Saturday 28 January 2012

Home Tweet Home

A new print has now arrived in my shop, I decided that I wanted to create something for the home, so this print is called 'Home Tweet Home'. I really like this print, I've used my 2012 colour pallet on this print and so far I think it's my favourite.


If you would like to purchase this print then please click here or follow the link below
 
Design Copyrighted to Leanne Carpentier

Monday 23 January 2012

London Art Fair 2012: Part 2

The next few posts are going to be about some more of the artists that I saw at the London Art Fair. There were so many names that I brought back with me, I couldn't fit them all into one post, so I thought I'd take my time and post the bits that I think you should see...

Charles Fazzino

Charles Fazzino is a New York artist and for nearly 30 years he has designed and made 3D works of art. They are so enchanting! I fell in love with them when I saw them, I had to fight back the urge to buy one (slightly out of my price range right now!!). His 3D masterpieces represent the colourful, playful and glittery world that we live in.

'Song and Dance of the Heart' By Charles Fazzino

Initially Fazzino's work aspired from an amused glance on his home City, New York. These works would portray his frantic life, his districts, and everything in it. As his portfolio grew, Fazzino stretched further afield and started working on scenes from across the world, turning to American and European Cities.
La Joie De Vie, by Charles Fazzino. Image courtesy of http://www.jeanstephengalleries.com/fazzino-joiedevie.html

There are many things that I love about Fazzino's work, like the quirkiness of imagery, the colour and excitement it brings, but the thing I love most is the technique that is used to make them. After Several sketches, a design/painting will be selected, he then goes on to produce several silk screen prints of this original artwork and hand cuts each piece to be stuck down in layers to form the 3 dimension.

One day I would love to own a piece of his work.

Delphine Leborgeois

Delphine Leborgeois, is a French illustrator who now lives in London. For a number of years she has been designing book covers but her most recent body of work consists of using the books original typography as a starting point, these form the basis of the print. She then adds in her own drawings and digital collages.

'Army' By Delphine Leborgeois

Leborgeois, uses the process of collage, which enables her to play with different elements of the design. This helps her produce a wonderful array of prints using beautiful imagery from her digital drawings. Leborgeois, often spends long periods of time assembling these collages, often being constructed over weeks, even months and this plays a vital part in the process of creating a piece.

In most cases there is no connection between the book title and the work itself, The main story is put to one side and a new story invented. Leborgeois, creates a far better connection by leaving the viewer to create there own story themselves.
'Hummingbirds' by Delphine Leborgeois

I really like Leborgeois' style.

Sunday 22 January 2012

Opy's Pattern Project Blog

Yesterday, I was having a look on the Print Pattern blog like I do most lunchtimes, and I came across one post about Opy's Pattern Project. So I had a look at their blog and really liked what I saw. The concept of this blog was to design one surface pattern each week for a year! That sounds like a brilliant challenge to me. I was quite inspired by this although I knew I didn't have the time to do this with my full time job in hand.

Opy, Was born and Raised in Argentina but moved to New Zealand in 2003. Opy is a very creative individual, delving into Graphic Design, Photography, Crafting and Decorating.

One Surface Pattern that really caught my eye was her latest design, called 'Paris Je T'aime' and looks something a little like this...
I really Like this design, I think its so cleverly done!

'Aiming Happy' By Opy's Pattern Project
'Geometry Pass' By Opy's Pattern Project
'Flor = Flower' By Opy's Pattern Project

If you would like to have a look at more of Opy's Patten Project, then take a look at their Blog here

Please Note that all Designs in this Blog Post are Copyrighted to Opy's Pattern Project!

Thanks Opy! :)

London Art Fair 2012

Yesterday I was London bound again, So I popped along to the London Art Fair, based at the Business Design Centre. Every year the London Art Fair showcases some of the Great names in British Art. It also features some contemporary and photography work from emerging artists.

This year the fair gave an array of different styles, techniques and Cultures. This Blog post shows a few of the Textile pieces that I was drawn to at the show.

My particular favourite at this years show was Natasha Kerr. She had some gorgeous pieces of work for sale.
'Blackberry Picking' by Natasha Kerr
Natasha Kerr creates one-off textile portraits that explores her hidden past. Kerrs early works was inspired by Italian Renaissance frescoes. Kerr loved the worn away quality and the soft imagery along with the colours. You can still see the resemblance of these inspirations in her work to this day.

I really Love Natasha Kerrs work. Its typically my style. If you would like to see more of Natasha's work then take a look at her website here.
Francisca Prieto

There were a few pieces of Prietos work around the building. This was one of my favourites...
'Between Folds' By Francisca Prieto

Prieto's work consists of folding maps almost like a form of Origami to make up some unusual but interesting pieces of art.

Elisabeth Lecourt

Elisabeth Lecourts work is very intricate and detailed. Her work is of a sensitive nature, establishing the vulnerability of the human body.

