Selina Fenech

Jessica Galbreth has created a delicious new dark gothic series of artworks with beautiful maidens in masque. Jessica has really outdone herself yet again, we love these three new works and are struggling to pick our favourite! All three new paintings are now available through Fairies and Fantasy, as art prints and most other items! See the new designs here-
http://www.fairiesandfantasy.com/catalog.php?category=35

Christmas, of course, is barrelling towards us. Why is it we always feel like we have plenty of time then all of a sudden it's upon us again? If you're planning on getting some of our great giftware items to give an enchanting gift to someone special this Christmas (or treat yourself, and really, why not?!), it's time to get in now before the Christmas rush really starts rushing!
The awesome news is, Fairies and Fantasy will be staying open this year all holiday season! Excepting public holidays, of course, you can keep shopping whenever you feel like it. Do remember if you want your order there for Christmas day, that mail times slow to a crawl with the huge amount of extra parcels travelling the world at this time of year. Below are some rough guidelines as to shipping times and dates for getting your pressies for Christmas day-
Australian orders before- 15th December (Average 1-5 business days delivery time)
International orders before- 8th December (Average 6-10 business days delivery time)

Thank you everyone for the awesome birthday wishes, there were so many! It made me feel all warm and fuzzy ^_^
I had a brilliant day yesterday. My girl Meg came down to spend the day with me, starting with a big breakfast at a local cafe (french toast with maple syrup and bacon!! yum!), then art supplies shopping, op shopping and girly movies (twilight, and... er.... Star trek... it counts right?!) all afternoon. Mick and Mark came down for dinner and then along with Meg and My other halfs we all went for dinner at Iguana-gate, hehehe. It was wonderful to see everyone and I had heaps of fun with my favourite peoples! After dinner we came back to my place for some impromptu SingStar :) Fun fun fun! As for birthday stash, I scored big time! I got an early present a few weeks ago, a Roomba robotic vacuum! It's like having a cute new pet, except it vacuums, and it's a ROBOT! I love it! My awesome new chair I posted a photo of before was also a birthday/early christmas present from joint family members.
I got the most adorably evil CTHULHU plush scarf of Megs, and David also got me a ticket to "Snoar and Roar" over night at Taronga Zoo AND, last but certainly not least, I got THE Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt!!! ARROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooOOOO!!
If you don't know the Three Wold Moon shirt and all it's mystical glory, check out the reviews on Amazon- http://www.amazon.com/Mountain-Mens-Three-Short-Sleeve/dp/B002HJ377A
I'm wearing it now, and can feel the power!
I've got a birthday party with the family on saturday which I'm looking forward to as well, then will be vending at Newtown festival on Sunday, which, while is technically work, is such an awesome festival it's more birthday fun to me :)
But for now, it's back to work!

I just posted a bunch of my favourite photos from our Vietnam holiday on my facebook page here- http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/album.php?aid=130558&id=726060492&ref=nf Go and check them out, and receive the envies!!! ^_^
No seriously, it was an awesome trip, and there are some really beautiful photos to see! I was good, and only uploaded maybe 20 of the 2000 or so photos we took hehehe.

I go to the movies quite a lot. I love movies, and tend to also spend a lot of time analysing them as well, as I have an interest in storytelling and movie making. So I figured I might as well start writing my opinions on some of them now and then.

So I just got back from seeing the new Astro Boy movie. Yep, I'm totally not adverse to going and seeing "kids" movies, in fact I see quite a lot of them. If a story is well presented I don't really believe it has age barriers, and this was a good example of that. Not to mention I just love fantasy stuff, which is often easier to find in kids movies!
Now, I'm probably a little bit biased here though. I love Astro Boy, have since I was a kid. In fact, I'm pretty sure Astro was my first ever "cartoon crush"! (What... come on... like every body doesn't have crushes on cartoon characters!)
The movie was wonderful! They managed to keep it truly in the spirit of the original Astro, without it being too sickly sweet or silly. The new Astro is brave and gentle and wise, and pulls it all off while still being likable and cool instead of just a creepy pansy. They deal with some seriously heavy issues, namely a parents grief and reactions over the death of their child, and while it still teared me up a little here and there, they managed to keep it light hearted enough for kids, without lessening it.
And yeah, he still has machine guns in his ass. And it's totally cool.

And somehow the rest of my review got cut off and lost... le sigh...

 

Greetings from Fairies and Fantasy Online Store!

