Rainy days and beautiful places.

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to attend Writers at Woody Point- a beautiful, literary festival held on the west coast of Newfoundland. Woody Point is absolutely stunning. I can barely express how much I fell in love with the place- I was effortlessly filled with calm relaxation and creativity (normally, not an easy task). Being there was the absolute best sense of being overwhelmed- beauty and art and music and friends and feeling at home. Lovely.

It rained one day during our stay, but there was no way I would waste any time indoors. I put on my raincoat and walked around, taking pictures that I knew I would eventually turn into paintings. Here's the first painting of that rainy day (I'm hoping there will be many more).

18" x 24"
acrylic on canvas

On another note, there was one particular spot in Woody Point called Galliott Studios that made my heart skip a few beats. A gorgeous art studio, shop and cafe, with MY DREAM WORKSHOP at the back. I wanted to put on an oversized plaid shirt, pour a cup of coffee and get to work. So many paints and brushes and ideas. I cannot wait until I can have a little workspace of my own.

What a spot. I'd have a few cups of tea out here, rain or shine.

One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art.

I adore fall. Mainly because I love the cool weather.. and boots and wool socks and coats and sweaters and tights. Sigh.

So in the spirit of a new season, I present a collection of my most recent fashion inspirations as we say goodbye summer and hellloooooooo dear fall. Happy September!

(side note: The title, "One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art.", is from Oscar Wilde's "Phrases and Philosophies for the use of the Young".)

So effortless. I want to keep this easy, breezy, feeling alive this season too.  Ava Gardner. Photo via thehairpin.com 

All of my bracelets conveniently broke in the last week. Time to stock up. Wristy business via J.Crew Tumblr

Stunning, in every capacity. via The Sartorialist

Pretty much my identical lounge/painting attire. via Unruly Things

Simple and clean. Love the color. French Connection Fall '11 Lookbook

Coffee and a coat. via Little Plastic Horses

Leather shorts. plus stripes and jewels. SWOON. via Cupcakes and Cashmere

Roots always has amazing wrist/purse shots. Clean and glamours and rugged all in one. What a combo. Rediscover Roots Sweats Fall 11 Lookbook

Love this mix of prints- animal and polka dot! via o-my-heart

This is the same watch as depicted in the photo above. I loved it so much I messaged Kate from o-my-heart and she was sweet enough to send me a link! Check out the Michael Kors watch here.

Sketchin' about.

Lately, I have been inspired by Urban Sketchers (in particular, Omar-Paint, who has done some AMAZING sketches and paintings of downtown St. John's and everywhere else). So, I decided to buy myself a watercolour sketchbook and go sit somewhere around the city and give this a go. I have not painted with watercolours in about 10 years so it was interesting to break them out again. I left my apartment with my leather tote full of paints and coloured pencils, my sketchbook and a coffee. I walked only five minutes before arriving at the lovely Harbourside Park. I sat on a bench that was closest to the water and set everything up. Here's my first attempt...

Well it's not horrible for my first try (haha). I am dying to take an extremely inky, black, fine tip pen to this and give it some more detail (I must). But, most importantly, I forgot how extremely cathartic it is to sketch! I like to be very quick with the paintbrush/pencil so it feels almost natural. What a feeling and what a great way to spend time and explore a city. A gentleman actually walked behind me and had a look over my shoulder to see what I was painting and said "That's beautiful!" which gave me a little confidence boost and a much needed dose of happy.

 I have a long way to go before I am satisfied but I'll keep giving it a shot.