Milton Avery @ RA

 Blue Trees, 1945

Oxcart on the Gaspé, 1939

Gaspé Village, 1939

Self-portrait with Palette, 1958

I loved the Milton Avery show at the Royal Academy in London. A concise exhibition, beautifully curated - the wall colours really helped bring life Avery's paintings to life. The fact that he was completely self taught and found painting relatively late in life is so inspiring... And I always love a good cow painting, of which there were many!

Master Bedroom

Interiors inspiration: the master bedroom at Palacio de Santa Coloma in Seville, via World of Interiors magazine. Travelling by proxy... I searched very hard for this image online - with no avail. Proof that sometimes print publications are best!

Landscape with Clouds

I love the way every inch of the paper is used in this oil painting - a huge landscape squeezed on to an a5 sketchbook page

Paisaje con nubes

Victor Julio González, 2016

Shepherd's Bush

A trip to Shepherd's Bush market last week, where I have spent many happy hours.

New fabric for a potential cushion

 

Amazing embellished offerings

Gold vine

 And discovered a new Ethiopian cafe in the railway arches which was full of amazing furnishings

Muted Neons

Love the brightness of this clashing green and pink sari, and the printed fabrics either side... Bethnal Green road is always inspiring

Souvenir

Back in London with treasure found rooting around in a discount bin at a junk shop. I now love this that unhelpful amount which makes using it a little nerve wracking in case I break it.

 

Pitching

I love looking through old Interiors magazines - they can be just as inspirational as fashion or art magazines for me. This was an editorial essentially about trimmings - something I seem to be collecting, judging by my styling kit and sewing bag. I love these embellished tents... food for thought. 

Arnold Newman

I came across Arnold Newman's work in an usual way... I was working at a big photography studios in London and the Creatives working upstairs decided that the communal toilet would be the place to store their tomes of photography books and magazines while building work was carried out to their offices.

 Two Men on Front Porch, West Palm Beach, Florida, 1941

Boy with Dog, Arden, Delaware, 1947

Both these images are photographs taken from a book found in the toilet... as I couldn't find better reproductions online. They're so atmospheric, capturing the emotion of the men and boy. I love the porches - the chair and geraniums, climbing ivy and wooden shutters... And naturally, the clothes. Both photographs are part of Newman's early work, before he got famous and took some of the portraits that are now very well known. 

Georgia O'Keeffe, Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, 1968

Pablo Picasso, Vallauris, France, 1954

Patchwork

 A morning spent sifting through my sewing bag over the weekend and gathering bundles of fabric together for potential quilts. I collect fabric at any opportunity - which makes for quite a mixed selection of print and colour. Charity shops often have brilliant scraps of vintage fabric, but of course Shepherd's Bush market (the motherland) is hard to beat. Two quilt options below.

Woven Wire

A beautiful and inspiring show earlier this year at David Zwirner Gallery in Mayfair - Ruth Asawa's woven wire sculptures and line drawings. I love the relationship between the two - and how one informs the other. Asawa's sculptures were inspired by a trip to Mexico in 1947, where a local craftsman taught her how to weave a basket out of wire.

Loved this picture of Asawa working at home surrounded by her children

1957

Photo by Imogen Cunningham

Little is Enough for Those with Love

Little is Enough for Those with Love, 2019

Sad Man with Flowers, 2019

A new artist and a new gallery - to me at least - I loved the Cassi Namoda exhibition at Pippy Houldsworth Gallery last week. Intimate and colourful paintings about love, family and cultural traditions in Maputo, the artist's birthplace.

Well worth a visit: see here for details. On display until 7th March 2020.

Midnight Cowboy

I'm one of the few people in London/UK/The World it seems that still uses a DVD player - and borrows DVDs from their local library. A recent hit was Midnight Cowboy, a 1969 Oscar winning film starring Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman. While being very dark in places, the film is also very touching in the relationship forged between pretend cowboy Voight and outcast vagabond Hoffman. And of course....the clothes.... 

The Swans

A friend recommended a book recently - which I finally got around to reading this Christmas - Swan Song, by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott. The book tells the story of Truman Capote and his Swans; the well dressed and heeled American socialites of 1950s and 60s. So unbelievably glamourous and OTT. It provoked much googling on my behalf - endless outfit inspiration!

Slim Keith

Barbaba 'Babe' Paley

Lee Radziwell

Gloria Guinness 

Tie Dye

An afternoon spent at my friend Min's house a couple of weeks ago attempting to tie dye - with great results! We've got the bug - hopefully our friends and family like tie dye as I see all sorts handmade gifts coming their way...

Boyd, above, kept us company

Amy's Bag

My friend Amy's bag - vintage silver charms hand sewn (by Amy) on to the front. Would LOVE to own it

Image by Anthony Costifas

Love these pictures from an editorial shot by Sam Rock for Double Magazine issue 37.

Makes me want to jump on a plane immediately.

Drill

Drill, 2008

Plaster, Pigment, Steel and Rubber

Rachel Whiteread

Fireworks

Fireworks

Ben Nicholson, 1929

Happy Bank Holiday weekend!