Simone Quentin de Manson

Kylie and I went gallavanting down south a few weeks ago and I have only just started going through all the photos. Which are many! Lets just say i took 300…… because i can.

Here are a few and there are lots more on flickr (not 300 tho)!

I want want want… I am not a consumer AT ALL.

Its like someone has flicked a switch and all of a sudden warm weather, blossoms daffodils and magnolias bamboozled us with their colour and ability to make us sneeze, uncontrollably for minutes at a time..

I am loving the warmth and being able to wear a tea shirt and skirt and go for bike rides without wearing layers of smelly polypro.

Last night after sitting in two banana lounges drinking our summer beverage, soaking up the last of the suns rays, I ran around taking photos in the beautiful light. My flatmate wanted a desktop wallpaper from of one of the images, so i thought I would offer it all to you aswell! To remind you of spring if it happens to be the opposite where you are, or to keep you excited for the coming summer months…

The Preview:

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I am sitting baking by the fire in the lounge on a big beanbag slowly coming to realise i actually did it! I quit the regular pay check for doing it myself!

Watch this space, i will have a re-design for bloggity coming. I also registered and put up an old portfolio page on my new “business” domain name. www.quentindemanson.com

What i plan to be doing is:
1. Web design. Simple neat and affordable. The complicated jobbies I can possibly help on, but the more complicated websites are not a task I will be doing alone. I just do the pretty things.
2. Graphic design, being business cards, identities, stationary, the odd sign perhaps, again keeping it simple.

But now I have time back to be creative and explore opportunities I miss while working the nine to five. I have so many ideas and with all my playing on the weekend.. I just cannot fit them ALL in. This way when there is a lull in work, i can start painting again, I can look into textile design, i can take short courses on random stuff that for some odd reason interest me. AND i am blabbing. I stop now.

Found on desire to inspire. This divine image.. i think its the combination of pillow patterns, the satisfied “Oh so beautiful” cat and the mural all at once that helped me out of my gloomy mood..

Rita Angus Portrait of Betty Curnow 1942, oil on canvas
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, purchased 1970

I went to see the Rita Angus exhibition at Te Papa in Wellington on Monday (I was there on business and I had a spare hour). I adore her art, always have, but I must admit I have only seen a small sample of her work. Until now. It was amazing to walk through the gallery seeing her pictures in each stage of her life, feels hard to describe it right now though. Except to say she painted with a honest and idealist take that inspired me. I will be spending quite a bit of time at the exhibition when it comes to Christchurch.

“HVM’s” ha ha ha ha ha…. seriously.. sigh, my world. There has to be a new one every other day…

I have moved into a new place in the last two weeks. It was an epic effort of moving alot of stuff. I used to live in a house I rented, furnished and stocked with kitchen stuff including a dedicated studio. To ONE room in a friends place, with the idea of doing the house thing again in a year or so. Lets just say, it involves storage and alot of effort and organising. I could not of done it without Kylie and help from friends with larger vehicles But i still sit behind the computer most of my days and occasionally see lovely links and tutorials that i think.. “must blog about that”.

Here are a few..

• Craft 2.0 coming to christchurch! Yay yay. Now I hope to give you guys a sneak preview of some friends work, so stay tuned.
• Clever Bastards, a New Zealand based online shop selling handmade nz artist’s goods! Don’t forget Felt for that too, sell your own things, has the etsy feel to it
• Studio Home, A blog I am loving for its NZ flavour and delightful posts
• Wardrobe Refashion: I have asked to post here and got accepted! I have yet to write a post as the acceptance came mid move. Will be thinking about it this weekend. But basically you choose time where you will buy nothing more new clothing wise and you adjust/work with what you have already got. YIKES! But I thought this would be a great motivation and learning curve to get comfy and happy in sewing again.. i used to do quite a bit without thinking about when i was growing up, but now i’m grown up, I’m all scared to experiment!

Right thats me! Enough blabbling! Sorry no piccies today…