Morocco

I've just spent a wonderful five days in Morocco with my best friend, relaxing and seeing the countryside. We arrived in Marrakech, and stayed in a beautiful riad to the NW of the Medina. It was calm and soothing, and even had a hammam.We wandered around the souks, buying babouches and a rug, admiring the wonderful details of life in the bustling city.We then went on a three day trip into the mountains, with Desert Majesty. They were super helpful, and our guide Said was very sweet. Here's a map showing where we went.We drove up into the Atlas mountains and down into the valleys. Our first notable stop was at Ait Ben Haddou, a stunning UNESCO world heritage site. It was exciting to find that it has been used as a location for quite a few movies and TV shows, including Gladiator and Game of Thrones.We drove and drove, past huge vistas of mountains...and into an endlessly blue, blue sky...We explored an ancient Kasbah, and found an old display in one of the courtyards, like a lost moment in time...We stayed the second night in a Berber tented camp, and rode camels into the sunset, and in the evening, sat around a campfire listening to songs and drumming.And then on again, into the dusty, red and pink landscape.We drove through Rissani, where the Moroccan king's family comes from,and back again to Marrakech, to get the Saharan sand out of our shoes...All through the trip we were welcomed everywhere with hot, sweet Moroccan mint tea in beautiful little glasses, and invariably, a pretty silver teapot. Yum.

whale watching

I saw a whale! Actually I saw two. It was amazing. We went on a whale watching trip on a very cold foggy day in San Francisco, heading out under the Golden Gate Bridge. Even before we got far we'd seen seals and porpoises and all sorts of seabirds. But it was the lovely gray whale that made me happiest. They waved their fins, and dove down so their tails flipped out of the water... Also the murres, I loved them! Sort of like a penguin, but floating on the water. So adorable...

Sparkhouse mural

I've just been to Sparkhouse, in South Orange, New Jersey, to add another little character to the growing collection on the walls of my friend's toy store. It's always nice to do a little favour...I'm now trying to think of a name for the mini supercute robot...

bath duck

I painted this rubber ducky for my niece. 'Duck' is her first proper word, and this one is covered with clouds and stars...

Olympics week two

It's the second week of the Olympics. It's still sunny, it's still fun, and I finally made it to the Olympic Park!We managed to get some last minute athletics tickets, and couldn't believe that our seats in the main stadium were right next to the gorgeous Olympic cauldron. It was designed by Thomas Heatherwick (I love his work!), and it's truly beautiful...Here's my little watercolour sketch of it...

Venice trip

A few days in Venice is enough to make anyone happy! It was hot (so hot!) and sunny every day, and I saw beautiful paintings in churches, famous vistas, and even had time to sit on our hotel terrace and paint the view...My favourite things in Venice are the winged lions of St Mark which are everywhere. Here's a sketch of the most famous, on one of the pillars at the entrance to St Marks Square.We drank cold sodas in cafes during the heat of the day,and ate icecreams as the night drew in...

Istanbul trip

A few weeks ago I went to Istanbul and was amazed at the changes since my last visit twenty years ago. The sun shone, the Bosphorus sparkled, everyone was super friendly, and it was magical...I loved the subtle shades and patterns of the tiles in the blue mosque, and also in the Topkapi palace.The huge cavernous space of the Hagia Sofia was incredible, and I especially admired the Byzantine mozaics that had been partially uncovered under the Ottoman painting of the interiors.

trip to the South

I've just come back from a road trip through the South of America. It was amazing. We started in cultured Savannah, Georgia, where I was super happy to see the Bird Girl sculpture, made famous by the book 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil' (one of my favourites).Then onwards to Charleston, South Carolina, where we toured a few preserved historical residences,and also the Magnolia Plantation with its gorgeous swamp garden. We stayed in some lovely bed and breakfast places. Then it was on to the Great Smoky Mountains, where we saw a baby bear! In Nashville we went to a Honky Tonk in a Western bar and saw the Don Kelly Band...and watched a show at the Grand Ole Opry, and also ate the best "meat and 3s" ever at Arnolds. Mostly, this was a music and food trip, to sample all the specialities of the South. Here's an example of local cuisine, although usually there's a few fried somethings thrown in too! And of course, pies aplenty...The local "chess pie" was extra sweet, but the winner was the "lemon ice-box pie" from Corky's in Memphis. Their ribs were also the overall winner!

bathroom mural

I've just completed a beautiful residential mural project for NBB Design (an interiors company): it's the fanciest guest bathroom you've ever seen, with hand-written & painted phrases from the client's friends covering the walls from floor to ceiling.

