/2009/11/06/work-it-caitlin-shearer/




goodbye dear diary, cyberspace unknown world, full of crop circles and stuff.
(p.s. crop circles. made by aliens or not???)

tap shoes vintage + closet cleanout

in an attempt to de-clutter my life, i am slowly getting rid of everything that i own.


 tap shoes vintage store
& & &
i am parting with too many black dresses on ebay

the leaning tower of cats

i do love cats. i want a whole collection of them.
my little cat mouschi burrows under rugs and then falls asleep.
he eats our food if we leave a plate unattended and he loves me so! i love him back!
he is a bit of a wobbly uncoordinated cat and is getting to be quite the fatty.
this is him as a kitten:









p.s.
RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY. I NEED TO WALK TO THE POST OFFICE.

cinderella

a sneaky little look at some unfinished work that will eventually be shown at the once upon exhibition.

a philly and a diary

my girls have been featured in a picture perfect online zine.
www.nicoladiary.com


PHILLIPA
is just a girl.

picnic at hanging rock

miranda



irma leopold

leeloo presents: once upon

i dont think i have ever been so excited about an art show before!
leeloo and ambush gallery are teaming up to put on a show of extraordinary talent that should not be missed. each lovely female artist has been assigned a fairytale and will create four special artworks just for the show.
and the best thing is that i have been asked to exhibit!
my theme is cinderella, and i will be posting some progress shots here on the blog, but if you want to see the final works, youve gotta scoot over to the show!

if you live in sydney, please do come! (invite all of your friends!!!)
here is the facebook invite, for more info and friend inviting.
it really is going to be superbly magical opening night.
im dreaming up a princess-ish costume to wear already. a pink rose garland crown and im thinking a beautiful white lace dress.

x caitlin.

frankie photo book + ghost + sneak peek

whee whee. the frankie photo book has been released and one of my photos is inside!
ive been reading frankie since the 2nd issue, adoring the florals and dresses and girlishness... and so this is one dream fulfilled.
fingers crossed they might publish my drawings sometime. thats another dream! :)



& a salt shaker ghost i found at a thrift store. he has a brother who holds pepper and they join together to hug.


p.s. some new ladies i have been working on. hermitude painting time!

beeyoootifull

a. on monday i spent the whole day drawing until my fingers were almost blistered. i am happy with the way things are evolving.
b. insomnia, why are you haunting me all of a sudden? i prefer sleeping and dreaming of tv characters. donald draper, eyeloveyew.
c. wasting all my gold coins on claw machine games and never winning hello kitty pillows or bears with zipper backs.
d. butter sugar donuts. light as clouds.
e. david lynch. a genius among men. would you like to see him give a report on the weather? yes you would!
f. friends are fun and i love friends.
g. nicola diary.com. pretty as a baby peach. (my girls are hiding in there.)
h. dream house complete with unicorn taxidermy and chaise lounges.


and here are some pictures of my paintings. glimmering close ups and a blonde girl who didnt make the final cut.

UFO

a birthday present painting for my BFF (and ultimate pun master) Nicky Minus!

the dress is made entriely of glitter and looks pretty special in the light.
the wall stripes and alien laser beam are done in an iridescent powder paint, which glows violet or green, depending on which angle you view it from.

ALIENS AND SKELETONS AND PUNS AND SPARKLY PUMPKINS FOREVER!

(oh, & if you wanna be freaked out have a look at the panama alien.)

mirrors, group art show in sydney

this coming wednesday (the 14th) is the opening night of mirrors, a group show with the theme of self image and inner beauty. if you are in sydney, i suggest you check it out! many great artists are taking part, and it looks to be a lovely show.



general viewing runs from the 15th to 24th of october, and all nominated works sold raise money for the butterly foundation.

my painting dahlia will be a part of this show, which i am very excited about. it's actually a bit of a weird coincidence that i was asked to be involved with mirrors. it turns out that Sarah o'Rourke, the organiser, was the girl who i spotted at the local shops, carrying one of my limited edition tote bags!

for more info on mirrors, have a look at the facebook invite or the blog.

some newish paintings

Why did i ever stop drawing boys?
They are the most beautiful things in the world.

