This Sunday, my Oscar goes to

This Sunday I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for Yorgos Lanthimos' "Dogtooth", nominated for Best Foreign Language Film
and Cohen Brothers' "True Grit", nominated among other for Best Costume Design - costume designer being the Greek-American Mary Zophres (Zafiropoulou).Red carpet PJs: check.
Vanilla- caramel pop corn stock: check.

Stelios Koudounaris s/s 11

Stelios Koudounaris s/s 11 look book is just in. I'd love to post all 31 pages but I'll have to filter it down to my six favourite. Reminding you the collection is themed 'Le Prostitute Medivali'. You'll find no cliché prostitute connotations in it though.

"The point is not to be provocative", says the release. "Be pure, be authentic and push things to the limit if your self and your aesthetics oblige you to. The way a Prostitute Medievali would be". You can watch this collection's fashion film, here.

Custo Barcelona a/w 11

For the past few winters I keep promising myself I'll ditch the greyscale wardrobe. Receiving these images from Custo Barcelona's a/w 11 show in New York was a colourful slap: next winter will be a bright one.

Ippolito at Athens Xclusive Designers Week

(photo by Ordinary Style Pulse - see her 'Room Service' report, here)
Guess who else is participating at this season's AXDW. You know the bags, you love the bags and many of you are proud owners of one. On March 20th though you'll see Ippolito by Pavlina Papailiopoulou like never before, on the catwalk. Participating as one of the event's Newcomers. Show details are still a secret. Exciting!

Connecting the Dots

Pink Companions © 2011 Amy Hillenbrand
5 x 7 oil on canvas

So the other day I put this little tiny question out there and and to my delight I received some insightful, rich, and diverse answers from some wonderful fellow artists Nancy Hartley, Kelley MacDonald, Carol Carmichael, Debbie Smith Rourke and Ralph Taylor. Each with their own twist. As with any question, you could get as varied an answer as there are snowflakes. The question being how does one artist become successful where another ones does not (see my prior post).

Looking back I can see that  there is a question that comes before this question, which may be the first question or... not, follow me? The first question is how does one define success for oneself.  So when I posed this question I all ready had in my mind how I define success. Without defining success for yourself, it is pretty tough to determine when you've reached it.  Like any statement, this one too, it could be picked apart and further dissected. But let's not go there...for now anyway.
Any hoo, back to the original question. So here is my hypothesis; some artist really listen to their inner voice, their intuition, to their heart and some artists do not. Not only do they listen but they act on what they hear. Notice I did say my hypothesis because I have not proved this theory. But, there is this kinda successful man (my tongue is firmly planted in my cheek) Steve Jobs ( you know, the guy with the little computer company) who may agree with me. In his  commencement address  to the 2005 graduating class of Stanford University he substantiates some of my thoughts.  One of my favorite lines of his speech is: "believe (and trust) that the dots will connect down the road and this will give you the confidence to follow your heart. "He goes on to say "have the courage to follow your heart and trust your intuition because they somehow know what you truly want to become. " If you have a moment give it a listen, it's worth it.
What little things have been quietly or loudly been speaking inside you? Have you acted on them?

Anna Prelevic for Georgina Skalidi Clutch Bags s/s 11

Lookbook SS2011. Loving it.
Model: Anna Prelevic
Photos: Nadia Papanikolaou
Styling: Charalampos Nikolaou


For clutch close-ups and store location see here.

Nike FREE s/s 11 - video+news


Good news if you are a runner - in any way. Nike presents three technologically advanced models, Nike Free TR Fit, Nike Free XT Quick Fit+ and Nike Free Everyday Fit+, designed to improve your performance. Apparently you can choose among three levels of elasticity Nike Free 3.0, Nike Free 5.0, and Nike Free Run+ which is pretty close to custom-made for your kind of running activity.

The video is brief but gets the message across: in Nike Free you could be flying. Haven't tried them on yet, but I will. It's Spring, I fancy flying.

Images below from Nike - Be Free presentation at Psychiko flagship store last Tuesday.

*not me above though hair is close:)

Missoni s/s 11 - video


Looks a bit like united colours of... Missoni, but actually this is a very interesting video. It features 11 members of the Missoni family as well as friends of the house, including: Sir Peter Blake, Camilla Al Fayed, Jasmine Guinness, Leighton Meester, Jaquetta Wheeler, Jade Parfitt and Eugene Niarchos.

direction: Mel Bles
stylist: Vanessa Reid

Prada s/s 11 - video


Models: Kinga Rajzak, Zuzanna Bijoch, Arizona Muse, Tati Cotliar & Mariacarla Boscono
Music: Ratatat's "Mirando" (2008)
Shot by: Steven Meisel

AXDW / Athens Xclusive Designers Week - poster


Et voila the poster for this season's Athens Xclusive Designers Week. Click to enlarge for a better look of the participating designers. Dates, according to schedule. Also, thrilled the black poster days are over.

Silly Boy - new video out

This blog has been a fan of Silly Boy for quite a while now. Now, I've got a video to show you. Lights down, volume up.

Sillyboy "Played" Music Video

direction: Stathis Mourdoukoutas / The cOre
production in association with: Filmiki

*Stop That Sound said it first.

Yell.com's new campaign. Say 'cheese'.

