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a drawing a day ::: september 2018 ::: day 25
#adrawingaday #australianFIBRO
Trawling the endless depths of Instagram I found this beautiful example of another mid-century great Aussie fibro. This beautiful turquoise beach shack on Hyams Beach in Jervis Bay is apparently surrounded by a cluster of classy modern holiday homes… give me this characterful beauty any day. I hope some specimens survive extreme gentrification. Thanks for sharing @themalzard ♥
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a drawing a day ::: september 2018 ::: day 24
#adrawingaday #australianFIBRO
This little piece of bright orange fibro heaven in Broulee, on the south coast near Batemans Bay, is on my dream list of places to holiday. What a gorgeous example of how to respectfully restore and improve on a mid-century home, bringing it into the modern day while maintaining it’s original charm. This beautiful renovation was masterminded by Bennet & Trimble Architects in Sydney and I have to say “I love what they did with this place” ♥
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: september 2018 ::: day 23
#adrawingaday #australianFIBRO
Another Google search find of anonymous origin. I love pink but I don’t think I could live in a fully pink house. This little suburban number is representative of the fibro houses I see on my daily adventures… small humble structures of cultural significance surrounded by larger, more modern and imposing buildings. They stand as little slivers of history and charm that have managed to resist gentrification and the demands of a growing population. Long live the little fibro house ♥
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: september 2018 ::: day 22
#adrawingaday #australianFIBRO
I am extending Australian Fibro to our cousins in the east… New Zealand is practically a mini Australia after all đ This beautiful modern fibro is located in Waikanae, north of Wellington. This amazing beach house would be an amazing holiday home with its big windows letting in the light and the stunning coastal view ♥ Designed by Parsonson Architects who honoured the mid-century fibro house aesthetic by using panels of fibro coloured to match the surrounding area. Modern weekend vibes… I want to move in.
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: september 2018 ::: day 21
#adrawingaday #australianFIBRO
I have no idea where this idyllic little blue beach shack lives… I found it by trawling Instagram looking for beautiful examples of fibro houses. It’s almost as if the sun shines out of the arse of this little slice of heaven. It has been surprising to me how many fibro houses are pale blue, yellow or turquoise. They must have been a very popular or perhaps there were not many colour choices in the middle of the last century. I can picture myself sitting on the front veranda with a cold drink in hand at the end of a long week, knowing that relaxation and quiet contemplation awaits. Take me there ♥
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: september 2018 ::: day 20
#adrawingaday #australianFIBRO
I found this house on Instagram… someone posted a pic. Apparently, this awesome and very green house lives in Yamba… a small coastal town between Coffs Harbour and Byron Bay. So retro and cute. I used a lot of different green pencils to get the house to stand out from its leafy surrounds đ I am loving the more unusual examples of the great Aussie Fibro that I’m managing to find… if you know of any, please take a photo or send me an address and I can look it up on google maps ♥
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: september 2018 ::: day 19
#adrawingaday #australianFIBRO
I drew this house because I thought it was interesting, beautiful and unique. I can imagine George J. Jetson pulling up to the balcony in his hover car. When I sat down to write this blog I found out that is an architectural and cultural icon that lives on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. It is often called the ‘Butterfly House’ due to its unconventional shape. It was designed by modernist masters Chancellor and Patrick in 1955 and was commissioned by Gerald and Nell McCraith… the reason it is called the McCraith House ♥Â I would love to visit this house one day. Perhaps if I ever get my writing mojo on I might be able to stay there as it now belongs to RMIT University as it was gifted by the descendants of the original owners to be used as a writers retreat.
