Lady Fenyx

2012-01-30T02:48:00.000-08:00

"Hello, my name is Grethe and I run my own business."

(Sure sounds a hell of a lot cooler than "Hello, my name is Grethe and I am yet another struggling artist who can't get a job otherwise...")

Yes. "Self-employment" does indeed sound way better than "unemployment" - but just how different is it than having to suck up to one boss?

I am not sure whether I intended for this post to be remotely informative, it started as snark in my head, but the more I kept writing the more I realised that it may somehow be informative. Even if it's only useful to help me take a step back and get the perspective to see on what exactly it is I am doing. (Because I am totally one of those people who don't know how the hell she got where she is today.........)

PRO and CON: You can make your own hours.

Right. I put this first on the list because I am sure a lot of you will go: "That's so unfair! You don't have to wake up at 5am to go to work!"

While it technically is true that I don't have to get up at fuck-off o'clock (anymore - I used to have an office job), it still doesn't mean I work less than any of the rest of you.

To be very honest, I may not wake up at the crack of dawn (trust me, my parents bitch and moan endlessly about it) but I don't sleep in until noon either.

However, often I spend time working nights and weekends, which I have a few things to thank for:

- Being an illustrator, I often have ridiculously short deadlines. Honestly, I have spent many a Sunday evening in front of the computer with my Wacom tablet and the millionth cup of tea trying to make that deadline in time. No, this is not because of poor time management, this is because of a very real reality in the life of a professional illustrator: hard-to-please clients and ridiculously short deadlines.

- I am also a photographer. I sometimes wonder how many people (except other photographers) really know how much work goes into photography - at least if you want quality work. I remember once where I spent the entire Saturday on a weekend second shooting a wedding where I was on my feet for eleven hours, came home at midnight and first backed up all the photos on the pc and my external hard drive, before I slept for a few hours so I can get up to finish illustrations for a client who wanted his work on Monday.

But I concede. Maybe I just actually suck at time management and I'm trying to convince myself otherwise.

Working like a boss... and the boss issue.

More than once people told me "it must rock to be your own boss" when they hear I work for myself. Well to a certain degree, it does- for reasons like not having to wake up at an uncivilised hour and that I get to listen to my music as loud as I want to and/or play Don't Stop Me Now as many times on repeat as I like without being judged or told off.

But the thing is, being your own boss is a bigger responsibility than you think and for most part, a bigger responsibility than I thought when I decided to start flying solo.

Where you work for a company- you have several departments: management, marketing, finance, HR, creatives, you name it.

When you work for yourself... and here's the thing... you are every department!

I know, right?

You need to make sure the work gets done, you need to make sure your tax gets paid, you need to market yourself, you need to do admin, you need to make phone calls and answer emails and deal with clients and you need to get your own coffee.

(Sucks, right?)

In personal experience, I must say that even though that sounds/looks pretty daunting in black and white on my screen in front of me, it's surprisingly manageable. (Especially if your mother is a rockstar tax accountant like mine.)

You see, my mom has been of tremendous help to teach me how to run a business and to make sure the Revenue Service doesn't come after me with pitchforks and burning torches.

Having an office job in certain cases, (certainly dependant on your position) gives you a lot less to worry about - like I've said, there are in most cases 'a person for every problem' and I must say a small part of me misses that.

However, I personally need the challenge of dealing with clients and doing bookkeeping and marketing and all those things. Being a Photoshop slave monkey hasn't done me any favours and trying to keep myself afloat, no matter how frustratingly difficult it is, has kept me (reasonably) sane.

This brings me to dealing with clients.

The thing that I learnt very early on is that running a business isn't just shaking hands and making deals, it's psychological warfare. This isn't just a dysphemism to make for fun reading on my blog- for someone with my degree of social ineptitude, it's a very cold, real truth.