Selina Fenech Fairies & Fantasy  - Jessica Galbreth Enchanted Art - Spellbound Greetings

Michele-lee Phelan  - Jasmine Becket-Griffith 

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  Two new artworks by Selina! "Arianrhod's Sky" and "The Golden Gift" have been released for sale as art prints, art pendants, keychains, journals, earrings and coffee mugs! See all the new products and art here- http://www.fairiesandfantasy.com/catalog.php?category=35
  
    
  
  


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  The Fairies and Fantasy Art Awards have ended and the winner announced! See the winning artwork, and find out about next years Art Awards online at http://www.fairiesandfantasy.com/pages/competition.php
  
  


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  Christmas Art Giveaway Competition! Just like last year, we are running a competition with your chance to win an original artwork for Christmas, just by shopping at fairiesandfantasy.com! Find out more on the Competitions page- http://www.fairiesandfantasy.com/pages/competition.php
  
  


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  YES! Cameo Art pendants and Ornate keychains are all back in stock! We have had heaps of people asking after these items, and apologise they were unavailable for a while, but we have heaps of supplies in now and won't be running out again!
  
  


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  But we will be running out of 2010 Selina Fenech Fairies Calenders very soon! These are now on sale and selling fast, so just a reminder to get in quick!
  
  


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  The Nouveau Angels and Nouveau Mermaids Art Print Sets have been retired from sale. Four new artworks are now on the proverbial chopping block, and are on sale at a reduced price until retired! See them in the Last Chance Prints Gallery
  
  


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  We've added a fun Decorating Tips  page with cute ideas on home decorating to get the most out of your art prints and fairy gift collection.
  
  


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  Over a dozen new photos from Fans have been added to the Selina Fenech Fan Gallery page! If you've sent your tattoo photo in recently, see if yours has been listed!
  
  

  Congratulations to...
  
  Congratulations to subscriber "Nettie" for winning this months subscriber free print draw! I will email you personally to arrange your free miniprint prize!

  
  

  I hope you will stop in and take a look at all the great new art and products just released!

  
  

  Love and magic,
  
  Selina Fenech
  
  Fairies and Fantasy

  
  

Another artwork finished! It's nice to be painting again. This one was fun, because to get that really vibrant background, it's a case of throwing as much paint on as the paper will hold! I played with thick, wet in wet washes, spattering, and pastels to create the nebula feel. I think I originally intended to base it more precisely on "The witches nebula" but it evolved on it's own as it went... soooo.... just gave up after a while. The stars above her head though are the constellation of Corona Borealis.

I'm starting to get back into painting again, I've got SO MANY artworks I have to get done for my next card deck with Lucy Cavendish.
Here's another just ticked off the list. This is Nemetona. She is the goddess of the grove, so I really wanted to portray her as almost dryad like, but still being "human" formed, and combine that with fairies and the tree of life symbol!

Calendars are in, have been counted, checked, hand signed, and listed online to buy now! These calendars have turned out so pretty, the printing company did an amazing job! This calendar features all Fairy artworks, many from the Wild Wisdom of the Faery Oracle card deck, some of which haven't yet been released on my site yet.

There are only 150 available, which means they are highly collectable and will sell out quick.

You can order them ONLY from http://www.fairiesandfantasy.com/catalog.php?category=11

Hey everybody, I just got home from my trip to Vietnam! Feeling some major jet lag right now, so I'm making this quick just to say I'm home and it's good to be home! The trip was awesome and I'm planning on getting some photos online this week to share, along with some stories of our adventures :) There were typhoons, mermaid caves, landslides, the butterfly spotted emerald waters of Halong Bay... More later ;) Today, tomorrow I am mostly relaxing and cleaning and catching up at home, then monday is diving right back into work again, got some awesome things on the to-do list to share! PS: 2010 Calendars are in stock and will be listed online tomorrow!!

Today I'm getting the very last orders packed ready to send before I fly off to Vietnam on Sunday. I'm starting to get excited about the holiday, but also scared! I always have this inner fear when it comes to going away. I guess it's that whole issue of stepping out of your comfort zone. And for me, my lifestyle revolves around my business, and so does my income. I am my business and my business is me, there's always work to be done and things going on that involve my time and effort to make them work and up and leaving all that behind un-cared for just scares me. This holiday, still only a reasonable three weeks in length, is the longest I've EVER been away from my business. It's also the longest I've been away from my Kitty Fantastico, so I worry for her as well, and Jed the lorikeet. I'm sure they will all be fine, but the worry is still there. I know though, as soon as I'm off in another country I'll be distracted enough by all the wonderful things to see and do that it won't hinder my holiday fun!

A few reminders before I leave-

The Fairies and Fantasy Art Competition is still running and you still have a few weeks left to get your entries in! I've had some gorgeous "Moon" themed artworks entered already. The winner gets a CASH prize and an actual trophy! Since I'm going to be away until the 10th and can't judge the winner before then, I will even let people keep submitting entries until then! More details are here- http://www.fairiesandfantasy.com/pages/competition.php

Feel free to keep shopping online at www.fairiesandfantasy.com while I'm away, but please be aware that orders will not be shipping again until I return on the 10th. I unfortunately didn't have time to train a new employee to take over while I'm away since moving house and studio earlier this year.
The benefit of getting your order in while I'm away, is that it will get first priority getting sent out as soon as I get home, and not get delayed as the christmas rush kicks in from then on!

