Of Janet Hill Studio

I've fallen a little bit in love with Etsy over the past few months, and I thought I'd share with you one of the reasons why. I bought this beautiful print from Janet Hill Studio at the end of last year, and I'm not quite sure why it's taken me so long to get around to telling you about it:

I adore the muted colours, and the 1920s style of the outfit and hairstyle remind me of the divine Phryne Fisher, heroine of the wonderfully fun series of books by Kerry Greenwood, which have beautiful covers illustrated by the very talented Beth Norling:

I can just picture Phryne doing a spot of feather fan dancing!

I was also very pleased with a little pack of Christmas cards I picked up at the same time as the print:

I still need to buy a mount and frame for my print, and I can't wait to see what it's going to look like once it's up on the wall. I've also been browsing the Etsy shop again, and getting tempted to buy a companion piece (or two. Or three). There are some simply gorgeous prints for sale at the moment. I love the blurred, slightly dream-like quality of this one:

These two are both charming, and make me laugh as not even I am (quite) this bad when it comes to dressing for a walk in the country:

I am drawn to both the coolness of nighttime in Manhattan...

... and to the warmth of this picnic in the sun:

This one, entitled 'Elise sips Pastis in Montreal'...

... reminds me somehow of Edward Hopper and his famous depictions of cafe scenes and women in empty rooms:

Hopper is a favourite artist of mine (I really enjoyed an exhibition of his work at Tate Modern a few years ago), and although Janet Hill's work is much lighter in atmosphere, something of the melancholy wistfulness of Hopper's style finds traces in some of Hill's most beautiful paintings:

I love the poignancy of this one -- 'Anthea's Party' -- and the way, as with the rest of Hill's work, you can conjure up an entire story from just one image. This one reminds me too of the work of Marie Laurencin, whose paintings I discovered whilst on holiday in Paris just over a year ago. If you happen to be in Paris, make sure you go to the wonderful Musee de l'Orangerie in the Jardin des Tuileries, and if you do, don't just stop at the gigantic Monet waterlillies on the ground floor, although they are spectacular...

... but wend your way downstairs to see the smaller gems they have hidden away in the basement, like this stunning portrait of Coco Chanel by Laurencin:

I was very excited to discover that prints of this picture are available to buy, and I think one might have to wing its way towards me before too long! But I'll still have room for another one of Janet Hill's, I think. The only problem is deciding which one, for, to quote Sir W in his 1601 essay 'Of Trappes for Fame', I sadly can't quite afford to be one of those people who

'spendeth all his treasure in painting'.