When you work in an office setup in the position I had (which was, as I've put it, Photoshop Slave Monkey - more commonly known as Junior Graphic Designer) you very quickly realise that you (just about) only need to learn to work your way up to getting along with your colleagues and please your boss. You hardly ever have to deal with clients face to face- the majority of your interactions with the outside world being limited to emails and phonecalls.

Just about entire constitution- heart, head, brain, eyes, spleen, you name it - had a Chernobyl-sized meltdown the moment I had to have my first face-to-face meeting with a client in early 2011.

Basically, every single client is like a brand new boss/colleague that you have to get used to and learn how to handle, which is a lot easier said than done. Some of them are like the gorgeous bride whose wedding I am shooting in March who is just such a darling and makes my job so easy, and others are absolutely hideously annoying and impossible-to-please.

My social awkwardness and mom's 'fake-it-till-you-make-it' -advice made me tremble in my boots and see many "please find attached my CV and portfolio" -emails flash in front of my eyes.

Today, a year later, I can't tell you I've completely overcome my fear of people or that there's a miracle cure to meeting-meltdowns... but I must say it's been interesting to see the 'practice-makes-perfect' cliché work its magic.

Doing your own admin. (Or trying to.)

Right. I am the first person to admit to being horribly disorganised.

I won't even try to deny it because I would be lying. My friends and family are always ragging on me because despite my photographic memory (for useless information) I always keep on forgetting things. Without fail.

Did you know that a Dassault-Breguet Mirage F1 has a SNECMA Atar 9K50 afterburning turbofan engine? It produces around 17 000lbs of static thrust, pushing the aircraft to a maximum speed of Mach 2.2, which is about 2,338 km/h at 11 000 feet above sea-level?

No? Didn't think so.

But I did, and I just wrote that whole business off the top of my head. This isn't to show you how awesome I am or how I know so much about planes.

I do know a lot about them because I love them... but that's not the point here.

The point is that I can recite that whole business for you with the numbers and everything, but I can not for the life of me remember that I still have to mail out that invoice.

It's that bad.

No matter how many times I write things down and make notes and to-do-lists, there is always something I will somehow forget to do, thus resulting and erupting in a massive crisis (or two or three).

However, I can tell you how a nuclear reactor works. And why Chernobyl didn't.

I NEED A FULL-TIME SERGEANT MAJOR!

While technically I have one in the shape of my father - I will admit that I sometimes still lack the discipline to do actual work instead of just keep drawing stuff I enjoy all day.

I do a lot of jobs I don't like and I work with a lot of people I like even less.

Many of my friends tell me how glamorous my job must be - getting to draw all day. My dad thinks its not a real job and I'm playing all day.

But let me tell you, it's hard work and soul-destroying when a client asks for 'happy, smiling children' for the millionth time.

I LOVE MY JOB.

More than anything.

Even though it's blood, sweat, tears and perserverence - I can't imagine myself doing anything else than what I'm doing now.

"If everyone did what they loved and loved what they did, then nobody would have to work..." - (apparently) Albert Einstein

xxx

2012-01-21T04:30:00.000-08:00

Check it out, bitches- it's our last year on Earth!

Also, I have an announcement to make. I like announcements, they make me feel important.

So what be this glorious announcement?

Well, the announcement is that... wait for it... this blog is now my blog!

Okay well, it's always been my blog but now I can actually do what I want with it. What I mean by this, is that I have moved all my businessy-things to other places so I can say 'shit' and 'bitches' here as much as I like! :D

Of course, I will still post some of my art and photos here from time to time, but that would just be for those who are actually following this blog to see my work.

Otherwise, this blog will now be reserved for:

- Things I am interested in and want to talk about

- Things I am not interested in and want to talk about

- Things that I don't really care about but still seem to have an opinion about

- ...and cats. This is the internet, right?

You can find my business blogs now at Grethe Rosseaux Photography for wedding photos and Lady Fenyx Photography and Illustration for fashion photos and art.

So instead of my 'insightful' and 'profound' posts, I will no share with you photos of my cats for your viewing pleasure.

This is Babie. He is a genius and your lord and master.

