Results matching “paint”

Exploring Above and Under Ground in Rabat, Malta

By jenn on May 17, 2012 1:28 PM

After our first day in Malta, A Beautiful Afternoon on the Maltese Islands of Gozo and Comino, we got up early to take advantage of the limited amount of time we had on the island. As we'd had some experience riding as a passenger in a car past some of the places we were visiting on the way from the airport, we weren't too worried about driving our rental car. The day with the rental car was the best day we had on Malta as we were able to see a lot in a short amount of time. Driving is not too bad as long as you watch out for others and drive sensibly.

Our first stop was Rabat. As it was a Sunday, some of the tourists attractions were closed, but we were able to visit St. Paul's Catacombs and have a quick look around. We were able to see the cathedral and glimpse through the doorway, though it and St. Paul's Grotto were closed to tourists. I wanted to visit St. Agatha's Catacombs, which are meant to be better than St. Paul's Catacombs, but they were also closed. Despite some places being shut on Sundays, we were able to have a look around. The town was busy, particularly outside the cathedral, and there was a street market set up not far from the cathedral.

After visiting St. Paul's Catacombs, we had a quick look around Rabat before continuing to Mdina, the ancient walled city, which is a short walk away.

A cat drinks from a pond outside St. Paul's Catacombs. There are many cats in Malta, and we counted six of them in the grounds of the catacombs.

These purple flowers were growing near one of the entrances of St. Paul's Catacombs.

These lilies were also growing near one of the catacomb entrances.

On our way up the hill to Rabat, we passed the walled city of Mdina. There are amazing views from those walls, and the view stretches out to Valletta. A nice place to sit and admire the views with food or drink is a small restaurant located on the walls.

Many buildings have Christian symbols on the outside walls in the form of sculptures, prayer concaves, and signage. This building had Christian figures of baby Jesus and his parents poking out of the wall, which I thought added a nice touch to the building.

St. Paul's Catacombs are winding, dimly-lit passages filled with many different tombs in various shapes and sizes. They were originally lit by terracotta lamps, and I imagine the flicker on the walls with bones and decomposing bodies in the tombs nearby would have been a bit frightening and smelly. (I would have found it frightening as I have always been afraid of bones.) Today, there aren't any bones in the tombs, or at least in the section that is open to tourists. There are many more mazes that are not open to tourists. Some drawings can also be seen 'painted' onto some tomb walls.

The façade of the cathedral in Rabat; a depiction of Jesus Christ welcomes all with open arms.

Wine-Tasting at Denbies in the Spring

By jenn on April 29, 2012 4:02 PM

On a warm Sunday afternoon at the end of March (the first warm day of the year, and it happened to be Mother's Day in the UK), I headed to Denbies' Wine Estate in Surrey (south of London) to taste some wine. Some of the wine produced at this winery has won awards, and their rose wine was named the top English wine in one of the national newspapers, and the royals have been customers. Denbies has something for everyone, and unfortunately my plans changed at the last minute and I could not make a full day out. I would have surely loved to have had something from their cafe/restaurant and spent half the day here had my plans not changed. Perhaps I will make it back there at some point.

In addition to wine tastings and vineyards within reach, Denbies have a large gift shop, filled with wonderful and amazing bits and pieces (many not wine-related). They also have wagon rides around the vineyard, a farm shop, a garden shop, and I noticed some paintings above the reception area, which people could browse. (I sadly actually forgot to do this after the wine tour as I was in a hurry to get home.) I did come home with three bottles of wine and craft items.

The wine-tasting happened in the cellar. We were shown a creative video of the vineyards and the wine-making process, season-by-season. After the video, we were led via a little train down to the cellar. The little train was meant to give us a 'guided' tour of the factory where the wine is bottled, but as it is spring, there was nothing happening. We tasted three different kinds of wine in the cellar area, and the barrels in the background of the above photograph were a series of eight depicting the different stages in the wine-making process. Apparently, they were created from a large oak tree on the estate, but English trees are not good with the wine-making process because the wood is too dense. (So, the barrels are only for show.)

Spring in the vineyard feels slightly empty, with the rows leaf-less vines, but the countryside in this area is beautiful. I think that this would be an amazing place to visit in the autumn.

