Shalimar

I've added a new item to my Etsy shop!  A little 5 in. x 7 in. print of my original watercolor painting of a Shalimar bottle.  A perfect adornment for your vanity or powder room.

I've always loved the elegant and decorative Shalimar perfume bottle.  When I was a little girl I used to visit my Aunt Mary.  She had an assortment of beautiful perfume bottles adorning her vanity.  Shalimar was one of her signature scents.

Shalimar was created in 1921 and re-released in 1925 in a bottle created by Raymond Guerlain and Baccarat.  It was inspired by the love of an Indian Emperor for his wife Mumtaz-Mahal, for whom the Taj Mahal was built.  It is named after The Gardens of Shalimar.

The fragrance has a top note of Bergamot, middle notes of Iris and Opopanax, and a base note of vanilla.

Sitting Pretty

Here are two new additions to my Etsy shop.  I wondered what kind of spaces the lovely ladies in hats would occupy.  So I came up with these little vignettes.  Boudoirs perhaps.

These are the original thumbnail sketches for the Sitting Pretty paintings.

Sitting Pretty: Black and Pink

Sitting Pretty: Black and White

Etsy Shop Opening!

I've been thinking about opening an Etsy shop for a long time now.  When I finally  decided to do it, I had a hard time narrowing down my choices of what I would paint first.

These lovely ladies wearing their elegant hats just came to me while I was sketching out some ideas one day.

And here are the final watercolor paintings.

Audrey

Spring Daisies

Pink Roses, Black Veil

I really think it would be fun to live in a time when everyone wore hats everyday.

"...best taste exacts that in a city a hat be worn with street clothes in the daytime.  A woman wearing a hat is more chic than if she were hatless."  Emily Post's Etiquette 1960 edition

Please feel free to stop by my Etsy shop.  I hope to have more items in the line up soon!