This is Krummel. He has grey armpits. This makes him a teenager.

This is Lisa. She is a retard. But a cute retard.

2011-12-06T04:46:00.001-08:00

Like any good photographer, I was going to blog my shoot of the past weekend for you guys, until I came across something a few friends posted on facebook yesterday.

It was this video.

Long story short: this video has gone viral, especially on my facebook newsfeed, despite controversy over its legitimacy. While it's been very emotional to watch yesterday, it only really hit home this morning, when my good friend and fellow photographer Wesley Vorster posted it on facebook this morning, and a discussion ensued.

So, while I technically should be blogging photos and/or telling you some kind of snarky story about my daily life, I feel that this is something I need to speak up about.
(I realise this may probably not be good for business, but this is something I cannot keep quiet about anymore, so please bear with me.)

This was me on my first unofficial day of school.

I am just about certain my mom made that little turquoise number especially for the occassion.

Everybody's dad was designated photographer at these occasions and as much as I love my dad, this would explain why I'm squinty-eyed and looking into the sun. This was taken in 1993 (around November I think) in the year before I was going to "big school", which was Grade One. Or Sub A as we called it then.

Check me out y'all... I'm rockin' that ribbon like a boss!

FAST FORWARD TO 2005.....

This was me on my last unofficial day of school.

I know my mom made this dress especially for the occassion, since this was taken at my Matric Farewell (Senior Prom for the Americans) in August 2005 and I helped her make the dress - or tried to - during the winter holidays.

Check me out, y'all... dance like nobody's watching! :)

"But Grethe, you look so happy on those photos!"

Of course I look happy.

In the first photo, I wasn't even six years old. Any and most six-year olds (in my case, five) are excited to go to school for the first time. Until they get there of course.

In the second one, I was wearing a pretty dress and dancing like a loon while the photographer seemed to love me. (Trust me, there's a million dancey photos of me from that night, I was invincible...)

However, I looked happy on my matric farewell because a part of me knew that this was the symbolic ending of twelve years of well, hell.

Just two pesky exams to go- September and End - and it would all be over forever.

A few years ago, one of my mother's friends from her pre-marrying-my-dad-days in Franschhoek, came to visit us with her kids after we haven't seen them for years.

She has two twin girls about my sister's age and a boy about my brother's age - thus, all of them younger than me. We used to spend days playing at my house while I was growing up.

So that day, my sister and I took the girls for a walk around our neighbourhood to show them what it's like/how it's changed since they were last there and one of them asked; "Grethe, you look like you're popular at school. Are you popular?"

I think I was about Standard Eight/Grade Ten at the time, and not popular.

While popularity wasn't ever a goal of mine, the question still stung. I didn't want to be popular- in fact, I just wanted to be left alone.

I thought for a few minutes and I answered her.

"Yes. Yes I am popular."

She seemed to be content with that answer, but she didn't really understand the true meaning.

I wasn't popular in the sense that she expected- with a high-school entourage of adoring fans, I was popular because I was a popular target to make fun of.

I'm not going to go into details and bore you all to tears but what it comes down to is this:

FOR TWELVE YEARS I was continuously teased and made fun of.

So much so, that in high school I dare not leave the school buildings at break/recess time and sat inside on my own, because whenever I did, I was pointed-and-laughed at.

The interesting part was that there was nothing weird about my appearance (not that being made fun of for the way you look is any less wrong, mean and disgusting; in fact, I think it's even worse!) but there wasn't even a "reason" for them to tease me. Other than, well... being there.

I was being teased simply for this reason: I come from a small town and there are only one Afrikaans primary school and one Afrikaans high school in my immediate area. (Read: literally down the street from my house)

It also happens that my mom and her two older brothers also went to both these schools and thus, by default, so did my siblings, cousins and myself.

Of course, I wasn't the only one in this situation and this means that I went to high school with most of the same kids from primary school, so those who started teasing me in Grades 1 to 7 merely continued to do so in high school.

