Anthropologie Skirt Design

I was given a really awesome opportunity to design a skirt for Anthropologie.  Due to its partnership with PAFA, there was a competition to design a skirt that would be for sale in stores.  Truly shockingly, my design was one of those chosen.  Below are pictures I took of my original piece.

They asked for a brief statement of inspiration and then whisked it off to I don't know where, (I like to picture a beautiful Santa meets whimsical garden factory workshop) be made last spring. 

Below is that statement:

My design was inspired by my routine dog walks by a community garden in my neighborhood.  Right at the point where day and night meet, it seems everything in there glows more brilliantly -- like the flowers are frantically sending the last bits of their beauty into the night before settling into the darkness.

Then finally after what felt like years of waiting (but was actually very quick considering they sent the design to be mass produced with each skirt handpainted) the final skirt was debuted:

Me and my good friend Jen at the PAFA event

These pictures are from a PAFA event on October 25th featuring the skirts which will officially be on sale in stores November 1st!  I was extra excited to see that the title Night Garden and my name are on the hang tag!

Elaine Pamphilon

I thought this artist, Elaine Pamphilon, was an interesting one who I have looked at on occasion.  She lives and works in Cornwall which is somewhere in the UK on the sea, so naturally I'm jealous.  But I can sense that immediately from her work.  Beautiful grays and lines and space reminiscent of Ben and Winifred Nicholson, Mary Fedden and a few other great painters from there.

I feel a sort of kindred spirit to her interest in things, patterns and odd little arrangements.

I tend to like the pieces which have less text -- they are a bit less illustrative but I like learning from these pieces how she negotiates the place between painting and illustrating.

And she paints succulents and Marimekko dishware from time to time so what's not to love!

Life Imitates Art

Lois Dodd, Blue Night Window, 1983

I have always truly loved that short half hour or so on a clear night that the sky turns a brilliant, deep blue before going to black.  Last night at my parent's house for dinner I looked through the dining room window to see that color and the way it was framed reminded me of this Lois Dodd painting I have always also liked.  

Fall Light

Love this fall light from Pierre Boncompain's painting.

The Painted Veil

I watched The Painted Veil on Sunday with absolutely no expectations and was really surprised.  I never really heard anything about this movie but it was really beautiful.  I felt so many stills were like paintings I would want to look at, so I screen captured a few.  They are below:

I thought the color in the film was really nice too and changed a lot from place to place and with the mood of each scene.  The costuming was great too, after Boardwalk Empire and Downton Abbey, myself and the rest of the country (or so it seems) are a bit obsessed with this era.  Ed Norton with his cropped haircut and dark temperament was pretty easy on the eyes too.