quiet girl

i am a huge fan of postcards. it's obvious from my blog title and it's obvious by the random little things i like to post about. so when i stumbled across these illustrated postcards by Valerie Chua on Anna's blog (one of my favorites, you should definitely check it out) i almost squealed with glee. goodness, aren't they completely marvelous? these illustrations are the epitome of wistful. the girls' unsmiling faces and  muted colors bring about a plaintive aspect to the otherwise gorgeous atmosphere that these postcards create. looking at these collaged portraits, the girls are seemingly begging for their story to be told. but in these cards, i think that part is up to you.

ps- check out Ms. Chua's photostream

etsy: caitlin shearer

Caitlin Shearer's work is phenomenal. each image tells a story that i either want to be the heroine in or just read for ages. it's amazing how much emotion can come across in a painted portrait. some of her pieces have almost brought me to tears, while others are wistful and like a fleeting memory. her artwork achieves what i think all art should. the lovely Caitlin herself is a 21 year old woman who dreams of other eras and marrying Fred Astaire. she also dreams of going back as Fred Astaire so that she could, "go (to) a movie with Ginger Rogers and dance the night away wearing a shiny top hat and sequins." this is a woman after my own heart, for sure!

(quote source)

ps- Caitlin also has a blog. it's a super wonderful blog, but incredibly easy to get sucked into, so set some time aside before you start perusing through it.

pps- i'm totally kicking myself for letting this be my first official post about Ms. Shearer, seeing as she's only one of my favorite watercolor artists. in fact, my computer desktop has been one of her pieces for ages. this one to be precise.