However, in high school, there were kids from the other primary schools in town as well as a few from other towns in the hostel and while it opened the door for me to make some friends, it also meant that the bullies would make friends. And they did.

Some people may say I was looking for it and maybe I was.

I lived in a little fantasy world of my own like a little kid - full of all my little imaginary friends and characters, many of whom are featured in my graphic novels today. To a certain extent I still do, as I now make a living out of illustration.

I can make up the most fantastic stories and I still can and do.

I used to dye my hair pink over holidays and one term in Matric it just wouldn't quite wash out and the principal, (who was my accounting teacher at the time) just shook his head and ignored it because "that's so typical Grethe".

Furthermore, I spent many a maths class drawing pictures, as well as just about every other class. That would (and does) explain why my math marks is something I prefer not to discuss.

During breaks I was either drawing pictures or practicing for music exams and I was generally just on my own mission.

That day I wrote my final paper of my final subject in the final Matric exam I put down my pen and handed the pages in and left the hostel study hall for the last time.

I walked home that blazing hot day in November 2005 and I knew it was over. While I felt nostalgic about a school career of twelve years being done and dusted, (I actually did enjoy part of it, and still kinda miss it), I knew the bullies were gone and a new life was starting.

Or something like that, only less dramatic.

All I knew that names like Leeu, Simba, and Grassie were gone.

Today, I am 23. I turn 24 next year in May.

It's 2011- six years after I finished school.

So why am I writing about this now, six years later?

I watched that video and cried my eyes out. And then I watched it again.

My eyes were opened when I saw how many of my fellow photographers and artists went through the exact same during their school careers as comment after comment appeared not only on Wesley's link, but also in my private message inbox.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: BULLYING RUINS LIVES!

I talk about this now, six years later, because I realise that I still carry the scars from those twelve years of teasing.

For one, I never had friends, and when I did they were the wrong friends.

Of course, towards the end of my school career I did have a few friends, some of whom I still have today and love to bits! <3 But of course, I clung to these wrong friends no matter how they poisoned me as a person because they were friends and this stayed with me well into my years of study.

I can not talk to people.

To this day, when I meet a stranger, I fail. And flail. Both in equal parts.

I am socially awkward and I cannot express myself to strangers, which is not only bad for business but it makes me look bad as a person as well.

I am scared of going out alone.

Even just going for a walk it's in the back of my head whether or not there isn't someone pointing and laughing at me somewhere.

For real.

I have no self-esteem.

Thankfully, this is slowly but surely getting better thanks to a major mindshift, a healthier lifestyle and some amazing people in my life, but at one point I had so much self-hatred that I just didn't even see a point in getting up out of bed in the mornings.

I have no confidence in my work and I don't believe in myself one bit.

My inability to communicate with and direct models and couples in shoots (because of social awkwardness) causes me to miss the best shots and to do mediocre work, and when I do manage to do a great shoot, I struggle my ass off to sell it. In fact, I struggle my ass off to sell any of my work to clients because I have no confidence.

As a result of all of these things (and also because I'm terrible at business, which I am not ashamed to admit), my photography business is failing.

If it were not for my parents, who are so graciously and selflessly supporting me, I would have starved to death by now.

I am aware of how melodramatic it is and I apologise for my choice of words, but it's the truth.

I have not the emotional maturity, confidence or courage to run a successful business.

Like I've told someone earlier today: if that's what the school bullies set out to do, congratulations to them.

These scars will not go away any time soon. Even though I don't think about them every single day of my life, they show when I see videos like that and when I hear of people going through the same ordeal I did in school- no matter how old they are.

While reading through everyone's comments about what they went through, there was that sense of solidarity, which was a real eye-opener BUT at the same time it made me realise that this is a much bigger and much more real problem than we think or realise it is.

Bullying and teasing is REAL and the SCARS NEVER LEAVE!

