acrylic

The past few weeks my sister and I have been consumed by a giant 4×4 ft canvas, crazy huge brushes and large amounts of acrylic paint.

red paint pallet by emily elizabeth enns

We took on an art project to fill the walls of our Mom’s living room with something abstract and vivid.

superkid primary pallet mixing by emily elizabeth enns

So we went to town. Smearing all kinds of colours in no pattern whatsoever. Just slapping on paint to get something on the canvas. Needless to say, Mom was a little scared… scratch that – she was freaking out that this mess was going to have to end up on her wall.

brush by emily elizabeth enns

We reassured her a million times that it would all turn out, but I still doubt she believed us. After layers and layers of paint and blending till our wrists hurt, we got right into and spraying water on the canvas to make the colours bleed and drip down, and using our fingers to create more texture on the canvas.

putting our hands in our work by emily elizabeth enns

ellen, my sister, very into her handy work by emily elizabeth enns

And I think we did it. After a lot of work and a few afternoons, two creative heads collaborating together made it happen.

P.S. Mom was elated, an the photo doesn’t quite do it justice.

bleeding city on acrylic by emily and ellen enns photo by emit elizabeth enns

DVF Part II: Pencil Crayon

Pencil crayons are not one of my favourite mediums to work with. Maybe I haven’t spent enough time playing around with them, but I feel like we just don’t get along too well. I think I liked it better as just a pencil drawing and maybe should have just built on that. But hey, at least I tried!

I’m very jealous of anyone who has been able to master this technique… I ask, any helpful tips?

Just pencil….

Pencil drawing of DVF dress by emily elizabeth enns

Pencil Crayon

DVF. in pencil crayon by emily elizabeth enns

The Speedy – a little story about Louis Vuitton’s iconic bag

“EEE” Louis Vuitton celebrated 100 years on the Champs Elysee by putting its owners initials on their new bags – photo by emily elizabeth enns

Louis Vuitton bags are one of the most iconic and recognizable accessories in the world, mostly due to their monogram print – the classic LV pattern. The company originally began in 1854 to provide waterproof, lightweight, durable and luxurious luggage to travellers.

By the 1930’s, after much success in the industry, George Vuitton, Louis’s son, designed the first handbag intended for everyday use. The bag is a smaller version of the luggage line’s Keepall bag, which is more of a ‘duffel bag’ style.

The Speedy is handmade and crafted in France – photo by emily elizabeth enns

As the story goes, travelers riding the train into Paris needed a bag that could hold everything they needed for the day, yet easily fit into overhead compartments or on their laps. For it’s convenience it was dubbed “The Speedy”, and its shape has remained unchanged for the past 80 years.

Each season offers new prints, styles and colours, but it’s famous monogramed print stand the test of time. The quality of manufacturing hasn’t changed since the 19^th century either – every bag is produced with high quality leathers and made by hand.

Louis Vuitton’s iconic Damier print photo by emily elizabeth enns

The Speedy is a member of Louis Vuitton’s Iconic Collection as one of their most infamous bags. Its importance represents the beginning of the company’s journey into the handbag industry and the influence it had on the way both men and women use luggage today.

Each Louis Vuitton luggage piece is equipped with a working (and stylish) lock and keys photo by emily elizabeth enns

Last year, Louis Vuitton’s Atelier marked its 100^th Anniversary at it’s location on the Champs Elysee by inscribing the owners initials onto the bag.

The Speedy by Louis Vuitton
photo by emily elizabeth enns

Camera Hunt Successful!?

(taken with my iPhone)

Hurray! It appears that I (with a little help from some friends) have successfully found the camera i’m going to be taking with me to Europe! The Canon Cannot 28 Rangefinder! F 2.8, 40mm lens, fairly light body with a hot shoe. It has fixed shutter speeds with 1/30 at f2.8 to 1/600 at f16 – so to quote my camera hunting friend: “its basically a Holga with aperture control”.

(taken with my iPhone)

So far this seems to be the easiest way to get creative with a film camera, with some amount of control yet easy enough to snap and go as quickly as I saunter around the busy streets of Europe!

(taken with my iPhone)

I’m a little nervous about not having much shutter speed control, and wonder how much its going to limit me. I’m also a little nervous over the meter system – so far I can’t quite figure it out yet. It looks smart – but I guess i’ve got some learning to do!

Next step: download the original manual (from the late 60’s), read it inside and out and practice practice practice!

To be continued…

Flights Booked, Looks Like It’s Almost Time For Take Off!…Almost…

(Above: Picture of my brother I took a few years back with a medium format Hasselblad 550 – developed by me, apparently with some mistakes, but I think it works in my favour!)

It’s official that my flights to Europe are booked! Since it’s a little to early to start packing, I better start researching the do’s and don’ts for a first timer. Clearly the first thing on my mind is WHAT CAMERA TO BRING?!

Which one? How many? What lenses? Film? Memory cards? Adapters? Flashes? Tripods? Really the list is pretty endless. Ultimately I want to take the lightest and littlest amount of gear possible, without compromising creative options, my shoulders!, and not to mention quality!

Creative control and expression is a big factor for me to consider. So I will be toting along a film camera; bringing some film with me but picking up some interesting and hopefully unique rolls along the way! A rangefinder will eliminate the need for lenses and other fancy do-dads, and also eliminate the need for chargers. Europe screams culture and beauty that I NEED to capture through my own photographic eye. This way I will be able to capture the trip just the way I want to, with photos I will actually want to look at come few years down the road.

Here goes the hunt for a perfect rangefinder! *fingers crossed*