Take a moment to look at the interior on The Design Files website. It is a treasure to behold ♥ ♥ ♥
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: september 2018 ::: day 18
#adrawingaday #australianFIBRO
This is a house in Parks in central NSW. It’s an outback country town that is home to kurrajong trees, the Parkes Observatory and was the hometown of a mate of mine. I have never been to Parks but I imagine it’s dry, hot and has a lot of fibro houses in it. When I put out a call for examples of the typical and now endangered Aussie fibro house, Louise told me she grew up in this little lemon beauty and that she loved it, as she says “fibro’s get a bad wrap”. She loved this house… it was spacious, homely and the garden was full of rose bushes in her youth. It still has a lot of potential and could easily be a homely home for some lucky country punter ♥ 
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: september 2018 ::: day 17
#adrawingaday #australianFIBRO
This is more the style of fibro house I am accustomed to seeing in the inner and outer suburbs of Sydney. They are surrounded by bigger and more modern homes. There are fewer trees, not a lot of landscaping and usually not a lot of love in the maintenance of the home. Perhaps these are the houses that are getting demolished as they have been so unloved for so long.
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: september 2018 ::: day 16
#adrawingaday #australianFIBRO
A friend of mine who has a place at Bundeena took a photo of this gorgeous yellow beach shack for me. It’s surrounded by gum trees and yellowing grass… the typical low maintenance Australian yard. A small sign above the double glass doors reads “San Remo” and upon googling “San Remo Bundeena” I came across a listing for a beach house for rent on Horden’s Beach. With 5 star reviews on Airbnb, this place looks like an idyllic slice of the Australian beach shack life we can all experience. Get down there and step out from your own beachfront fibro house onto the gorgeous yellow sand. Thanks for the photo Tanya ♥
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: september 2018 ::: day 15
#adrawingaday #australianFIBRO
I have no idea where this cute little shack lives but I like it. It’s so simple and basic but it has so much character. It looks like a toy house. I want to make a pot of strong tea, curl up with a book and hide out in this humble little corner of Australia ♥
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: september 2018 ::: day 14
#adrawingaday #australianFIBRO
Apparently, this little blue beach shack lives somewhere in Victoria. One of the more simple and basic examples of Australia’s fading love affair with the humble fibro house. Also, the sky isn’t always blue in Australia… it is occasionally grey đ
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: september 2018 ::: day 13
#adrawingaday #australianFIBRO
Not all fibro’s are houses or stores… there is another classic, the Australian outhouse or dunny. A friend of mine is a builder of beautiful high-end bespoke homes and he will be on a building site for up to a year. Instead of hiring a portaloo, the first thing he does when he gets to a cleared site is to install this cute little outhouse with its own sink. He plumbs it into the water and sewerage… saving himself a bunch of money and giving him a place to feel at home while on the job (so to speak) ♥ After all, home is where the loo is… isn’t it đ
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: september 2018 ::: day 12
#adrawingaday #australianFIBRO
I was recently on the phone to a client and the conversation turned to where we grew up. We grew up very close to each other despite the fact that she now lives in Queensland. She said she grew up in a fibro house and I asked her for her old address. This is the house she grew up in. It’s since been lovingly renovated and modernised but it still retains the sweet charm of the great Aussie fibro ♥ This beautiful home is in Heathcote, a suburb south of Sydney.
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: september 2018 ::: day 11
#adrawingaday #australianFIBRO
Waterfront fibro shacks not only line the coastline of Australia, they also grace our rivers and lakes. This beauty with its turquoise details and bright orange trim typifies life by the water in the bush in Australia. They may be isolated but they are not cut off from the rest of the world with their satellite dish and long long power lines ♥ Bush paradise!