This is why I'd like to give the oppurtunity here for EVERYONE and ANYONE to speak up about this right here - either comment on the blog or send me a message on facebook or repost this to make your friends speak up or whatever... have your say and make people aware!

At the very least it will help you feel better to talk about it and hopefully help you come to terms with it. I know this blog post helped me.

Parents, if your child is a bully please read this article.

While I am by no means an expert on parenting, nor do I claim to be, it seems useful. Let me know if it is.

If you're being bullied - speak up and seek help!

And like that kid says in that video - "I have a million reasons to be here!" and so do you.

No matter what you believe, you are not alone... and there are people who do and always will love you.

<3 <3 <3

TO THE BULLIES......

...THIS IS ME TODAY.

My name is Grethe Rosseaux. I am an artist, I am a photographer.

I speak four languages. I have friends- real ones, great ones.

I am in love with the greatest man on Earth and he loves me right back.

I have a Bachelor of Arts Degree. I play six instruments.

I (still) have pink hair.

BITE ME.

2011-10-27T05:24:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, I like to use my blog for something that's not just posting pretty pictures. (YES, I AM SURE THAT IS THE REAL REASON ALL OF YOU WONDERFUL PEOPLE ARE HERE.)

Can I hear a whoop-whoop? No?

Good.

Now, today is one of those days- one of those days I will not just use my blog as... well... a tumblr reserved for shameless self-promotion. This has partially been inspired by my past life experiences (everything deep and emotional and such) and partially by my past life experiences spent on the internet.

Since everything in life is (arguably) better celebrated in list-form, I have decided to make a list. A list containing things. (YES, THERE WILL BE PICTURES AT THE END SHEESH! YOU PEOPLE!)

PS - WOW my grammar SUCKS... :-/

- I WILL CAN AND NEVER WILL BE A MUSIC BLOGGER.

Okay, just to clear things up: I love music as much as the next person- in some cases, probably a bit more even. However, instead of going to the Kings of Leon or Coldplay concerts this year with all my IRL friends/Facebook stalkers, I went to the NEIL DIAMOND concert last year with my parents and had a rockin' good time.

And that's not all, really.

Despite extensive musical training in a variety of instruments, I actually don't really think I have a lot to say about it. :-/

(And yes, I am also deeply shocked and traumatised by that.)

Honestly, I adore music and I just can't imagine spending my life in stone-cold silence, but I just don't see a need and/or reason to bitch about it.

And as far as actually applying the title 'music blogger' goes?

Well I am afraid I'm just not indie enough.

(Which brings me to the next point...)

- I AM AFRAID I AM JUST NOT INDIE ENOUGH.

I am not a hipster. I am not an indie kid.

(For the life of me I still don't know whether those two labels subscribe to the same subculture or not, so I just included both, hmkay?)

Nonetheless and notwithstanding, I will be honest and say: "hipsters annoy the crap out of me and are really overrated." and leave it at that.

- I AM 23 GOING ON 53.

PLEASE don't call me an old soul, because that is way too romanticised.

I am just cranky, boring, a lover of frequent naps, obsessive over history and drinking too much tea and want the damn kids to stay off my lawn.

- I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED EVERYTHING RUSSIAN. КАНЕШНА.

This is pretty much self-explanatory.

- I AM CRANKY.

Yes I am.

I am not funny, I am just really mean but people think I'm joking.

This is also the reason why I always have something to say about everything, thus making the first bullet so traumatising for you to read and for me to type.

And don't make me drink my tea without milk.

- I STILL THINK CHUCK NORRIS JOKES ARE FUNNY.

Actually, that goes for just about every tired old internet meme. You'd think that somebody would grow out of Leave Britney Alooooooone!!! but then you find people like me still reading LOLcats and jammin' to Numa Numa.

I'm that lame.

- I DON'T HAVE A BLACKBERRY OR AN iPHONE.

Because - and let's not mince words here - I'm too stupid to use them.

Come on, I am pretty happy with my rather modest little Sony Ericsson slider. I mean, sure, I get jealous when I see my friends use awesome apps like Instagram and have Angry Birds with them wherever they go, but I like my little phone.

