FlorisBlog

Backstage at Jacky’s

admin — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 08:03:38 +0000

a couple of sneak peeks of a really lovely shoots I recently had with Mireille Dacillo and Olivia Dunn. Jackie and her lovely daughters hosted us in their house in the Leatherhead for the day and we really had a great time! I will post pictures soon :)

doughnuts

Interview with Caitlin Shearer

admin — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:49:35 +0000

The other day I had the pleasure to interview the talented illustrator Caitlin Shearer! From now on I would like to interview some young artists that I admire and post images of their work in this blog :) Here there is the talk I had with lovely Caitlin and some of her artwork:

Hello Caitlin! Can you please tell us a bit about yourself?:
My name is Caitlin, I turned 21 just last weekend, I love cats and David Lynch, and i live by the ocean in Australia. I spend most of my time drawing, cooking and watching old movies and I secretly wish to be the next Nigella Lawson. I am also obsessed with Winona Ryder, Stories about the death of Marilyn Monroe and the Loch Ness monster.

How did you get into illustration?:
I drew all throughout highschool as a means of escapism, and when I graduated I began a fine arts degree at university, knowing that art was the career path i wanted to go down. During this time i had been working on my personal art with more enthusiasm and had begun selling work online at etsy.com. I think through online exposure a much wider audience was opened up to me, which created a multitude of possibilities and opportunities. I only finished one year of my fine arts degree and decided to drop out, so instead I worked from home at being an illustrator – i guess quite naively – as a 19 year old. From there i worked constantly and ended up having a solo show and being picked up by the jacky winter illustration agency in the same year. Over time my skills are sharpening, i’m developing a clearer vision of where i want to take my art, and it’s all moving along in a steady manner. I’ve spent all my time since then just drawing and painting, preparing for exhibitions and working with clients. It is a surreal thing to me, even now! Drawing is the only thing i have a major passion for and so it doesn’t feel like I am working, and for that i feel extremely lucky!

How would you describe your work in three words?
precious paper people.

Which mediums do you prefer working with?
Smooth cotton paper, watercolour paint, black ink, gouache, retractable lead pencils, erasers, and sometimes glitter.

Who is your biggest influence? and what does inspire your the most?:
I cannot pinpoint just one influence or inspiration, but a plethora of them. I fall head over heels in love with so many creative people! : Sofia Coppola, David Lynch, The Shins, Charles Anastase, Crispin Glover, Enoch Bolles, John Willy, Betty page, Jean Simmons, Sylvia Plath, Fleet Foxes, Ida Rentoul Outhwaite, the 1950′s, 1940′s cinema, Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, Conspiracies, Fox Mulder, Novelty printed fabric, Loneliness, Pin up girls, Ballerinas.

What are you working on at the moment? And is there any exciting project coming up?:
I’m currently working on a couple of blog headers, tattoos and merchandise tags for some lovely ladies, and I’m also finishing some illustrations for an online mag, called Le Magazine.
I’m also trying to finish a bunch of half finished paintings that have been sitting in my room for too long, and I’d like to begin a special set of paintings that i devote to Sylvia Plath.

Any lovely memories of your childhood that you would like to share with us?:
A big blue swimming pool, a tiny strawberry patch, a mirrored wall, a birthday cake that was the dress surrounding a barbie doll, a swing hanging from the rafters under the house, overflowing the sink which i used as a barbie swimming pool, crying at daycare when i broke my new sunglasses – after my mother demanded i did not take them with me, lots of little brothers, two white rabbits, drawing with all of my relatives.

Thank you Caitlin for the nice interview! please visit her blog to see more of her cute pictures and her etsy shop to buy prints!

Featured Francesca Woodman

Le petit prince

featured Deborah Turbeville

Featured Francesca Woodman

admin — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 10:22:09 +0000

The Barbican Center is hosting a beautiful exhibition about Surrealism those days and Francesca Woodman’s work caught may eye. Her black and white psychological portraits weren’t printed big, but they made a big impression on me. Francesca was born in Denver in 1958 and spent a few years of her life in Italy. Fond of self-portraiture she also sometimes photographs female models. Her images communicate perfectly her inner self and she is able to make herself merge completely with the surrounding. She committed suicide at age of 23, I can only imagine how many more beautiful pictures she could have taken if she had more time to do so.

Le petit prince

featured Deborah Turbeville

featured Corrine Day