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: september 2018 ::: day 10
#adrawingaday #australianFIBRO
I have no idea where this beautiful home is located… I found it by searching google images. As with yesterday’s drawing, this house also has a built-in carport. It seems this was a desirable feature at the time of design. This house feels more modern than most with this large wood framed window and long clean lines ♥ Lemon yellow is a popular colour choice of the humble old fibro house… fresh and bright just like life in the 1950’s
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: september 2018 ::: day 9
#adrawingaday #australianFIBRO
This sweet little pink trimmed fibro house looks like its straight out of the 1950’s. The older unmodernised fibro houses often have stripy awnings and their owners were not afraid of bright colours đ This home with a built-in carport would have been so modern for its time ♥
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: september 2018 ::: day 8
#adrawingaday #australianFIBRO
This Avalon beach shack is so simple and humble with its multicoloured window frames and sea of grasses swaying in the coastal breeze. It sums up everything wonderful about the good old days of having a little shack by the beach… that was enough. It’s not enough any more. Now you have to have a McMansion with giant sliding doors and perfectly manicured gardens. There is something wonderful about rocking up to a tiny shack on the coast, playing in the sunshine during the day and drinking bourbon and coke while playing cards in the evening ♥ Take me there now.
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: september 2018 ::: day 7
#adrawingaday #australianFIBRO
I found the reference photo of this beauty on a website called Modernist Australia. They were highlighting this beautiful mint green fibro shack that once lived among similar houses but was then in 2014 being swamped by big buildings and overdevelopment. I looked up this address in Petrel Avenue Mermaid Beach in Queensland and this sweet classic home has since been replaced by a big cement block of a home. It’s so sad to see these really unique buildings going the way of the dodo. However, it’s nice to find so many people sharing my interesting in documenting and preserving these historically significant moments in Australia’s architectural history ♥
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: september 2018 ::: day 6
#adrawingaday #australianFIBRO
Not all fibro’s are houses. This little country shop is somewhere in outback Victoria ♥ I love the fact that this little simple and very basic shop is highlighted with pink trimmings. Too cute for words. It seems there is a softer side to the harsh Aussie outback (not counting the harsh, dry red earth) đ
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: september 2018 ::: day 5
#adrawingaday #australianFIBRO
The great Aussie fibro was often a beach shack with great views nestled in the bush by the coast. So many beautiful little beach houses where families celebrated hot Christmases and long sweaty summer holidays filled with lawn cricket and way too much sun ♥ I love this one with all of its massive front facing windows. Imagine all of the light and beautiful views this little beauty let in for its happy inhabitants. I can hear the trees rustling and the surf breaking just beyond the lawn. Now that is an Australia I want to live in.
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: september 2018 ::: day 4
#adrawingaday #australianFIBRO
This sweet little house in Oyster Bay has just been knocked down. It had a similarly cute neighbour painted a bright apricot. I assume they have been removed to make way for more overdevelopment đ The block has been pretty barren for as long as I can remember but there was always a beautiful frangipani in front of the house. This created beautiful shadows all year round. Goodbye sweet little blue house.
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: september 2018 ::: day 3
#adrawingaday #australianFIBRO
A pastel box of pure Australian fibro joy ♥ I love the sweet colours of some of the more lovingly maintained fibro houses. Small country towns still have many more fibro homes than in the suburbs… there are none left in the cities I’m sure, however, I am happy to be proven wrong.
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: september 2018 ::: day 2
#adrawingaday #australianFIBRO
Another example of the simple lines of the great Australia fibro house. This small cottage in Currarong may or may not still be in existence but it’s cute, small, pastel and distinctly Australian complete with the white fence ♥ I wonder about the lives of the people who lived in this little piece of Australian paradise.
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: september 2018 ::: day 1
#adrawingaday #australianFIBRO
With the rapid expansion of Australia’s population the humble Fibro house is in danger of going extinct. In my area of Sydney, trees are being cleared, fibro houses and red bricks are being turned into dust and giant holes and cranes rapidly take their place. All of this new development comes at the cost of Australia’s traditional Fibro house (made from fibrous cement sheets). I thought it would be nice to honour this iconic Australian architectural success story while there are still some standing ♥ Long live the Australian dream.
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: august 2018 ::: day 31
#adrawingaday #onthetiles
I decided to end the month big… on a double.