2010 Calendars will be available as soon as I am back! and they will be a limited edition only, so be ready to get your order in then, because they sell out fast!

I've been mentioning a fair bit lately that I'm writing, but WHAT am I writing? It's a story I've been working on for over ten years now, that has grown and evolved through many different lives. It's called "Memory's Wake".
It's a little hard to describe what an epic "personal project" this is for me. Obviously taking ten years is pretty epic, and being my part time personal project it will probably take another ten... and then I'll decide it's no good and start from the beginning again. Starting this over and over has been what's taken me so long to start with, so lets start right at the very beginning...

Ten years ago, I was just finishing high school, and had recently gone from being "a drawer" my whole life to someone who was obsessed with art. I wanted to be a comic book artist when I grew up! If I could overcome my embarrasment, I'd show the 2-3 comic books from this time that I wrote and drew... seriously they are pretty shocking...
This all sort of culminated in illustrating "Fallen"- http://ping.fm/MUBX4
I had gone from standard superhero style comic towards my always beloved fantasy genre, and from ink and colour to much more detailed graphite illustrations. This was the end of my "Wanna be a comic book artist!" era I think. But it was still there in me. Somehow, from the angel character in Fallen, evolved another character, this little blonde, perfectly petite and timid sorceress who had the talent of being able to talk to anything. And from her, grew a VERY cliche sword and sorcery storyline, which I had plans to illustrate in the same style as "Fallen". I think I even drew up the very first page before I gave up that idea, thank god.
I always knew in this fantasy world of mine I wanted someone I could relate to more, a spunky opposite to my blonde characters overwhelming sweetness. And that's when Memory appeared. Odd name right? She is given her name by Eloryn (my blonde character) when they first meet, because, well, Memory has no memory... Nothing at all. She wakes up in this fairy tale world with no idea who she is or where she's from, and there are a few rather odd things about her. Finding out those things is what the story is about.
That is "Memory's Wake". It sounds a little dull and cliche... hrm amnesia ok. But I like to hope that it's not. There's a heck of a lot of twists and things going on, and I really can't say anything or I'll spoil the suprise. About 5 years ago, having played around with the story in my head since giving up on the comic book idea, I wrote out the whole story, so I do already have one complete version of it. It, however, is absolutely terrible. It IS cliche and shallow and somewhat rubbish. So now I've finally, once again, started from just the bare bones... my most loved characters who have been with me from the beginning, the basic idea... and rebuilt the entire script, forcing logic onto it, making sure every action is based on real, understandable motivations. Characters now have real feelings and react in understandable ways. I'm really excited about how it's turned out. My plot summary is now completed and polished, and I am about maybe a quarter into the first draft. I really can't wait to share my story with everyone! I'm hoping to illustrate it as well, which could easily add another ten years to the project, but hopefully it will be worth it in the end. If nothing else, I've been so enjoying spending my spare time on something that I simply want to do, whether it is ever shared or not.

Biz Stuff-
I've just made some huge changes in how I am shipping my website orders this week. I've now got a contract for having my parcels picked up (Woot! No more post office visits!), which is going to be a real life saver, particularly since I don't have a car! It will also mean I'll be able to ship more regularly again. Since I was struggling with the lack of vehicle and distance to PO at my new studio, my mailing times had become a bit eratic. Now I'll be able to get stuff picked up whenever I have it ready to go. This will, however, mean I'll no longer be offering an Express post option to Australian customers. I will be replacing this with receipted delivery (I think... still working out the final details!). I'm hoping to try it out once or twice this week anyhow, before heading off on holidays.
Sort of business related, I just got myself a t-shirt from Zazzle in the mail. It's so cute! I love their different style options, and their print quality, in my opinion, kicks ass over Red Bubbles. I may consider setting up a small range of products in a zazzle store for others to buy.

Arting Update-
Not much going on on the art front. I'm working on one piece and she's taking longer, longer than expected because interruptions keep taking me away from her.
On other creative news though, I am spending my "personal" spare time to work on a short novel, which, when I'm finished writing, I will also illustrate. I'm really loving how it's turning out. I've been working on this story on and off in various formats for 10 years now. It's evolved SO MUCH and I'm really proud of the direction it's gone. It's no longer cookie cutter characters and cliches, it's taken on a complex life of it's own. I have no idea when it will be finished... I'm only currently 1/4 maybe through writing the very first draft, although the entire plotline is laid out in detail already. Like I said, this is a personal project, so it may take another ten years, hehehe.