For more information about Denbies Wine Estate, please visit: http://www.denbies.co.uk/

Browsing Cultural Camden Town

By jenn on April 21, 2012 8:00 AM

I last visited Camden Town nearly twelve years ago. At the time, I was living in north London and spent my weekends exploring the city. I remember browsing through old magazines, newspapers, and records at the back of a spacious warehouse. I much preferred Camden Town market to the too-busy and over-priced Portobello Road market. Also, Camden Town had much better 'finds'. Portobello Road was more touristy.

While I recognised and remembered some of the market area, I also noted just how much Camden Town has changed in the past twelve years. It is much busier and popular today, and it's grown in size. The High Street shops have grown, and there are more popular and chain brands and more sellers in the High Street area. The market area has expanded significantly. (The indoor maze of stalls reminded me of a souk in Marrakech; there are stalls also selling items that you would find in Marrakech.) Not only has the market expanded, but every possible floor space has been used to accommodate more area to vendors, making the walkways extremely narrow.

The market is also more cultural than I remember it; there are goods from all over the world for sale and plenty of Hookah cafes. The market also contains many food stalls and a seating area now. Bronze horses and stable statues also feature in one of the markets, and I am pretty sure that these works of art (and other ones scattered throughout the market) did not exist in the past. I also do not remember the locks, but the "Camden Town" bridge painting was familiar. Unfortunately, all of my old photos of Camden Town are not accessible to me at the moment as they were taken on my non-digital SLR. It would be great to look at these old photographs.

I noted that many visitors to the markets were tourists; while some tourists did visit inevitably in the past, but many more are visiting now. Another reason if may be more popular now is due to the music scene. Camden Town was where Amy Winehouse lived. Also, the atmosphere in Camden Town is completely different to anywhere else in London.

I enjoyed my trip, and the market has a wide variety of products, although some 'cheap' and touristy areas are inevitable with its popularity, and the crowds were annoying. However, there's still many stalls that sell items that you wouldn't be able to find elsewhere. I've uploaded a few of the photographs that capture a little bit of what Camden Town has to offer.

Although the market was busy, I found a gap in the crowds to take a nice photograph.

This horse statue is at one of the entrances of the covered market area.

This mosaic statue is located in the markets.

Camden Locks are busy on a Saturday.

A canal boat is steered down Camden Lock.

A canal boat is steered down Camden Lock.

Graffiti is painted on a wall near the locks, and the one on the left features singing legend Amy Winehouse, who was a famous resident.

Racks of clothing are displayed at Iverness Street market.

Statues are scattered around the market.

Statues are scattered around the market.

This is one of the small alleyways leading from the stable market.

These Hookah pipes are famous in the Middle East, and there are a few places you can get them in Camden Town now.

The famous Camden Lock bridge and advertisement does not seem to have changed since my visit many years ago, although the two 'painters' on the sign may have been added since.

London's Big Egg Hunt Grand Finale at Covent Garden

By jenn on April 6, 2012 11:00 PM

The London Big Egg Hunt is coming to an end after this weekend, and the eggs have already started to be auctioned off for charity. For those of you who have read my previous posts, you will know that I have been searching all over London for the giant painted or sculpted eggs. You can read more about this and see photographs of a few of the eggs in their original locations here: Hunting Eggs in London: Fabergé Big Egg Hunt.

I, like many countless others, have enjoyed and appreciated the eggs across London over the past two months, and it will be sad to see them go. (However, for those enjoying similar events to this may want to try the swans in Wells or cattle in Ireland this summer.)

With my camera in hand, I made my way to Covent Garden, first stopping off for morning indulgence in cupcakes at my favourite cupcakery, Primrose Bakery. (Perfect cupcakes and a perfect place that is slightly out of the way of the busy Covent Garden, but only a block away from it, with ample opportunity to sit down and watch people walk by its large windows.) I blogged about this here: A Visit to Primrose Bakery in Covent Garden. After stuffing my face full of sweet cupcakes, I made my way to the busy Covent Garden and joined the crowds admiring the eggs.

Here are a few photographs of the eggs that I took at Covent Garden today. The giant eggs will be on display until Monday, so it's the last chance to see them before they are taken away. They are also selling books, postcards, and other items at Covent Garden and have set up a shop in the covered market.

I take a photograph of the reflection in the "Eight ball" egg.

A bird perched on top of one of the eggs.

The staff at Lush were entertaining the children outside of the window by blowing bubbles.