(Hell, I like it even more since I figured how to push email.)

Life's good.

- I STILL USE MXIT.

Look, I told you. I don't have a Blackberry, so no BBM for me.

(Sheesh what happened to the days where blackberries still only went on waffles?)

- DESPITE BLOG ENTRIES LIKE THESE, I DON'T TALK AS MUCH AS YOU THINK.

If you do encounter me talking a lot, it's because a) I'm nervous, b) you annoy me so I try to drown out your presence by giving myself something better to listen to a.k.a. my own voice, (this also applies to you're stupid and I wanted intelligent company), d) I'm nervous, e) the conversation is about a topic I i) find really interesting and/or ii) know a lot about and f) I'm nervous.

- NONE OF THESE THINGS CAN AND SHOULD MAKE YOU WANT TO BE MORE LIKE ME.

Because being a snob is more work than you think and the position has already been filled.

Okay so, with that out of the way - just some general news on what I've been working on lately.

I have been getting back into drawing again lately after a brief hiatus (which has probably been down to art block). Mostly it's just been personal work and scribbles, but here are the two recent pieces - Я Русская and a portrait of my good friend Moira.

Last but not least, photography update time!

Wedding season is in full swing and I look forward to being more busy than usual! I am looking forward to assisting my good friend Kathrin Pienaar (Gallova) from Kathrin Gallova Photography on a wedding in Durbanville this weekend.

Photos will be uploaded to my wedding page on facebook as soon as I am done with them!

As soon as the weather picks up a bit (and the madness slows down) I am hoping to do a bit more fashion work as well.

Also, my new and improved, updated website will be running soon - thanks to my good friend Taryn who is quite the blogger and photographer as well.

(And don't worry - the blog will still be running! I plan to have more 'opinion' blogs with added pictures as the website will be for shameless self-promotion.)

So, another long overdue tl;dr blog post done and dusted!

I'm off to go make some tea and be merry - hope to see you guys soon with more awesome and news! :)

xxx

Grethe

2011-09-21T06:43:00.000-07:00

Wake me up when september ends... No, seriously- please do! I need to catch a plane to the Waterkloof Air Show! :D

Hi guys, hope you're all well! :) It's been quite a while since my last update- I probably could've been half decent and posted a note of abscence, but I just couldn't bring myself to it. The past few months have come and gone and yes, you can safely say that "life happened" since my last post, but that would be a vast understatement. (Is vast the right word to use there? Really? Yes? No?)

Either way and regardless.
The past few months have been hectic - and I use that particular adjective as a euphemism.
Things have happened that I would rather not discuss as it's extremely personal, but what I can say about them is that in retrospect, it needed to. I have emerged a stronger, smarter, more empowered and dare I say confident person because of it.

I have made new friends and lost old ones and found out a bit more of the person I truly am, which is never really a bad thing. I have gone above and beyond what I thought I was capable of - in my work, in my self and in my outlook on life, and yes, I am proud of myself. :)

Furthermore, I have finally decided to start pursuing a healthier lifestyle and I'm reaping the benefits! Weighing 18kgs/40lbs less is a BIG improvement in my life! (Not to mention how awesome it is to be able to buy my clothes a few sizes smaller! :D )
Also, I have started doing something ELSE that I have ALWAYS wanted to do, but never gotten around to it: I've started learning Russian! :)
If you think Russian is hard, you're right.
It is super hard.
But I promise you, it's worth it! (And the Cyrillic is surprisingly manageable!)

So, in a nutshell- since the last post, I've been to hell and back but here I am again! :)
And yes, this is an art blog, so here is everything I've been busy with the past few months! Enjoy!

Have a great day!
Да Свидане!
<3

Decided to take a selfportrait for a change - I rarely do, so this was quite an interesting challenge!

Two of my recent artworks - see all of them here!