“La maison en papier”, map of the world, By Elizabeth Lecourt
“La chasse au papillon”, map of Cambridge, By Elizabeth Lecourt
“Am Stram Gram”, map of North Europe, By Elizabeth Lecourt

Ruth Waller and Lee Hewett

Ruth Waller and Lee Hewett are a creative Designer/Maker duo. They like to cross the boundaries of Art, Design and Craft. Their main aim is to produce artworks that are playful, textural and that have an environmental interaction.
'Chromesphere' by Ruth Waller and Lee Hewett

Their work is influenced by a wide range of natural and scientific forms. They like to play with depth, scale, repetition and colour to create something very unique.

This was the first time I'd been to the London Art fair, and I was quite impressed with the standard of work. The likes of Damien Hirst and Rob Ryan, two well known names in the Art and Design world also Showcased there, next to some unfamiliar names, which makes the show very interesting to see. I'd fully recommend any art lover to attend!  

Friday 20 January 2012

Primark

Another one of my Bag designs is now on sale in Primark Nationwide. I quite like this design, it's very girly and a little quirky. This range was called 'Kaleidoscopic'.
This bag design originally came as an after product from the wrap, although the wrap did not get chosen for final selections. Here's a sneaky peek of the wrap.


Also a few of my notebooks are in stores...

Cupcakes


My Little Cupcake notebooks to match the Cupcake wrap

Vintage Boutique

These are my little 'Vintage Boutique' Notebooks to match the wrap.

More to follow soon...
 
Please Note All designs are Copyrighted to SwanMill Paper Co. Please do not copy.

Tuesday 10 January 2012

Past Work - 'Shrine'

So, the visit to The Royal Yacht Britannia reminded me of a project I once did in uni. As I said in my previous post my grandad was a Sailor in the Royal Navy. I am extremely proud of this fact, unfortunately my grandad passed away in 1994, so I never really got to hear many stories as I was 6 when he died. I do know that my Grandad and other Crew was successful at what they did. I won't go into detail as I don't want to drag the Past up and offend anyone. But I respect him for doing his bit to save our country at war. As I was finding out more about my grandad and his life, It really touched me, so I decided that I wanted to dedicate one project in particular to him.

This Project was called 'Shrine'.

The Scharnhorst
The Duke of York, The Ship my Grandad sailed on for quite a while.
These images above are some pieces from my sketchbook. This module was based in digital format so everything was adapted to digital. I mainly used Photoshop for the module and Illustrator was used at a minimum.
This is my Grandad! I Love this photo so much, it makes me laugh every time I see it. All these images are photos that my grandad had/took when he was on the ships, they are so precious to me, as these are my memories of him.

These were my final Pieces...

I love using my Grandads old photo's, they give me a little history lesson. I can imagine what life he had, how he lived it in the Navy, some good times and some bad times. I will always honour his memory
 
Please Note All designs are Copyrighted to Leanne Carpentier.
 

The Royal Yatch Britannia, Edinburgh

Hello! and a Happy New Year! Hope you had a lovely Christmas/Holidays!


As you may already know, I went to Scotland for my Christmas Holidays this year to spend it with my Boyfriend's family. It was my first ever Christmas away from Home, and how different it was! Don't get me wrong it was lovely, but I did miss my family. Whilst I was away we travelled down to Edinburgh for a few days before coming back home to Cardiff. Edinburgh was lovely, the winter wonderland was open and they were starting to set up the streets and Gardens ready for the 'Hogmanay' celebrations.
When we were in Edinburgh we decided to take a trip to the Royal Yacht Britannia.


The Royal Yacht Britannia, Copyright of Scottish Media. Clydebank 12th Jan 1954.

During the Reign of King George VI, The Royal Yacht Britannia was built to replace the Victoria and Albert III Yacht, but the King died 4 months before the Keel of the Yacht was laid. Princess Elizabeth, his daughter, succeeded him to the throne. The new Queen gave the Yacht a personal touch by approving and selecting the fabrics and decoration.

This Yacht has helped to make The Queen the most travelled monarch the world has ever known.

Singapore 1974, Photo Contributed by ex Royal Yachtsman Eric A Piper of Norwich. Copyright of The Royal Yacht Britannia.

This Yacht is lovely! The interiors were so pristine. The thought of myself walking where the Queen once walked was really weird, in a good way. The thing I loved most was that Princess Diana, the Princess of Wales, once stayed on this Yacht. It was Diana and Charles' Honeymoon gift from the Queen.

When I was taking a look around the Yacht, I made a really personal connection which I forgot that I had. My Grandad was a Sailor in the Royal Navy, and I kept thinking that my Grandad would have lived in the same type of environment for months on end. It brought back some really close memories of the photos he kept. I really enjoyed seeing the Bunk beds and the engines. It was so enjoyable, I felt like a little child again.  

If you get the Chance to visit this wonderful piece of history then go and do it! Enjoy the feeling of being surrounded by a Royal Past presence and take in the history.