City Artwork From Matte Stephens

By jenn on April 2, 2012 7:19 PM

I discovered Matte's playful artwork and cityscapes and really enjoy the earthy tones and characters created. I especially am fond of the city artwork as I've always enjoyed painting city scenes myself, and I enjoy admiring architecture. Matte has painted a variety of cities all over the world, and the London one is shown below, along with some of his other work. I also really enjoy the "Late Fall" painting with the couple standing in the rain. A few of my favourites are below. Matte also sells prints of his work online.

To visit Matte Stephenson's blog and website, go here: http://matteart.blogspot.com

To visit his shop on Etsy, go here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/matteart

Retro and Vintage Jewellery: Etsy Finds

By jenn on April 1, 2012 7:00 PM

A piece of jewellery should function as a statement and as a work of art. Jewellery should enhance and add to an outfit. I have included some unique works of jewellery art here, from talented artists, ranging from vintage to retro to contemporary and geometric.

1 & 2) Marang Studios: http://www.etsy.com/shop/MarangStudios

This cream and blue rosette cloth necklace looks beautiful and reminds me of my wedding day; there are many other different colours to choose from.

3) The Polka Dot Magpie: http://www.etsy.com/people/ThePolkadotMagpie

This heart necklace is made out of several different types of wood and painted to achieve a rustic look.

4) Lock and Spoon: http://www.etsy.com/people/LockandSpoon

These vintage-looking rings are made from sterling wire, and each one is unique. Based in New York City, Lock and Spoon also makes several other pieces of jewellery from pieces of wire, and each one is unique.

Emilina Ballerina: http://www.etsy.com/people/EmilinaBallerina

Emilina Ballerina sells a collection of jewellery, from witty to vintage to stamped/engraved gems. This collection includes vintage flowers in different colours, pewter owls and a retro cassette necklace. There's also engraved dog-tag pieces, some of them witty plays on brands names with Halloween themes (like the Aberzombie and Witch necklace above), and others that simply contain an image of a heart of the words "Geek" or "Wicked" (not shown). There's also a collection of designs, such as the snowflake, that can be personalised.

finestimaginary: http://www.etsy.com/people/finestimaginary

Kim Lawler of finestimaginary creates comic-book-style illustrations and cute imagery for her necklace designs. This comic-book retro 1980's 'geek' look has been popular for a little while now with the revival of popular culture from the era.

Fabergé Big Egg Hunt Technology

By jenn on March 15, 2012 12:59 AM

The Big Egg Hunt in London (Fabergé) was launched on Shrove Tuesday, which fell toward the end of February this year, and over 200 eggs will be on display for forty days and forty nights in various areas across the city. The event is attempting to break world record for the largest egg hunt as well as to raise money for charity; the Elephant Family are one of the charities (Action for Children is another), and the Elephant Family charity did work for London a couple of years ago with elephant sculptures, which I blogged about on this website here: Parading Artistic Elephants in London.

I've been looking forward to this event since I first read about it in the middle of February. This time, the event is more interactive than the elephant event, although I felt that the Bristol Gorillas had a much better application to allow you to discover the gorillas on maps and post images/mark them off if you were in range.

The London "Big Egg Hunt" seems geared more at hiding the eggs, and rough clues are given to pinpoint the rough location of each egg. This also includes a 'roaming' egg, which is designed and painted to look like the Where's Wally (in America, Where's Waldo) character. The event seems to be very popular with many other families and friends out and about in London, loaded with maps and cameras to discover the eggs. This event has been well-received, although a few of the eggs have been damaged and stolen.

Finders can scan QR Codes at the egg's location across twelve various 'zones' or areas in London, which sends a donation to the charities. The text message enters the finder into a drawing to have a chance to win a golden egg as a prize. As the eggs have been designed by local artists and companies, this is a perfect way to get the majority interested in the arts, culture, and charity.

The company Fallon (http://www.fallon.co.uk/) have created the zone maps, which I think look very well-designed. There was also supposed to be a mobile application, but this has not been released due to technical issues (29 February). However, there is a 'cheatsheet' map that can be viewed in case you get stuck, but some of the eggs aren't in the correct positions, and you're unable to zoom in too far. Below is a screen shot of one of the 'zone' maps.