Before falling asleep, this binocular toting boy appeared in my head.
Of course the paintings didn't turn out anything like what i had imagined.
I've never done two paintings of the same character before. Maybe he can be my lovelorn mascot.



there are plenty more fish in the sea.
i am looking for you,
are you looking for me?



fish'n'chips



A commissioned portrait of a little boy named Sacha.



fruit salad.



just a quick experimental painting. to get my hands used to holding a paintbrush.



good things:
if you buy four orange penguin classic books, you get a free umbrella.
squid leg sushi.
my brassiere painting is currently showing at extended play gallery in melbourne.
an exciting collaboration is currently underway.
waiting with much anticipation for the new lula mag to arrive in my mailbox.
dreaming of charles anastase dresses.
homegrown flowers.
meringues baking in the over (as i type!).

we are healthy

yael frankel has released a new collaborative colouring book, and the picture that i submitted made it to the front cover.
fruit salad pants! dont you wish these were real?
(photos by yael frankel.) to pick up an issue, head to: www.yaelfran.etsy.com








and a progress shot of a girl who floated out of the paper after i watched picnic at hanging rock. (...........mirandaaaa, where are youuuuuu?).
that film is the older sister of the virgin suicides. (a haunting musical score, languid girls in white dresses, loss and the sorrow that follows.)




a very weird and very full week has come to an end.
drawings of boys are swimming into my head, fully realised.
i dont want to see another gravestone for the rest of the year.
the world both repels and entices me.
and i have come to the conclusion that i do not actually like hitchcock.

what i wore

my outfits from one heck of a bender weekend.







current obsessions:
the partridge family
boys
boys
boys
sailors

niotillfem

Ever since i immersed myself in blogland, i've been following Sandra Beijer, a very pretty swedish girl whose wardrobe i would like as my own. With her immaculate fashion taste and sweet little bob of blonde hair, sandra looks like a girl i would imagine in my painted world.
Sandras blog niotillfem chronicles her outfits, adventures, food and friends. So it came as a very nice surprise when she asked me to design her blog header!

extended play gallery

If you live in Melbourne you should go and have a look at this exhibition, curated by Catherine Campbell, to celebrate the opening of her own gallery!
I'm so excited to be exhibiting against some of my favourite Australian artists.

what i wore on the 16th.

maaaad mennnnnnn.

Cybele Bertrand

I feel like i have been working on this girl for almost a month now... (On and off)
...But i doubt it has really been that long. The skirt was meticulous and took the longest time.

I imagine that Cybele has (finally!) moved into her own apartment.
She has been there for about a month, enough time for new flowers to bloom outside.
She painted the garden walls white, even though the landlord wouldn't allow such things.
We will have to keep her little secret safe. And now that she is living on her own, Cybele can drink gin whenever she wants.

what i wore today

for the best ever flickr pool, WHAT I WORE TODAY.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/whatiworetodaydrawings/pool/
http://whatiworedrawings.blogspot.com/

prussian blue

ive been drawing things non-stop.
never in my life have i had this much work to do.
except my world still revolves around episodes of the nanny at 3:30 pm every day.
what will fran drescher wear? that is the most important question.





1. some fires were lit in the bush (by the fire brigade) behind my house, to burn off excess leaf litter.
except the smoke just travelled right into my house and almost caused asphyxiation and headaches to everyone here.

2. i went op-shopping on friday and managed to find a tonne of good stuff.
+
a print by chad at monpetitfantome and a bunny brooch by emelie lindberg.
plus a pair of ferragamos that are unfortunately too small for me.

the witching hour

WITCH























(cast a spell,
and kiss their eyelids.)
pretend pretend pretend.

LADY boutique

LADY BOUTIQUE

 is full of delectable dresses made by petrova hammond (of project runway fame).

and right now, some of my art is adorning the walls.

they are for sale, and while they are still available, its a good chance for you to give these girls a good home or take a look at them in real life.