Yell.com is introducing a new, impossible service with a fun campaign. And it’s all about supporting local businesses, boutiques and independent stores! Bonus, you get a chance to win £10,000 worth of prizes like 55” Sony 3D TV, a surround sound system, decks, mixing lessons, and more.

The advert gives you a clue about what you have to do:

Let’s say you are looking for the lost classic copy of Pulse & Thunder, a vintage piece of 90s dance history by Day V Lately. Save yourself the legwork: utilising the Yell App (for Android or iPhone) – or Yell.com – locate an independent music shop near you and the record could soon be in your hands.

Speaking of which, limited copies of DJ Day V Lately’s trance mix of the record produced in the early 90s have been scattered especially, at independent music stores for you to dig out and snap a photo with. That’s all it takes to enter the competition and win the prizes! Treasure hunt anyone? Say ‘cheese’.

A creative, fun campaign, well tuned with the ‘90s music revival we are currently undergoing. Hunting down rare records is only one example of what Yell.com can do. What blew my mind is ShopView. Any business in Britain can now put a video on video.yell.com for free, so customers can have a look around inside and meet the staff.

Can’t wait for a tour inside small boutiques, locating vintage dresses, indie accessories and other objects of my desire - which are mostly rare. I guess winning £10,000 would help in bringing them home. Make my day, Day V Lately!

*competition entries begin on February 26th, more info
here
** Pulse & Thunder on i-tunes
Yell
Golden Ticket
Pulse & Thunder
Day V Lately
Sponsored Post

That is the question.......

Proper Pink Poesies © 2011 Amy Hillenbrand
5 x 7 oil on canvas
poesy: plural - sies,  "the work or the art of poetic composition"


I have a new question running around in my mind these days. Maybe you have had the same one running around in your mind.
 
Why are some artist successful and some artists are just not successful? What makes them different? Are they just fabulously talented?  Is it that they are smarter than the next person? Are they more gifted with time management? Were they born with a marketing gene? Do they actually have 34 hours a day vs the 24 hours that everyone else has? Are they luckier than the average Joe?

Since right now my focus is in oil painting, I pose the question regarding artists, but it can apply to any profession or endeavor.  Are there things you intuitively know you should do and you don't to make yourself successful?  I'm so intrigued by the why and why not of this question. Yep, so as you can see, this question is just flying around in my ole' noggin. I have some of my own ideas,  but I would love to hear your thoughts.


Fashion Week Athens - new dates

Ok. New dates for your agenda:

Fashion Week Athens
30 March - 3 April 2011

Apparently there was some change of plan.

ANTM cycle 16 trailer


"My favourite designer is Hello Kitty".

Ioannis Dimitrousis a/w 11

Ioannis Dimitrousis a/w 11 collection, 'Flower Animal', as exhibited at Somerset House for London Fashion Week.

Be Mine Feline




Be Mine Feline © 2011 Amy Hillenbrand
10 x 8 oil on board
 
I know, I know this is not a shoe painting, but this little kitty with her big ears and expressive eyes caught my attention. 
 
 

What she wore

dear friend wearing - vintage dress from Berlin
myself wearing - black and grey jersey jumpsuit from Athens

Looking kinda 70s. Or maybe it's that wall.

Last night's close-ups

My close-ups maybe strange but these bags got soul.
Eastpak Artist Studio, team Greece 2011:

*attached to bag above: kids, this is a 'tape cassette'. Long before the mp3, this is what used to carry our music.
To have your own close encounters before the auction, visit the exhibition at Balux Cafe House Project - Glyfada till February 28th.

**Also see this post by Ordinary Style Pulse.

Dukas s/s 11 - campaign & collection

You've had a taste at Dukas s/s 11 video. Here's the actual campaign and sample of the collection.
For a better look you can always visit Dukas' website, here.

To Paint or Not to Paint

                                                                            
Pretty Peephole Pumps © 2012 Amy Hillenbrand
18 x 14 oil on canvas


What do you do when you don't feel like painting? Do you  push yourself to do it or do you do what you feel inspired to do? This is a tricky one. I found myself in this dilemma for the month of January and part of February. For a little while I did just push through it, but it just didn't feel right inside. So I asked inside what would feel good. I was quite surprised with the answer. Clean out my office closet, my art closet, remodel my office and work on my taxes! I was shocked. I actually wanted to clean and purge and organize. These are things I usually have to really push myself to do. So I went with it.

I'm on the other side now. I now have super organized closets and a super organized ( and pretty) office with super easy access to everything. No moving this and that to get to things. (Jealous, aren't you?) Something I had been tolerating along time. It feels so glorious, I just want to do a little jig every time I'm in my office. I'm so happy I  just want to paint and paint and paint. I was a little scared about stopping the painting and following this inner urge, but wow, it has made such a huge difference. Once again I'm amazed at the wisdom of following where my heart led. When in doubt follow your heart!

Wedding Flower Bouquets

Orchids have been used for over 100 years and are still being used today in weddings for bride bouquets, bridesmaids’ bouquets, corsages, boutonnieres, and table center pieces. I have been to several weddings where the centerpieces were actually potted orchids and were given away as prizes at the reception afterward.

wedding flower bouquets

wedding flowers
Weddings are for every woman the most important event of their life and they want to be perfect.Besides the perfect wedding dress a bride wants to have the perfect wedding bouquet.The wedding bouquet is very important for the bride,it completes the perfect look.In our days there are a large range of wedding bouquets from witch brides can choose from.
 
K.3.N.J.I