The second half of this month became a massive Spanish fest and I’ve loved every tile of it đ When I found my photos of my time in Spain, there were a lot of pics of Park GĂŒell otherwise known as Gaudi Park. There are so many mosaic works in and outside this park that it is one of the best examples of the potential of tiles on this planet ♥ In the entrance to the park there is a sign bearing the name of the park and of course, that too is a mosaic. I couldn’t fit it nicely into the one drawing so I had to do two. I think there should be more creative, artful and decorative signs for parks, buildings, towns and homes in the world. Imagine how beautiful the world could be.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my month of On The Tiles as much as I have. I still haven’t decided what I am going to draw next month so I’m sure I will be as surprised as you when I post something tomorrow đ Keep on tiling.
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: august 2018 ::: day 30
#adrawingaday #onthetiles
This tile ensemble has been staring at me all month and I haven’t noticed. It is the house number at the front of my house. I bought this for my mum when I was in Sitges in 1999 as I loved the colours and thought it would look great on the stone wall at the front of our family home. I didn’t actually think my mother would hang it as she has a very stylish and minimalistic palette but she loved it and promptly had it installed next to the letterbox ♥ It’s a lovely piece of our mother-country at the front of our house đ
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: august 2018 ::: day 29
#adrawingaday #onthetiles
My Spanish blood has pulled me in the direction of Spanish tile design and this months daily drawings have had a massive Latin bias đ How can I not love the bright colours and clean simple designs found in Spanish kitchens, bathrooms and hallways for centuries ♥
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: august 2018 ::: day 28
#adrawingaday #onthetiles
I photographed this gorgeous tile artwork on the side of a building while walking through the narrow cobblestone streets of Sitges in 1999. I’m sure it’s still there. The buildings are so old and there are so sooo many gorgeous tiles to discover on walls, beneath balconies and quaint hand-painted street signs. Tiles were once much more than utalitarian floor and wall coverings… they were artworks, place markers and a means of keeping historical records ♥ I have no idea of the meaning of this tile painting but I loved it then and I love it now. Someone buy me a ticket to Spain đ
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: august 2018 ::: day 27
#adrawingaday #onthetiles
As with yesterdays drawing, it’s a friend of mines recent European adventure that reminded me of the beautiful and very old hand-painted tiles I saw in Sitges, south of Barcelona (I had to dig up my tourist photos). This small coastal town is equal parts modern and old-fashioned. It is a very cosmopolitan town that is very LGBTQI friendly, fantastic food, beautiful architecture and breathtaking views ♥ This series of 12 tiles are on display next to a cannon pointing out to sea and a translation from Catalan to English is below…
History: This is one of the six guns of the Baluard de Sitges battery that on April 27, 1797 sustained a long battle with two British frigates who wanted to hurry four merchant boats anchored on our beach. After four hours of cannoning, the English ships had to be removed, defeated, without achieving their goal.
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: august 2018 ::: day 26
#adrawingaday #onthetiles
Some friends of mine are having the most amazing European adventure and their recent photos of Park GĂŒell Barcelona reminded me of the amazing tile work all throughout the park. The park was established in the early part of the last century within a natural park and was the brainchild of Antoni GaudĂ. I visited the park in the late 90’s and have fond memories and many photographs of the beautiful mosaic work on walls, seats and sculptures ♥ I love Gaudi’s work so much. This is a close up of some of Gaudi’s fancy mosaic work.
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: august 2018 ::: day 25
#adrawingaday #onthetiles
I don’t always love the colour combos of Art Nouveau but I do love the designs. So many vintage Nouveau designs could so easily be updated and revamped to be used in modern design and architecture ♥
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.
a drawing a day ::: august 2018 ::: day 24
#adrawingaday #onthetiles
These colours really speak to me. They are so Spanish and they sit so well together. Maybe it’s my Spanish blood that makes me love patterns and bright colours so much ♥
If you would like to purchase a drawing or commission a portrait, please get in touch.