LADY - SHOP 3, 237 FLINDERS LANE - MELBOURNE (enter via Scott Alley)

cotton cloud carnation

a few months i ago, i designed this blog header for nadia bailey, a lovely australian fashionista.
she also interviewed me on sunday! so if you wanna read my gushings about the shins and stuff, go visit nadiabailey.com.

also, have you heard of the scribble project?

its a group where anyone can doodle on fun little questionnaires.
here is one i made, which is now available to win! all you have to do is get involved. <3

brassiere

hunch back of notre dame, i suppose.
(who do you show your bra to?)
bedsheets mainly.




heyheyhey its time to leave the envelope of your bedroom and start seeing faces that arent painted on paper again. what shoes shall i wear?

sea legs

so, i know its about five years too late, but i have a huge crush on the shins.






( you had to know that i was fond of Y-O-U. )
i wish one day i could make some gig posters for these guys. what a dream.

t shirts.

Drum roll please.
I am so excited to reveal my first ever range of t shirts!
Wearable art has been something I've wanted to get into for ages now, and so i am very, very happy to present these little beauties to you. okay! here goes:


My illustrations on american apparel %100 cotton tees!
They have been printed using direct to garment printing and are so soft.
I've been wearing my own ones alot. I love them! And as a girl who never wears t shirts, thats saying something.
They look really cool tucked into high waisted jeans or velvet skirts and you can even roll the sleeves up if you want.


ponytail



bobbypin



the most beautiful prince



funny face



the bleeding knees club


They are available to buy from my etsy shop: pepperminte, or directly from redbubble.


xo xo xo
love always,
from caitlin.

home made confetti

once when i was younger i went to a party and there was a pastel coloured pony. someone had used hairspray to make it rainbow. i also heard that you can dye white cats into colours by using kool-aid. i dont have a white cat, but if i did, i would turn him pink! i also would like a little pink poodle with fluffy ears.
i just cant seem to say goodbye to pastels, no matter how much i tell myself that im going to be sombre and serious.

pocketto zine

http://www.pockettozine.com

a few weeks ago i was asked to design the cover for the YOUTH issue. (many thanks to Emma Do.) and here it is!
with youth in mind, i conjured up some kittencats, floating in the clouds, and a girl with a tender, mischevious smirk.
so, if you like DIY fashion, eccentric jewellery and purdy photos, then you will like pocketto!
its online and free, so hop on over and give your eyes a treat.



and here is the original, entitled cardboard clouds.
i guess watching a million re-runs of the nanny has been my inspiration for such clashing prints. harlequin+feline= yeah!

hideaway homehouse

the milk of human kindness.
the treasures inside your mailbox.
i am in love with fran drescher as the nanny.



something i am working on & my desk with broken paintbrushes & then some photos from last summer.

this was lurking in our fridge...

a mutant banana. how creepy!

BOBBY

so this little guy has been lounging around in my bedroom for weeks and weeks now.
waiting to be drawn in properly, waiting to be stretched onto a board, waiting to be painted, waiting for his face to be changed again and again.



and the moral of this story is,
no one can find you if you hide out on the roof.

also, ive been spending hours making patterned paintings. they are for sale now over at www.pepperminte.etsy.com. i think i get obsessed very easily. hooray for masking fluid!!!

cashmere club

please say hello to my new friends, cashmere club. (across the ocean friends, pen pal partytime.)
cashmere club is made up of maren hoopfer, john mark, and a bunch of extremely talented young americans. the club is a home (imagine it to be a treehouse covered in ivy and propping up branches filled with bluebird nests.) to photos, writing, music, drawings and goodgoodgood things.
well, i am pretty much in love with the photography of maren and john. its not often that i come across such romantic and truthful work. its a land of reverie and magic and thoughtful charm and tree trunks and potted flowers. i am very very very fond of them.
see, i think of lots of good sentences in my head before i go to sleep, but when i sit down at the computer all is lost. i cannot describe it properly, but when i see their photos my heart swells and i can only believe that that is a good thing. (one of the very best things.) so i hope that you feel the same when your eyes get to view the photos that they take.