I love the combination of art and technology used in events, such as The Big Egg Hunt. In addition, there is an egg to locate, known as the "Social Egg" in Selfridges, and this egg displays a screen with faces of finders on it. The egg has been created by 'faceboarding', and it allows users to 'check in' to the device, and the device displays the images on its screen. (Pretty cool.) I've posted the "Social Egg" below.

I have been spending the past few weeks tracking down the eggs, and I have found most of them now. Another post will be added soon to display some of the most beautiful eggs. For those of you that I have seen and spoken to during my London egg hunting, I want to say "hello" and "happy hunting".

Zesty Lemon - Websites and Artwork

By jenn on February 17, 2012 1:06 AM

The long days of winter are upon us, and I thought it would be good to add some yellow in my life to remind me of warm, summer days and sunshine. Lately, I have been feeling a little bit down after a few months of being very busy at work and not being able to take a break to relax or to stop and appreciate what is around me. I am looking forward to sunny days and new horizons, and the brightness of the colour 'yellow' really does make me feel content. The following websites and artworks/crafts feature this happy colour. I hope that it brightens your day as well as it has mine.

These whimsical drawings of lemons were created by Colleen (a.k.a. Freshline).
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Freshline

Fresh Squeezed Baby sells lemon bunting. This would brighten up the darkest of rooms.
http://www.etsy.com/people/freshsqueezedbaby

Marianne from ColorBee creates designs (using text, mainly). I particularly love the bright lemon, orange, and lime segments; the colours work so well together.

http://www.etsy.com/people/colorbee

The lemon poster "when life hands you lemons, make a gin and tonic" was designed by Colleen (dearcolleen). I love this quote; I could do with a gin and tonic after a long, winter day.

http://www.etsy.com/people/dearcolleen

The painted-style lemon clock is available from bearlyart.

http://www.etsy.com/people/bearlyart

The lemon towels are from Cindy Bazor (bazordesigns). She also sells many more items (towels, pillows, etc) in the same style.

http://www.etsy.com/people/bazordesigns

I love this necklace; the yellow with gray-blue work fantastic together. There are also more cute wooden items in the shop (from snugstudio).

http://www.etsy.com/people/snugstudio

The highly-detailed and floral vase in yellow adds a lot of colour to a dreary day (from thepinkpagoda).

http://www.etsy.com/shop/thepinkpagoda

Bason Square Farm sell many wooden crafts, and this lemon-yellow birdhouse is just one of their colourful items.

http://www.etsy.com/people/baconsquarefarm

Cassie and Allen Mitchell (tenderbeasts) designed the yellow "where troubles melt like lemondrops" poster and have many more designed text posters (including several song lyrics) in their shop.

http://www.etsy.com/people/tenderbeasts

A cute case for your gadget (Touch) with lemon fabric is a must for the gadget-lover who is also appreciates good design. (There are many more styles and fabrics to choose from in downstairsDesign's shop.)

http://www.etsy.com/shop/downstairsDesigns

I love this lemon-y cupcake bag from Stephanie Monroe.

http://www.etsy.com/people/stephaniemonroe

These butterfly gift tags from 3creativesisters would brighten up any gift.

http://www.etsy.com/people/3creativesisters

Websites

Yellow is not a very popular colour for websites, but I managed to find a few websites where lemon-yellow is the primary colour. In most of these websites, yellow is used with black. This combination usually signifies 'power', particularly when black is used a lot in the design as well. There's a variety of websites using the colour below, and a lot of these tend to be portfolio and marketing agencies; possibly experimenting with this colour.

Since black is so commonly used, there are a couple of websites who replace the black with gray or brown and also introduce other colours to give a fresh edge on the use of yellow. (This does not make it so 'powerful' and 'bold'.) Other websites take the approach to make the website even bolder by combining black and yellow with large, bold text.

Yellow and black are colours mainly featured in the automobile industry, such as rental cars, cleaning products, and car recovery. Also, the YellowPages use these colours. These colours are powerful and more 'grown-up'. Take a look at the samples below.