Cotswolds afternoon tea

We just spent the day in the Cotswolds, and had the loveliest afternoon tea ever at Juri's Tearoom in the country town of Winchcombe. The crockery was a pretty blue... ...and the view from the conservatory was delightful. But it's the cakes you need to try; honestly, the cheese cake was the best I've ever had, anywhere. So light and fluffy. The sandwiches were beautiful too. Everything is perfect, as it's traditional English, but with a slight hint of the Japanese, as Juri is from there.I absolutely recommend this place if you're anywhere near...

trip to Budapest

I've just come back from a visit to Budapest, where it was chilly but clear, and very relaxing. We visited the castle and walked around the old cobbly streets. I loved the houses all in pretty colours with different architectural details...I particularly enjoyed the cake shops and cafes, especially this one, with its lovingly restored ceilings and mirrors. Heavenly!We went to different spa baths every day, and my favourite were the Rudas Baths, a spa dating back to the Ottoman era. No photo of that one unfortunately, but here's one of the Szechenyi outdoor baths.

iriya plus cafe mural

While I was in Tokyo two weeks ago, I went to visit my friend Naomi who runs iriya plus cafe, in Iriya, near Ueno. It's in an old warehouse building that she renovated, keeping the gorgeous original wooden beams and shelves, and overall traditional Japanese style, but adding a modern feel.She commissioned me to paint a mural on the main cafe wall, as a backdrop for the upcoming 'pancake party' event, with live music by the local band JOYZ (you can see them in the above photo).I drew this initial rough design, but found out that they don't make pancakes in a frying pan! So I took the pancake out and added more text. I also changed the font I used for 'POP' into my more comfortable calligraphic stye. Here's how it looked when it was done.A photographer called Takumi Yamamoto, a friend of JOYZ, documented the day: me doing the mural, and also JOYZ playing live while I was doing the painting. There was a typhoon that day, but we were all snug inside. This is everyone, including the cafe staff... If you're in Tokyo on October 29, try to make it to the live event, I bet it'll be fantastic. For tickets and more details, go to the iriya cafe blog. Wish I could be there!

Kate Spade party

Kate Spade has just opened a shiny new store in Pacific Place shopping mall in Hong Kong, and I was asked to be a guest artist at the opening party. I  drew sketches of the customers and VIPs (who had each been given a fabric flower to wear for the event), and gave them to everyone to keep as a souvenir gift.It was fun! I kept the portraits light, pretty, and in the style of the evening. Each one had a dash of watercolour red and pink for the flowers, and took under five minutes to complete. I think most of the guests were happy with their pictures...I had expected it to be mostly women, but alot of men sat for me also, which was great.There were a few local celebrities there, and I even drew a portrait for Stephy, a canto-pop singer.Check out all the HK stores (ifc, Harbour City & Elements, as well as PP) if you're into super nice handbags and accessories!

Cliveden visit

This weekend I went to Cliveden, a National Trust Property in Buckinghamshire. The grand Restoration era house (more of a large castley-villa) is now a private hotel, where you can also take meals. You get to the house up a long, wide gravel drive, past a magnificent marble fountain. In the 30's this was the home of Lord and Lady Astor, and there was a beautiful painting of Lady Astor by John Singer Sargent in the lobby. I explored a little, upstairs and downstairs, before lunch...

After lunch, a stroll in the gardens, to admire the parterre, and the house itself.There was a small group of re-enactment actors playing at being Lady Astor's crowd of socialites and celebrities, from 1934. How wonderfully English. They even had lemon drizzle cake...

baby room mural

I've just painted a ocean-themed mural for my baby niece's bedroom. It's a little room, with pale yellow walls and a partially sloped white ceiling. I roughly divided the room into 3 horizontal bands, with the top area of the walls, near the ceiling, as the sky, the next level as the horizon of the sea, and the bottom level, near the floor, as the ocean floor. From my initial concept just to do the sky, with clouds, stars and the moon...

the room developed into a gentle sea paradise.

I drew the clouds, birds, and main boat in pencil first, for positioning, and tested out the colours.

I painted the clouds white on the yellow walls, and where the walls merged into the sloped ceiling, I changed the clouds to blue on white.

I put birds in the clouds,

and sea creatures in corners along the skirting board of the room...

And of course, the main feature: a sailboat, with an imaginary portrait of my niece, sailing in her dreams...

road trip USA

So, welcome again to my blog. I'll try my darndest to be fairly regular, even if it's just a tiny snippet of news... I've just come back from a road trip in the States,  (with a NY trip tagged on to the end) and here are a few sketches and photos:

Starting in Los Angeles,

where we walked along Venice beach from Santa Monica, and drove Mulholland Drive at Sunset, we carried on to Las Vegas, baby!

where we stayed at the Bellagio, watched the fountains, and gambled a grand total of $9, yeah, and spent all our money on buffets instead. From there to the Grand Canyon,

to be truly awestruck, and on to Monument Valley, where we drove as if in a movie:

A day at the Mesa Verde, for a touch of Ancestral Puebloan culture:

and then over the mountains to snowy Denver, the Rockies and the Buckhorn Exchange. It was road-trip-a-rama!

Next installment, NY...

M