:)

p.s.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/polioandearlgrey/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnhanson/

magnificent magazine

LATELY!
lots and lots of baking of cakes because we finally got a toaster oven.
bad tv and good tv.
50's fair tomorrow!
beluga by beirut. (sleeping in a grey ocean.)


i forgot to mention that my best friend nicky minus and i are both featured in the 3rd issue of magnificent magazine! its free to read and also has some glorious work by deanne cheuk.





best wishes.,

WE ARE SCARED colouring book

look! a halloweeeenie colouring in book! pumpkins and black cats and bats and rats and frogs eyes too.
'we are...' is a little colouring book started up by yael frankel. each month etsy artists are asked to contribute black and white drawings on a particular theme. this months theme is halloween and (although that isnt celebrated here in australia) ive contributed a little drawing!
'we are' is printed on 250 gr paper and folds up into a little postcard sized book.
you can pick up a copy here at yael frankels etsy shop.

www.kristincofer.com

i recently completed some illustrations for kristin cofer, a san francisco based photographer.
kristin is a really wonderful girl and quite talented too! so i urge you to go and check out her portfolio.
she also has a great blog, hiss and hearse, with artist interviews, top ten lists and creative design.
just yesterday, she published my top ten list of fictional characters whose style i admire!

hyacinth

hyacinth discovered she could make magic with her hands!

primrose

dahlia

experiments with masking fluid have been working rather nicely.
(used it to make the flowers.)
ive been busy, busy busier, than a bumblebee lately.

new prints!

there are a range of new prints up at www.pepperminte.etsy.com


p.s. secret news! t shirts are coming soon!

my mother keeps a spectacular garden

phillip

im starting to draw boys again.
he knows his legs are too too long and he has trouble fitting into small rooms.

i made the polka dots with a hole punch and glued them on. at the moment i really like being crafty and using layers of paper and glitter instead of just paint. i bought some masking fluid, and ive been experimenting with that. so in a few days im going to unveil some paintings with really nice patterns. its just the new thing that ive been looking for, so i can turn the corner and move onto something a bit more fresh.

Lilac

HELIOTROPE. LAVENDER. MAUVE. PERIWINKLE.

' i just couldnt decide what to wear!'

golden age

silly smiling kitten! balancing very gently on the shoulders of the golden birthday girl.
im painting alot more with gouache lately. im not watering it down. and the colours change once dry so they keep tricking me. this dress was supposed to be gradients of beige and champagne.
i want a ginger kitten! i want a golden life.

MUTE PEN

Mute swans have sharp vision and hearing.
&
the name for a female swan is pen.

the end of july

brown and champagne glitter make up the background.
although glitter never ever seems to scan very well. all of its magical qualities are lost!
this week i feel better about everything.
sometimes it just takes a little kick. a little lunch of caviar.
a little of knowing that you aren't alone in thinking the things that you do.

saint benedictine

she died upon her own sword
and here she shall lie
until forever is no more

please sing along:
I WANNA BE CREMATED.
(to the tune of 'i wanna be sedated' , by the ramones.)

of course she drank the poision.

a. experimenting with ways of applying paint.
b. he has such a dumb face.
c. because i rubbed it out one trillion times.
d. and the paper started to deteriorate.
e. so i had to make do.

orange juice

collective slumber.
so lets all try and wake ourselves up.
handshake + promise.
i started painting again.
champagne coloured glitter all over my desk.

beach house. what a beautiful band.
'heart of chambers' has been lulling around in my head for weeks.
humming it all the time.

sad day bad day

dear:
creative block,
you are driving me crazy.
please leave me alone.
i have alot of work to do.

sincerely,
caitlin lamehands.


in other news:
no, there is none.
this is all consuming.
all else i can do is hum the 'i dream of genie' theme tune and get upset upset upset.