Blog lovin

Lately I have come across so many amazing blogs that are beautiful and inspiring so I just wanted to share a couple of really special ones. I might at the end of each or every second month share with you my top 5 blogs that I have discovered. Be sure to check out these blogs and leave them a lovely note :)

polaroids & kisses

Wunderlust

bonjour bohemian

WishWishWish

The Miso Soup

Colour Inspiration and Update

Just a little fun post as I have a lot to share with you guys. Lately my life has been super crazy with so many things happening too me. I have won a couple of giveaways lately that I am so excited about. One is a lovely necklace I won at the Art & Design Markets raffle, which is a lovely Double Terminated Quartz and Brass Necklace from Stannard-Inc. I am so in love with it as I have wanted a necklace like this for ages. Secondly I won part of a giveaway over at Tornadoes and Tigers where I won my very own Domain name. So soon my blog will be changing its address soon to girlholdingapaintbrush.com but more on that later. 

Also other exciting news is that I have finally finish with re-vamping my blog layout. Took some decent time out of my long days, but finally its done. I am very happy with the result and I hope you guys like it as well. What do guys think of my new layout?

I am also starting a new feature where you guys can send me some of your works and I will feature them on my blog where I'll do a special little interview about your work. More can be found about this here.

Photo credit: 1, 2, 3, found via 4, 5

Art & Design Markets

I thought today I would share some photography I did a couple of weekends ago at the Art & Design Markets in Wollongong. Just some freelance photography work but it was a great experience as I got to meet so many creative people. The Art & Design Markets is an event that features products made by artists and designers residing and working in Australia. The perfect opportunity to purchase and invest in unique handmade Australian designer products. They also had the talented Claire Foxton doing some live painting which was so interesting to watch and talk to her about her work.

Photographer: Ryan Pfluger

mia wasikowska for TIME, 2011

alex, 2009

fashion for Time Out NY, 2009

austin, 2011

I love going on tumblr and just spending time looking through countless of beautiful and inspiring photographs from people around the world. My latest tumblr discovery was Ryan Pfluger who is a American photographer working in Brooklyn, New York. Pfluger's work explores the ideas surrounding the representation of man, and more specifically of young gay men. His images deal with the sublety of body posture, the gaze, body types and pushing the role of self-portraiture. I love his images of Mia Wasikowska as she is so pretty in them and just bring out the best of her. Check out his other works on his tumblr, blog and website.

Photo Credit: Ryan Pfluger

Much Love Monday

I felt like I needed to do a Much Love Monday today as I am feeling a lot of love at the moment. Join in the fun at Much Love :)

Frankie In the latest Frankie edition there is a cute article called 'Our Big Day' where creative couples who've said "I do" talk us through their wedding day. It is such a beautiful article and has made me think about my big day when I find my Mr Darcy. The weddings are so unique and special, wish my wedding will be as special as theirs.

Groucho My best friend also known as our dog. We just chilling at the moment sitting together. Even though he can't talk I feel like he gets me and he enjoys just chilling out with me.

Winter clothing Today when I went to have brunch with my girls it was the first day I actually got wear a fully winter outfit. You know with the whole jacket, gloves, scarf, etc. I love winter the most because of the clothes.


Photo Credit: Jazz Cat1

Weekend Adventures

Hey everyone! I trust that you all had a lovely Easter break as I did. Luckily it wasn't all filled with uni work so I did get to get out of the house and have some fun. I went and visited my nan and we had lunch on Sunday then today I had a lovely brunch with two of my best girls. I was also went shopping with my mum for the Easter sales and got some lovely purchases from Veronika Maine. So it was in the end a very good weekend for me. Right now, I'm just at home reading the newest Frankie, having a cup of tea and watching series 5 of Doctor Who. I'm also doing some drawing and watercolour for my painting class which is exciting as I haven't worked with watercolours for a while now. As you can see I have set myself up for the rest of the day.

Also thanks to whoever so far has done located in my sidebar which is just about what you guys would like to see more of. If you haven't done so yet I would really appreciate it :) Have a great Monday guys!