This website stands out, and the use of an organic illustration and a third colour (bright pink) and fourth colour (orange) are unique.

http://www.sebdesign.eu/

http://www.trout.com.au/

This bright yellow Flash website is highly interactive and uses mainly organic shapes and grinning characters.
http://www.paralotna.pl

Large bold text makes the website stand out even more.

http://www.glasgoweb.co.uk/

The use of colour here is excellent.
http://www.chunkdigital.com/

Mainly a yellow website with a simple design; however, I think the white text on the yellow background is difficult to read.

http://www.helveticons.ch/

I like the illustration, and the colours are used well here.
http://www.creativespark.co.uk/

A grunge-style website adds a new dimension to the colours, but it still has the 'bold' feel with the large font and black and yellow used, particularly at the top of the page.

http://www.espiratecnologias.com/

http://www.agathagroup.com.co/

Yellow and gray is used to illustrate this website. In fact, the website background is gray until the bottom of the page.

http://www.re-print.me/

http://www.bzzyapp.com/

Another example of gray and yellow for a new take on a style website. (I'm not sure this really works for me, however. The colours remind me too much of automobile-related websites.)

http://www.styleandconscience.com/

Bold text and bold colours are used for a simple and visually-interesting website design.

http://www.theycreative.com/

Not quite so lemon-yellow, but the grunge style and powerful black and gold are used for this sport-related website.

http://www.fcsiauliai.lt/

Another powerful website with text featuring a major design element.

http://www.creativeunited.dk/

I like the use of brown instead of black. It gives a fresh look to a yellow website.

http://www.roome.co.uk/

http://www.yellowbirdproject.com/

Cute Hearts for Your Valentine

By jenn on February 13, 2012 4:11 PM

To celebrate today (Valentine's Day), I have discovered the appropriate heart-inspired items (this ranges from jewellery to crafts to home decorations) on Etsy and have included some of my favourite items in this collection in this entry. I hope that these inspire you.

The following is a collection of jewellry featuring heart shapes.

1) http://www.etsy.com/shop/katinytis

2) http://www.etsy.com/shop/DrCraze

3) http://www.etsy.com/shop/ClassicKeepsakes

4) http://www.etsy.com/shop/jewelstreet

Chalkboard-inspired heart shapes would make nice wedding decorations. This includes table name placeholders and banners. The vintage heart ear rings also fit this style.

1) http://www.etsy.com/shop/creativebyheart

2) http://www.etsy.com/shop/helenaCRAFTS

3) http://www.etsy.com/shop/creativebyheart

4) http://www.etsy.com/shop/2212jewelry

Wooden hearts, a heart painting, and wall decorations look nice.

1) http://www.etsy.com/shop/oldnewagain

2) http://www.etsy.com/shop/aquaGirlArt

3) http://www.etsy.com/shop/hypsela

4) http://www.etsy.com/shop/oldnewagain

Heart lanters, name tags, a cloth bag, and paper banners fill another need.

1) http://www.etsy.com/shop/DobleEle

2) http://www.etsy.com/shop/joBlake

3) http://www.etsy.com/shop/wendyjung

4) http://www.etsy.com/shop/paperPolaroid

The final collection consists of more ear rings and heart-inspired decorations for the home.

1) http://www.etsy.com/shop/Omiya

2) http://www.etsy.com/shop/orlyDesign

3) http://www.etsy.com/shop/officina

4) http://www.etsy.com/shop/GreenJazzFace

Paint-Dipped Mugs and Bark Pencils from Poketo

By jenn on January 29, 2012 7:22 PM

I have been admiring some of the cute design-geek products available on Poketo (http://poketo.com/) over the past few months, and I've posted a few of my favourite items below.

I really love the mugs, which look as though they have been partially-dipped in a bucket of primary paint - blue, yellow, red, and black. Very stylish. The other items that I enjoy include the coloured pencil sets; there is a set with a weathered motif design and another set where the outside of the pencils look like twigs and are covered in bark. I also like the cute paperclips in the shape of deer.

This shop has a lot of neat things, from clothing to office storage to stationary. I also love their artistic wallet designs, drawn by a variety of artists.

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Results matching “paint”

Exploring Above and Under Ground in Rabat, Malta

Wine-Tasting at Denbies in the Spring

Browsing Cultural Camden Town

London's Big Egg Hunt Grand Finale at Covent Garden

City Artwork From Matte Stephens

Retro and Vintage Jewellery: Etsy Finds

Fabergé Big Egg Hunt Technology

Zesty Lemon - Websites and Artwork

Cute Hearts for Your Valentine

Paint-Dipped Mugs and Bark Pencils from Poketo

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