{ cuties pies }

I've recently had a couple of commissions for little girls which have been heaps of fun indeed. These first two were very very dear to me, as last weekend my darling friend Z welcomed her very beautiful little girl into the world. Her name is Alula and she is beautiful! 

The giraffe just seemed like the perfect 'friend' for little Alula with those big eyelashes; and the 'Goodnight Moon' poem is one that her mum has always loved and that will surely get many recitals in Alula's years to come - I wasn't familiar with it till now but the words are pretty adorable! I felt so honoured to paint these two pieces to go in her (insanely fabulous) nursery and I love that they'll be with her as she grows. Um and how great is that wallpaper by the way?!

In other news - I have developed quite an obsession with painting swimmers (as you may have guessed !) and fortunately for me I have some customers who feel the same! So I have happily obliged to a few commissions of this nature of late, here's a snippet of a pair I have recently finished. They are so much fun to do with all their ruffles and crinkles and frills; I just wish they made them in my size!

I've got heaps more on the boiler at the moment as the Christmas rush sets in so I'll keep sharing my work as I go; plus I will have some new stuff happening in a few weeks which I'm looking forward to sharing with you, too! See you soon.

Pip xx

 Images 1-5 & 7 copyright Pip Boydell; Image 6 from here at Pinterest (original source unknown sorry).

{ the makings of a busy season! }

What a busy start to the new month and season it has been. Saturday's 'Spring Flea' was heaps of fun and a great success. As always, Black & Spiro pulled a huge crowd with the line-up trailing around the street corner awaiting 9am for the doors to open; and the footpath and shop were consequently sprawling with what looked to be very happy customers throughout the day!

Here are a few snaps from the day plus some more of my actual work. The little herb and flower pieces were done on my favourite Arches paper with the edges hand-torn.... I just love how delicate yet rustic this beautiful paper is. Each came with it's symbol or meaning handwritten beneath which was such an interesting process - I really enjoyed discovering the often ancient meanings and symbolism behind all these little gems from nature that we see and use every other day and often don't give too much thought. 

'Strawberry: Perfect Elegance'

These gorgeous things were part of the stand by the very talented Lulu Lucky & Ellen Newman 

who had (amongst other things) the most fabulous array of potted plants in their custom painted terracotta pots. 

Follow them on Instagram  here and here!

'Thyme: Courage'

'Nasturtium: Optimism'

 'Lavender: Dauntlessness'..... there are a few meanings for lavender, 

however something about this word and thought jumped out at me. 

Couldn't resist taking this big pandanus nut home! I often admire them on the palms 

so I was pretty excited that the girls were selling them. I think I've also found my next painting subject!

'The world is your oyster'

'She sells sea shells by the sea shore'

While all my pieces sold on the day I am always open to creating custom pieces so feel free to email my at pip_boydell@hotmail.com if you are interested in prices or commissioning a piece of your own.

That's all for the moment! This last week has certainly brought beautiful sunny days, clear skies and lots of new and exciting work - I'm hoping an auspicious indication of the season ahead! Have a great week wherever you are in the world and see you again soon.

Pip xx