The Toy House

Tom offended me recently. He said that our house is like a "toy house" because of how Ive decorated it. So I like random hat boxes with russian dolls on! And I like stuffed toy rats on top of my TV. And I like having a pillow in the shape of a cat called Bastis to have pride of place on my bright red pooffee. And my stairs are lime green and black with dark purple walls. OK, it IS like a toy house. But I think the biggest problem Tom has is my Nintendo obsession. I have a plush Bowser on my TV (next to the toy rat). I have a plush Wario on my sofa and a plush Mario sitting on top of Bastis. I have a plush Pirana Plant on my fireplace. And I also have Power Up mushroom figurines on my mantlepiece. So why not paint some canvases to complete the look!?
I did want large stickers for the walls, but Tom drew the line. Spoilsport.

So here they are, my first batch.

I used 3 of my smallest square canvas for the tile effect. I am going to make another 6, to make a 3x3 large square, but thats for another day.

I chose to do Mario, for he is the namesake of the series although not my favourite character. I have a bag with this image on, so thats what I based it on. Plus, its from the cover of my favourite Mario game (Super Mario 3)


Then I did Goomba (who I adore, so much so I have a tattoo of a Goomba on my wrist... true story!). I wish I could have a pet Goomba.


Bowser was my third choice because he is my ultimate fave.

I think next I'll do a Koopa, Bob-omb, Wario (another fave!) and mushrooms. I should do a Yoshi, even though he annoys me. Although saying that, he doesnt annoy me as much as Peach.

Im having a Nintendo Frenzy. I'll calm down. So thats the latest addition to my paintings collection. OK, they're not my usual style but Im happy with them. They are in my living room and Tom can't say anything. He called it a Toy House, I'll make it a Toy House!

Oo-er missus!

I was lying in bed last night, when my attention was drawn to a canvas on my bedroom wall. I had completly forgotten that I had it up! As I looked at it, I wondered if I had published it to this blog. Nope, its a new one. So here it is.


This is one of two paintings showing underwear. This is a long glove and a basque on a hanger, and the other shows a brassire and knickers in the same design. I originally made it for my sister, Victoria, but when she moved back home from her student house, she didn't have room for it. Which is why it now hangs on my bedroom wall.

I just thought I would share it with you, because it was feeling left out.

Jenn XxX

Meet Tom

Hello all. Ive talked a lot about this mysterious "Tom" figure, so I thought you should meet him. Hes been my partner since we were 15, and we're getting married next year, hoorah. Anyway, as I said in my first post, I still have a painting I did of him in our bedroom, which I gave to him as a 16th birthday present (yes, I was still skint even back then). I also bought him some goldfish, but thats another story. Anyway, this is it.


This is my very first painting of the style I have since... erm... "refined" if you like. Yes, when I am dead and gone, someone will turn up on Dickinson's Real Deal with this, and the antique expert will say "Wow, THE original of the great Jenn movement! This is worth upwards of £20million!! I'll give you a tenner for it!!"
No, I jest. Its not my best piece I will admit, but its very personal to me. It was my first, so it will always have a place in my heart (and on my wall). I used a photo from when he was posing for one of my many art projects, which is why the guitar is at a very stupid angle. It does look like him (even now, four years on), but its also very subtle, so it could look like, well, anyone with a beard. It actually looks bigger than it is, but its hung on a black wall, so its a bit of an optical illusion.
I remember this was when I didn't have a lot of paints, so I used up all my black on this one. Those were the days.

The Crazy Tree

When Tom and I were about to move into our new house, he said I was completly in charge of decorating and could paint the rooms any colour I liked. I took this to be a show of confidence that he trusted me to make the house nice, rather than him shifting all the work onto me (although I later changed my opinion when 3 days in I had single-handedly re-decorated 4 rooms!).
So the living room is red and magnolia, with black accessories (very modern, rather than gothic). However, finding artwork to hang on the walls is very difficult for a red room. Well, unless you like close-up photos of a rose, printed onto a canvas that are seemingly available in all shops. Which I don't. So I set about making my own. I bought the biggest canvas I could find (Approx 80x50 cm) and set to work. It took me about two days because I kept changing my mind on the design, but this is what I eventually ended up with.
And to show you just how big it is, here's a photo to show the comparison, demonstrated by the wonderful Victoria, who you may remember from blog post 1....