Recent shoot with my good friend Moira at Zevenwacht a while back - view the full shoot here!

First shoot with Andria at Dappas Gat, Koeël Bay - full shoot here!

Second shoot with Andria at the Afrikaans Taalmonument in Paarl - full shoot here!

AND I'm very proud to announce that the book I have been illustrating for the

past few months has finally seen the light! :D :D :D

DO go check out some photos on my Facebook page and read more on the publisher's

website for ordering info and more!

Hope you all have a splendid spring!

<3 <3 <3

2011-06-07T04:36:00.000-07:00

LADIES AND GERMS, IT'S CONTEST TIME!!!

Yes. Yes it is.

This won't be so much a witty blog post as it is only the details of the competition, but I am saving some weirdness for you readers for next post! ;)

OKAY, SO! YOU WANT TO ENTER?

PORTFOLIO SHOOT OR PORTRAIT SHOOT ON LOCATION FOR YOURSELF OR A FRIEND:
This can be either a portfolio shoot for aspiring models, fashion designers, stylists or makeup artists, or just some pretty portraits for you to give to friends and family or use as profile pics on social networks!

COUPLE/ENGAGEMENT SHOOT OR SHOOT WITH FRIEND ON LOCATION:
A couple shoot with your beloved or a shoot with your best friend at a location of your choice!
You may also give this prize to a friend that you know is getting engaged or wants a couple shoot!

ILLUSTRATION COMMISSION:
A full-colour drawing of your choice- either one of your characters (for those story-writing, graphic novelists out there) or a portrait representing you for your profile pics, etc!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

THE WINNER MAY CHOOSE TWO OF THE ABOVE THREE OPTIONS AS THEIR PRIZE! ALL PRIZES MAY BE TRANSFERRED TO A FRIEND!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Email me a photo of yourself, you with your friend or boyfriend/girlfriend at grethe@fenyx.co.za and I will upload them to an album on my FACEBOOK PAGE. The photo with the most likes before the 25TH OF JULY 2011 is the winner!
REMEMBER: Please state all the names of person(s) in photo when entering!
IMPORTANT: YOU MUST BE A FAN OF LADY FENYX DESIGN AND PHOTOGRAPHY BEFORE YOU CAN 'LIKE' IMAGES OR ENTER THE CONTEST!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

LATEST PHOTOSHOOT:

PORTRAIT ILLUSTRATION:

GOOD LUCK, EVERYONE!
<3

Grethe

2011-05-10T00:58:00.000-07:00

It's been a month already? :-/
Bad form, Grethe, bad form.
Yes, I get third-person for not updating.

I am itching for a photo shoot! :( SO BAD!!! ARGHHHHH!!!! Little Frodo-Camera, you may hate me. I understand.

Speaking of photo shoots- I NEED A NEW MAKEUP ARTIST!
My beloved Sheri is leaving the country of boerewors, Castle Lager and rugby for the Orient on a whirlwind adventure.
More accurately, she will be off to Dubai to start her training as a flight attendant for Emirates Airlines.

So, while I'm wishing her all the very best of luck with her endeavours, I am in need of a new makeup artist... which is a daunting task, to say the least- Sheri is not going to be easy to replace... :-/

MAKE-UP ARTISTS- YOU HAVE BIG SHOES TO FILL!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I've also been rethinking art a bit.
This is a bit more hipster than I like it to be, but it seems that's there's a bit of truth in 'suffering for art'~ a phrase I've very often used to describe the late nights I've spent
not sleeping and working on design assignments and the resulting carpal tunnel syndrome that is the bane of my existence. [For the
record, i'm certain that years of classical music training contributed to that, also...]

But, recently it had a different meaning in the sense of how I just started seeing what I do differently~ which is probably something I needed to see years ago.
There's no such thing as wrong.
Me thinking there's a "wrong way" in the first place can solely be blamed on art school. While I don't regret getting my degree in any way, I feel a bit... cheated?

