extinct birds

another project on the go, is my series on extinct birds. some of the birds, almost nothing is known and most of my drawings are based on plates made from birds collected and described by naturalist explorers in the 1800s. in some cases I was able to look at specimens collected and now in museums. if you're able, the Natural History Museum in Paris has a hall filled with specimens of the worlds extinct animals, and is well worth a visit.
I think it's nice to remember the birds we lost, the world was a very different place once upon a time, and not so long ago really.

there are a few different products I'm working on in this series, a few still in progress, but I have finished two new pins to add to my extinct bird pin collection, the moho apicalis, formerly of Hawaii and the passenger pigeon of North America. for the whole collection of my extinct bird pins, check my Etsy shop here. check back over the next month or so as I hope to have some of the new products ready soon.

so I know it's been ages since my last post, I thought it was about time I showed some of the new things I've been working on. among other things, I'm working on a series at the moment based on australian stories and places. I started off wanting to do illustrations for each state, featuring each state's floral emblem, animal, and bird, but this wasn't enough imagery, and not really terribly interesting, so I started thinking of places with stories that went with them.


The first theme I went with was the Snowy River, a river flowing through the east of Australia, and the setting for one of Australia's most famous poems, The Man From Snowy River. This design features the plants and animals native to the region, along with a wild horse, or brumby, the subject of the poem.


the second design, I've called An Exact Observer, and is based on the travels of William Dampier, one of the first Englishmen to set foot in Australia. While he was not a naturalist or botanist (in fact he was for some of his career a pirate) he had the curiosity to collect and describe the plants and animals he encountered, and his become the first published drawings of Australian plants and animals.

the images in this print depict the flora and fauna he described and collected as he traveled along the coast of Western Australia.

lastly I have the Swan River Colony, the name given to the first English settlement in what is today Western Australia. As my home state, I have some fondness. The animals and plants here include the black swan, numbat, banksia, kangaroo paw and quokka among others.

I like working in groups of six, so I have a few more designs planned, two somewhat related to poor navigation and another an ode to Australia's most well known botanist.

You can find the currently available designs, some printed fabrics and screen prints, here in my Etsy shop.

hello greece

I wanted to start a little series based on some happier Greek images, than what we might be newly becoming accustomed to. I'm calling the series Hello Greece, because I see it as a way of reacquainting ourselves with some things we might be forgetting. Starting with 6 designs, cicadas, sardines, donkeys, olive oil, village churches and ancient pots.

I've made a group of postcards featuring the designs, and I've also had a few printed onto fabric. They're all available in my Etsy shop.

stockists

currently you can find my work for sale at the following stores-

AUSTRALIA:

Dorothy and Evelyn
81A Chapel Street
Windsor 3181
Melbourne

Dorothy and Evelyn 
156 Sydney Rd
Brunswick 3056
Melbourne

Lily and the Weasel
173 Swan St Richmond VIC 3121
Melbourne

One Passing Moment
52 High Street
Charlton
Victoria
 

BELGIUM:

Blue Celeste
Tiensestraat 59, 
3000 Leuven

GREECE: 

Αμπαλί

Ethn. Antistaseos 34

48100

Preveza

Elephant Store
(Apladas Hotel)
73014 Agia Marina
Chania

Koukoutsi  
Skoufa 81
Exarhia
Athens

To Logari Book Shop
Gavrio
Andros

Mη μαδάς τη μαργαρίτα
Ioustinianou 5, 54631

Thessaloniki

READ Bookshop
6 Stefanou Tatti Str.
546 22 Thessaloniki

Verykokakis
Kar. Servias 12-14 Voulis
Athens

ITALY:

Baco
Piazza Risorgimento 4
20129 
Milano

 
The NETHERLANDS:

Hear Hear
Heisteeg 8
1012WC Amsterdam 

STEK de Stadstuinwinkel

Nieuwe Binnenweg 195 b

3021 GA Rotterdam

USA:

Flowerkraut
722 Warren St.
Hudson NY 12534

 
ONLINE:

Lila Ruby King Shop
*I run my online store on Etsy. Etsy is running an offer for those who have never purchased on the site to receive 5€ off their first purchase. You need to sign up following this link, and you'll be able to claim the discount on your purchase.
 

extinct birds

I have a new collection of birds in my Etsy shop, a new little series I've started on extinct birds. It always makes me sad to learn of a new extinct species, so I thought it was a nice way to remember them. These five birds, the Tahiti sandpiper, the Lord Howe gerygone, the piopio, the kioea, the moustached fruit dove, and the bushwren are the first in the series, but I'm sure there will be more to come, since there are unfortunately so many to choose from. 


You can find these guys in my Etsy shop here!

it's been awhile since I've had any new news, but I have been working hard, I promise! and one of the things I have been working on is my first solo exhibition which is to be held next week at Piccolina in Hokkaido, Japan. Tomomi, who runs the shop/gallery asked if I was interested in holding a little exhibition at her space, that would feature a small collection of my work, including some illustrations, some jewellery and some of my acrylic pieces as well.

we are both excited about Spring finally making an appearance, and we both want the exhibition to be filled with birds and flowers. And so the exhibition is entitled Folk Garden, inspired by many of the folk and fairy stories of Europe, and the interactions the characters have with the plants and animals of their world.

I only wish I was able to be there for the opening next Thursday!
for those who can make it, the exhibition runs from Thursday 26th of April until Saturday 5th of May, at Piccolina

1-319-405 minami1nishi15

Chuo-ku Sapporo

Hokkaido Japan

060-0061

for more information, check out the Piccolina website here.

update- all seems to be fixed now! but if you're ever in any doubt if a message got through to me, do resend!
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Just a quick note- the contact page on my website seems to be down at the moment and messages aren't getting through, I'm not sure how long it's been down for, so if you've sent me something and I haven't responded, then please just email me directly at anna[at]lilarubyking.eu
thanks!