Panic! at the Disco are one of the few bands that I still love from my teenage years. A Fever You Can't Sweat Out introduced me to "heavy" music. (I know Panic's not heavy, but for a tiny classically trained Jen, it was super heavy)

I remember when their second album came out. I was super excited for more of their baroque influenced rock/ whatever blend, but was quite disappointed when instead I was presented with the beetles-esque orchestrated rock. I tried so very hard to like that album, but ultimately I gave up on it after a few months of it not quenching my thirst for their previous vibe.

I've not listened to Pretty. Odd. since I was 16. It was in my thoughts after the release of the new Panic! at the disco album (which is a little hit and miss in my opinion) My music tastes have matured quite a bit since I was 16, so I decided to give Pretty. Odd another shot.

I am so very glad I did. It's such a beautiful album. I particularly love the orchestration (although I wish they'd used real flutes/piccolo's/clarinets/oboes instead of synthesised ones). My favourite track (which was one of my least favourite back in the day) is From a Mountain in the Middle of The Cabins. The details in the orchestration are superb, and are pretty similar to a lot of the music I've been getting into lately (Artists like Punch Brothers, My Brightest Diamond and Joanna Newsom that sit on the line between contemporary music, art music and folk) .

Pretty. Odd. isn't the only album I revisited recently, and ended up loving all over again. About 4 months ago I started listening to Life in Cartoon Motion by Mika again. I originally liked this album well enough, but got sick of it. Again, I completely understand why. It wasn't the sound I was in love with at the time (and when you've only got 4 gigs of iPod space to work with, stuff gets culled regularly and mercilessly.)

Something I've been thinking about putting together is a list of what's on my ipod with descriptions of the artists/links so you can hear what they sound like. I've got a rather eclectic collection of music, ranging from super well know peeps to those with less that 300 likes on facebook. So yeah, let me know if you'd be interested in this!

Shirt: Revival, Pinafore: Home Made, Skirt: Home made, Socks: don't remember, Shoes: Store in Sydney near Max Brennar Wynyard.

Deviating from the music I've been listening to - This is the outfit I wore tuesday. Originally when I put it together, I wasn't intending to have the second skirt underneath the pinafore. When I added the socks to the outfit, it looked unbalanced, so I popped the skirt underneath. It made everything super flouncy, as well as adding much needed colour balance.

(As per usual) life has been a tad hectic lately. I had gigs with the Button Collective in Sydney/Canberra Thursday and Friday, then spent 6 hours on a bus to/from my rehearsal with Shapes. Sunday was a bit quieter as I went landscape painting with Dad (But, for anyone that's not done landscape painting, it requires a lot of concentration/brain power) Here's an ok photo of what I ended up painting!

I've actually been doing a boat load of painting recently (particularly over the last few days - I may have been bombarding my instagram with my work :s)

It's really odd (in a good way) to be able to fully realise the images I can see in my head. I can remember being 5 and having the ideas, but not the fine motor skills to be able to fully realise my ideas. Even throughout highschool my work was pretty hit and miss. Looking back on it, it was a combination of not using the right medium for me, not understanding the medium I was using, and not practicing enough because of the crazy amount of flute I was doing.

I took an elective in my last year at uni which was called "introduction to 2D studies". It was a pretty non course, but provided me with a valuable epiphany. We were doing a still life on canvas using acrylics, and I kept watering mine down until they were basically behaving like watercolours. Unless it's a 3D project, I pretty much exclusively work in watercolour.

I love the way watercolour is predictably unpredictable. You don't just put down pigment and have that be the end. You can alter block colours by adding water/pigment to make the colours run. You can revive colours that have already been applied/dried and change their drying pattern. When creating a wash, applying the pigment or the water first creates a ginormous difference.

I've got two pallets and a couple of tubes that I use for doing the thing. The first good quality watercolours I purchased were the Windsor and Newton Cotman watercolours. Eckersleys was having a sale, and the set was dramatically reduced and came with a whole bunch of "basic" colours. The other pallet I have is full of half pans I've purchased individually (mostly Windsor and Newton, just because that's what my local art supply store stocks). I've also got 2 tubes of wet watercolour and 1 tube of Gouache. I've got a tube of Prussian blue (because it's the colour I use most) and a tube of Daniel Smith Extra fine Interference green (Because it's a sparkly semi transparent duochrome and makes highlight pop). The tube of Gouache I have is white. I use this for details, as it's opaque (white watercolour doesn't yield the same results as Gouache).

Seeing as I've been really happy with the quality of my work, I've made a society 6. I've got a few pieces there already, and have a bunch more I need to digitise/upload. If you want to see my paintings as they're produced, my instagram is where the magic happens!

Jumper: Thrifted, Shirt: Cotton On Belt: Alannah Hill, Skort: Home Made, Socks: Gifted, Shoes: Dr Martens.

Second Chance Sunflowers

Comfort Greens