1 - My Hi-Fest Purchases.
Last weekend was Hi-Fest - the annual Hastings Illustration Festival! It runs for two days, featuring the work of over 75 top illustators - with lots of stalls, workshops, talks and screenings. We are very lucky to have such a great event right on our doorstep. One of the best things we saw over the weekend was an animation by Alex Grigg called 'Phantom Limb'. It depicts a young couple who are struggling to come to terms with a terrible accident. It's such a simple but effective metaphor and is so beautifully illustrated. It made me cry twice (although admittedly - I do cry at Dog's Trust Adverts.)
Here are some of the lovely things we bought all by independent hugely talented illustrators!
I am so chuffed with my Botanical print by Holly Exley! I have loved her work ever since I discovered her Youtube channel last year so I am very happy to finally own a piece by her. Here is my temporary display before I can force Ollie to put it up in our front room (I'm no good at drilling!) Also check out her insanely cute pooches Quentin the Pug and Midge the rescue Greyhound. I would love to paint them.
This 'Dogs in Love' Pin by Hastings based artist Faye Moorhouse adds a touch of class and sophistication to any outfit.
And finally, Ollie bought this super fun Garrett World candle holder.
2 - My New Dungarees.
This is actually something I have been loving for the past month but I had to include my new Dungaree's in this week's favourites as I have practically been living in them! I have wanted a pair for YEARS but could never find the right style to fit me. I have the main issue of being 5 11'' which makes buying trousers very difficult - they are usually either way too short or they ride up in all the wrong places! Finally, I found the perfect pair from the Asos Tall range. They are so comfy and I love them so much that I may have requested another blue denim pair for Christmas! I would thoroughly recommend them to all the lanky ladies out there!
3 - New Art Materials.
I've been trying out a few new art materials this week which I have been absolutely loving! I recently bought Cobalt Turquoise Light Gouache paint (by Winsor and Newton) and it is excellent for creating just the right shade of duck egg blue. I have also branched out into painting on wooden panels which I've added as an option for my small and large square Pawtraits. The extra smooth surface works brilliantly with the Gouache paint I use so I can create a really vivid, detailed Pawtrait. They are also braced so you can hang them directly onto a wall and feel like a more impressive object than many lighter canvas's. I'm working on sourcing some for my other sizes.
4 - 'The Butterfly Effect' with Jon Ronson.
I love listening to Podcasts when I work and I am always on the look out for a new one that I haven't already come across. 'The Butterfly Effect' is by the same author as the bestselling book 'The Psychopath Test' and follows the ripple effect brought about by a teen in Brussels - who has the idea to make Porn Free and easy to stream online. There's been quite a few T.V documentaries which have covered similar subjects which all tend to be quite bleak but this was surprisingly human with the twists and turns of a great mystery thriller and was actually even quite heartwarming in places.
5 - 'Dark' on Netflix.
We have already managed to watch 5 episodes of this over two days and I cannot WAIT to find out what happens! 'Dark' is a German 10 part Sci-Fi-Horror involving missing children, time travel and a mysterious nuclear power plant. Think 'Donnie Darko' set in Germany. If you were a fan of the French ghost drama 'The Returned' then you will 100% love this! It also really reminds me of a fantastic film I watched a few years ago which must of been an inspiration for the makers. 'Into Eternity' is a documentary by Micheal Madsen about the Onkalo waste repository at the Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant on the island of Olkiluoto, Finland. It explores the issues surrounding preparing the site so that it is not disturbed for 100,000 years, even though no human structure has previously stood for such a long period.