Home, garden, health and other
Got one of my 6-monthly appointments at hospital tomorrow, this time is with the surgical team (it alternates between them and oncology), and I actually haven't, for some reason, seen them at all since my actual surgery back in March 08! Don't have much to tell them except that my arm still goes numb at the drop of a hat.
I'm starting to get excited and nervous about my holiday coming up. Can't believe we're leaving on Sunday! Well, we almost WERENT leaving on sunday because we entirely neglected our planning and didn't realise we needed travel visas... whoops. We're getting some rush ones this week so hopefully all will be ok!

I've decided to make an effort to make some good solid update posts on my blog once a week, much in the fashion of Ellen Millions neat "Daily's" but, well, weekly. I'm still rocking on Facebook at the moment, having lots of fun, posting heaps of photos, works in progress shots, having lots of jokes with everyone, which is why my blogging is becoming so neglected I think!
If you're not there with me yet, come, join the dark side with me..... http://ping.fm/rveB8

So what have I been up to?
Learning from the master (waves to Ellen) I'm going to break this down into different categories that make up my life and take up my time...

Business
I've finally sorted out my 2010 calendar design, and it's been sent off to the printers. I hope to have the proof approved before I leave for holidays soon, and all the calendars in stock for when I get home. She's a really pretty calendar this one, I'm really happy with the design! Because my calendars often sell out quickly, and these are going to be a very small edition, I wanted to give everyone a heads up that they will probably be going on sale ON THE 10th of September. Get in as soon as you can then! Mark it on your copy of my 2009 calendar :) I will also be hand signing every single one of the 2010 calendars, so they will be a nice collectors item.
You can see some teasers from the calendar on my facebook page ;)

Art
I've finally gotten settled enough in my new house and business getting back to normal that I'm finding more time for art again. I'm getting stuck into work for the next oracle deck me and Lucy Cavendish are working on. Last week I sketched up concepts for Rhiannon, Arianrhod, Blodeuwedd and more, and hope to get some of them painted this week. Yep, you can see the sketches on my facebook page!

General, Home and Health
I mentioned above going on holidays! I've got flights booked for Veitnam for a nice holiday away, it's going to be exciting! It will however mean my online store will be closed for a few weeks, so get your orders in now if you are wanting to get something soon.
My health is remaining good, and I'm feeling more and more "normal" all the time. Just when I think all the side affects have past, I feel healthier again and remember, oh, those pains or weirdness I was feeling for so long WEREN'T normal afterall. I get stupidly happy when my body does normal things it's supposed to do.
I'm continuing to work on my new home, studio and garden. We're still suffering a major flea infestation, the malevelant ghost of the big ass hairy dog that lived here before us! But despite that, I've been enjoying gardening. The vege beds have been put in and planted out with seeds, and hundreds of tiny double leaf seedlings are starting to poke through the mulch. We've got an absolutely magnificent maple (I think?) in the back of the house that has just got all it's new spring leaves on it, and just looking at it makes me happy, (even though I've not long experienced all the work involved when those leaves are dropped again!). It's a stunning tree. I like my garden :)

 

Greetings from Fairies and Fantasy Online Store!

New Product- Metal Plate Earrings! A gorgeous and funky new earring style has been released, replacing our previous earrings style. These earrings are larger, lighter, and in striking assymetrical designs! We really love these, the image area is so much larger than the previous style, really showing them off and making a great statement as part of your wardrobe. Real conversation starters!
Now available in the Selina Fenech Range, Jessica Galbreth Range, Jasmine Becket-Griffith Range and Michele-lee Phelan range!

Stickers in Stock- We've just stocked up on window stickers, with one new design from Selina Fenech (The Motherhood artwork!!), and now stocking stickers from Jessica Galbreth and Jasmine Becket-Griffith as well! Check out Jasmine's "Devilish Fairy" sticker, it was on a locker in the new movie Jennifer's Body!!

Behind the scenes, we often get custom orders from people who want a certain something we don't keep as part of a regular stock. We're always happy to see what we can do, and have just set up a page where you can now find out more about making custom orders- Custom Orders Have a look and see what we can do for you!

Selina has teamed up with one of her friends who is a professional tattoo artist, to improve her Tattoo Permission kits that she sells to those interested in getting a tattoo of her work. From now on, all tattoo permissions will also come with a proper artwork outline as well, created by a tattoo artist, that can be used to both save money and get a better result when you go to the tattoo parlour! Check out more information here- Tattoo Permissions

Two new art prints from Selina have been released! "Taking Snail for a Stroll" is a cute and whimsical artwork, painted using a photo of the little boy who won our last quarters "Be Selina's Model" as the model! "I Knew Him Well" is more of an exploration into the darker side of fantasy. This mixed media digital artwork of dark fantasy also is a self portrait of the artist (Although Selina would kill for hair that long at the moment, but maybe that's the point?).