Good Friday

Just thought I would say that I wish everyone a Happy Easter. I am so happy for the long weekend as I need to do a lot of catching up in my uni work, especially in my photography class. So unfortunately not a lot of adventures this weekend but it will still be fun as I will be with my family all weekend. Never the less hope you all have a lovely holiday what ever it is your doing. I will see you all after the holiday :)

I am still having a poll (sidebar) about  what you guys would like to see more of. Would really love to hear some feedback. Thanks guys

Photo credit: eva_eva

DIY vintage postcard calendar journal

I love seeing cute little DIY projects like these that can make a huge difference in your lifestyle. Grace Bonney of Design*Spongehas has made this very cute daily calender journal where you jot down a little note from each day. The idea is very simple — flip to the current date and at the end of the day, write down something that happened. Whether its something like "I got a promotion" or something simple like "needed more then one cup of coffee today". Imagine in like 10 years time you can look back and see what you have done over the last decade.
It doesn't seem hard at all to make this delightful thing and seems like it would be well worth it. You can go here to check out the tutorial on how to make this. As for me I need to keep an eye out for a box and some nice postcards before I can make this :)

If you haven't already notice I have also put up a poll in my sidebar so hear some suggestions of what you guys would to see more of. I would really appreciate it if you would participate and it will only take a few seconds of your time.  If you have any other suggestions or you want to see other things I am more then happy to hear them. Just leave a comment or send me a email at murphy.bouma@hotmail.com. Thanks guys it means a lot.

The Archibald Prize

Ben Quilty
Magaret Olley
Winner: Archibald 2011

Vincent Fantauzzo
Matt Moran
Winner: Packing Room Prize 2011

Abdul Abdullah
Waleed Aly

Del Kathryn Barton
Mother (a portrait of Cate)

I thought I'd better do a post dedicated to one of Australia’s oldest and most prestigious art awards, The Archibald. The Atchibald is a art prize that is held every year at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, AGNSW. Over the years the Archibald has seen many outstanding paintings and has a lot of controversy over the years. The Prize was first awarded in 1921 and is now worth $50,000. Go here if you want to read a bit more about the history of the Archibald. 

This years exhibition is yet again filled with beautiful paintings by some of Australia's greatest painters. I was very happy to hear that this years winner was Ben Quilty for his painting Magaret Olley as he is one of my favourite Australian artists. Above I have put a few of the paintings that I love, including the winner of the Packing Room prize. They still have to announce the winner for the People's Choice, but that isn't till June. I hopefully will be going up within the next month to see the exhibition and cast my vote for People's Choice. Be sure to check the rest of the paintings for this years Archibald and if you leave near then make sure you go and see the magnificent exhibition. 

What are your thoughts on this years Archibald? Which one is your favourite and such? Love to hear people's thoughts on it :)

Winter Turns

I wanted to share with you guys today a video that my brother Woodie has just finish putting together. Showing off his talent as a professional skiier and surfer, he has created something quite beautiful and skillful here. I hope to see him create more films like this in the future. Maybe even enter one into a film festival?
He also has another video on his Vimeo, be sure to check it out and leave a comment.

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Also how does everyone like the new layout? I still need to do a few changes here and there, but then it will be finished. The only thing I am having trouble with is trying to hide the Navbar at the top. I've tried tones of codes but their keep coming up with a error. Does anyone know of a code that works for them?
Thanks guys :)

Much Love Monday

Right now, all that I am loving is Doctor Who.
The past week a lot of my spare time has been re-watching series 1-5 of Doctor Who in time for the premiere of series 6. I am so excited for it and it feels like I am falling in love with it all over again. Unfortunately us Australians will be getting it a week later after the UK and US so I will be going now where near any Doctor Who related sites/blogs. It's going to be hard, but I don't want spoilers. Anyone else excited for the new series of Doctor Who? If so please talk to me as none of my friends like Doctor Who.

Join in next Monday for Much Love Monday.

Photo Credit: M I S C H E L L E

Photobooth Friday - Roll Three

 This is what happens when you have two of your best girlfriends over for a night of drinking before heading out into town to dance. We had a lovely night with a lot of laughs. Now the weekend is here and their is a lot of work that needs to be done before I go back to uni. Have a lovely weekend everyone :)

Artist: Jen Mann

 Today has been going really slow for me so I thought I would show you another artist that I have discovered recently. Her name is Jen Mann and she is from Ontario, Canada. Growing up in a forest and blessed with this wild and free childhood behind her house, Mann creates these beautiful series of drawings and paintings inspired by nature. Her works are beautiful and even though they appear to be unfinished she uses this to her advantage.

Be sure to check out her website, facebook, tumblr and if your interested in buying some of her prints go here.