Pet Portraits

 

[Queen of the Cats]

We here at Covet Garden, love our animal companions and we love art. Both Lynda and Rhonda have already had their furry friends, Lily the dog and Ronnie James Dio the cat, immortalized in watercolours. But that doesn't mean that we have to stop with just one pet portrait. So we were estatic to discover that  Covet Garden fave Queen of the Cats (aka Greasy Chicken Face aka Kristina Møller) is now doing custom pet portraits!

[Manda's Art Studio]

Up until the the dawn of the 20th century, paintings and sculptures of favoured animals were common, but photography made this art form less popular. Which is a shame because paintings can capture the complexity of a pet's personality in a way that photography can't (at least in the case of Ronnie James Dio who rarely sits still long enough for snapshots).

So we started perusing the internets looking for different mediums in which we could immortalize the critters we share our spaces with. On Etsy, we discovered the gouache representations from Manda's Art Studio] as well as Peter Clark's collages. It's all a great way to be a patron of the arts and honour your four-legged friend at the same time.

[Peter Clark]

Lynda's Square Foot Project: Magazine Memories

[illustration by Alanna Cavanagh]

Recently, I made a major decision—it was time to part with my much-loved and much-read magazine collection. A bottle of wine and seven hours later I’d gone through (are you ready for this) 232 magazines including—but not restricted to—every Domino, Blueprint and Oprah Home magazine ever printed. I decided it would be okay to allow myself a small number of pages from various publications to keep for sentimental and inspirational value. And it was this decision that led to an incredible goose bump moment between myself and illustrator Alanna Cavanagh. 

Long story short, Alanna was over at my house and noticed, on my bulletin board, a page from Domino’s September 2006 issue featuring fashion designer Erin Featherston’s Paris pied–à–terre. Hanging beside it was another page torn the March 2008 Domino with picks from fashion stylist Linda Rodin.

There was a moment of silence and then Alanna looked at me and asked, “What are these?” I explained that I loved Linda Rodin and Featherston's  Paris apartment, so I keep them up in my office. That's when the goose bumps happened.  Not only did Alanna know and admire Linda Rodin, she had also coveted that Paris apartment when she first saw it in Domino. In fact, they had inspired her to create an illustration which she sent it to me the next day.

I was gob smacked. Was it coincidence or fate? I think fate—it was a sign to continue downsizing for no other reason than to make room for more beautiful, unexpected moments like this one.

Let's recap:

  • 232 magazines = 26 square feet

  New total = 1,563 square feet

Jenn Hannotte on Local Talent Stefan Page

[Halina pillow for CB2]

Keeping things playful and irreverent is key to my design aesthetic. Introducing the unexpected always makes a room come alive, and one of the least anxiety-inducing methods is through surface design and art. Surface and pattern design is the passion of Toronto illustrator Stefan Page, who has designed for CB2, Umbra, Joe Fresh and many others. Through abstraction he creates playful, dream-like worlds that can add a tonne of fun and personality to any space. It's also cool to know that some of the amazing patterns we see in big retailers were crafted and inspired right here at home.

[Sasha rug for CB2]

[Wooden Horse illustration]

[sandals for Sandalista!]

This maple leaf pillow was created specifically for the opening of CB2 in Canada, and Stefan describes it as a blend of his personal love and understanding of Polish Folk Art with the iconic shape of the Maple Leaf that represents the home (Canada) that his family found during WW2. How truly Canadian is that!?

We're pleased to feature another intriguing post from interior stylist Jenn Hannotte of Russet and Empire Interiors back to the Covet Garden blog. Her work has been featured in Design Lines,  Remodelista, Apartment Therapy and the Marion House Book to name a few.

Jaiden and The Art of Tim Burton

[image: Jodi Pudge from Issue 20]

Dani, Stefano and Jaiden from the current issue of Covet Garden are big Tim Burton fans (as are we). Their dog, Abbie Elwell is actually named after Abercrombie after a pooch in Burton’s short film Vincent. And while the themes of movies can be rather macabre, the black and white pen and ink drawings and watercolour palettes of his book, The Art of Tim Burton, remind us of some of our favourite spring interior design trends.

We thought we'd take this opportunity to share some of our favourite spreads from the book, which was released to accompany a touring exhibition of the same name (and which just opened up in Paris, if you feel like hopping on a plane to see it).

Talking about Tim Burton also gives us the chance to share a story that Dani and Jaiden shared with us.

One day, Jaiden was sick. She had a fever. She made these drawings. She’s a big fan of Tim Burton so Dani suggested that she send them to him.

Later, on the same morning of the opening of the Tim Burton exhibition at TIFF Lightbox, Dani and Stefano received a package. It was from Tim Burton’s office. It said "thanks for the drawings" and there was an autographed picture.

Dani and Stefano raced to Jaiden’s school. They gave her the package and told her they were taking h to see Tim Burton at TIFF. Unfortunately, the lineup was huge. Stefano and Jaiden went up to the balcony to get some air while Dani satyed in the lineup. After a long wait, Stefano told Jaiden, "We probably won’t meet Tim Burton."

Jaiden started to cry. A woman asked her, "Why are you crying?" Stefano told her the story and added, "Jaiden is a huge fan." Then another woman tapped him on the shoulder and asked, “Is your daughter’s name Jaiden?"  She was Tim Burton’s publicist. "I got Jaiden’s drawings," she said. "Would she like to meet him?”

It was all just magic. Says Jaiden, "I knew I was destined to meet him."

December Contest Winner!

And thanks to Ellie Arscott for providing a one-of-a-kind illustration as our prize!