Shes going to kill me, isn't she?

Anyway, that is my Crazy Tree, one of my prouder creations. Whenever people come round - be it family member or gas man - I always point it out and say "I did that". I usually get a response of "ooooh nice" or "Really?! I love it" or "Look love, I'm here to check your gas boiler. A cup of tea would be a work of art though!"

Philistine. Anyway, there is my Crazy Tree for you all to see. I hope you like it. Tom did. But then again I can't be sure of that. His response was only slightly better than the gas mans!

Stencils and Paint Throwing

Back in the old days, when I was at college, I used my boyfriend as my muse, if you like. I made him pose and I photographed him for every project... even if he didn't need to. But one project I did need him to pose for, and I created two giant posters for his (fictional) up-coming tour with his band. At the time, he was in a band, but they were not on tour, so I had a hell of time making my accompanying journal fit to this "fictional" tour. Anyway, here is one of the final pieces, and its a bit different to my usual work.

It is a spray-painted stencil, with stars, crosses and lettering, on a large cardboard sheet (it was actually the backing part of an old wardrobe, so you can imagine how much fun it was to transport to and from college!!). I then threw paint at it. naturally, my teachers didn't think much of it, but that could be because I didn't draw a picture of a violin using twigs and ink, or a fruit bowl with one ear. But never-the-less, my boyfriend loves it. He has it up in his office (along with a hand-drawn picture of his Warcraft character I made, using black ink and watercolour crayons). This is not what I do to sell, but I guess I could be pursuaded if someone loved it enough.

*EDIT* managed to get a photo of the second piece, just for fun. Same style, different pose.

Dom and Tom Are Engaged!

My best friend of 10 years, Dom, recently got engaged to her Prince Charming, Tom. Even though Ive never met him (she moved to Birmingham a few years ago, where she met him) I still wanted to give them a unique present to say congratulations. Now, she hasn't been back to Sheffield yet to collect it, so she hasn't seen the final image, but here it is for you to see.


To paint this picture, I had to trawl Facebook for a photo of Tom, because I couldn't ask for one specially or it would ruin the suprise (or, Dom would think I was stalking her boyfriend... either way, no good could come of asking!) I should point out that if you are going to suprise someone with a picture of them, and if you are going to trawl their Facebook for a photo, make sure you know that they won't mind.
This painting was made using two seperate photos, which I just merged together. I will put one of Dom up for comparison.I can't add the original photo of Tom because (A) I don't still have the photo and (B) he was doing quite a rude gesture on the original photo.

Still, I hope they like it. And, its painted on a large canvas.

My Mum's Birthday Present

Oooh this is exciting, a first proper blog post! Let me try and get this right...

Last week it was my Mum's birthday, and I just didn't know what to buy her (there are only so many Donny Osmond and Westlife CDs in the world!). So I painted her four individual pictures of her daughters (including me). This was the first time I'd painted myself, so I was a bit wary, but I'd like to think Ive captured my best side. Here are all four canvases (or is it canvi?) in a sort of window shape...

So, here are the pictures. The top left is of my older sister, Victoria, and the bottom two are my younger sisters, Katie and Helen. I am on the top right, looking very groovy with my back-combed hair...
As you can tell, Katie and I are blonde, hence the lighter hair areas, and Victoria and Helen are lovely brunettes. I think this is quite a good likeness to them, but obviously you don't know what they look like in real life. I could just put four randomers up here and tell you anything, so I'll put some more to show you a comparison, and you can see if there is a likeness or not.

First up, Victoria. She doesn't always wear glasses, but I think they gave the painting that little bit of personality. She, however, has yet to forgive me.

Next up, Katie. This is the actual photo I took the painting from, so hopefully you can see some likeness here.


This is Helen, looking gorgeous as you can see. Shes got a very cheeky smile, so I liked that it is, for me, one of the first things you notice on the painting.


Now, here I am, looking rather fetching.


So, that hopefully gives you an idea of what kind of painting I can get from the photos am I provided with, and if you like it, let me know. Thanks :)