It's taken me two and a half years years to get art school out of my system.
Of course, I am grateful for it- I've learnt a lot, but I'm taking with me the knowledge that I both want and need. So no, it's not been a colossal waste of time. On the contrary.
But there's a lot of truth in "you learn more out of school than you do in it..."

I rediscovered painting. And I mean physically painting with paint on a canvas. As in, smearing paint everywhere.
There's something real, something primal about getting your hands dirty.
I never knew this because I was looking at what was right or wrong.

It doesn't exist.

This "enlightened view" is brought on mostly because of the emotional hell I've been through lately... the pain needs to come out somehow and art has just
been pouring out of me. It's so much "vent-art" (unless I pertinently label it as such), but it's just there. It is what it is.
Not over-thought, not pretentious, not anything. Just pouring out my emotions without having to explain them.

And doing what I love because I love it. So much it makes me want to cry for it...

~*~*~*~*~*~

In celebration (or whatever) of my waxing philosophical about something I think I know everything about, but probably don't... here's some recent digital art to look at.

~*~*~*~*~*~

~*~*~*~*~*~

Anyway... so this has been this month's update. I'm looking forward to getting a shoot up for a change... :)
WHY THE HELL DOES IT FEEL LIKE I'M BEING WATCHED????????

>_<

<3
Grethe

2011-04-07T05:27:00.000-07:00

This-post-is-gonna-be-small-because-I-am-supposed-to-be-working-and-not-procrastinating.

Yes, I am busy as hell- I've been hired by a publisher to illustrate a book~ pretty damn excited about it, but it's hard work... I haven't even started properly yet and I'm getting lazies already... *sigh*.

Which is why I'm just gonna post two recent pics and links to things on my fanpage because I'm lazy.

Weird day is weird....

SIGH.

Since I made a few changes to my beloved character Eli, I needed to get his old look out of my system, so I'm kind of throwing it onto another character that just popped into my head.
On a side note, I've always wanted to write a musical with a bunch of devils and angels and the devils would probably look like this.
Also, I've named him TIMMY (THE MANKY SKANKY DEMON) OF THE UNDERWORLD.
Or like Tamryn called him; RANDY PAN THE GOAT BOY.
I think I like this.

And here's yet another pic of Adelei~ I named it "Daddy calls me Heidi..." because well, her father (Elijah) DOES call her Heidi because her mother (Marjori) is from Switzerland and he calls HER Heidi too. You're gonna have to read that again.
Had a different idea for this, but I like how it came out.

~*~*~*~*~*~

SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION TIME:

- Check out the LADY FENYX FACEBOOK PAGE for the pics of PAUL AND ALETIA'S WEDDING.

- OH, AND I'M ON MODELBASE!

Wow this blog post fails.

~*~*~*~*~*~

BACK TO WORK!!!!!!
<333

2011-03-16T01:35:00.000-07:00

Oh my WORD I am lazy.
Please to forgive my tardiness... inbetween painting paintings and photographing photographs, I have been too busy to even notice what day it is... :-/
(JOKE OF THE DAY: After Tuesday, even the calender says W T F... yes, I know I'm lame...)

So right, my last blog was a tribute to my dear friend - and this one is a bit of a 'OH HAI WELCOME TO MY LIFE!!!!!!11!!!' to my new friend...

And what a friend she is.... (yes, yes I will still get to the 'guy' in the title...)
I've broken her in properly this past weekend of the 12th and 12th of March with two AWESOME shoots! Of course, the little girl had to learn quickly that I expect of her to be a warrior and not a pansy. That'll do, pig- that'll do.
I was impressed!

AAAAMGGGGGG WHO'S THE GUUUUUUUUY YOU'RE TALKIN' ABOUT?!!!1!!
It's FUGLY.
Fugly is AWESOME. A bit creepy but AWESOME... when Jess contacted me about the shoot she wanted a month or so ago (yes, that's how long it took to plan) I checked the reference she gave me and it had several shots containing these incredible cement statues of animals which I had sleepless night over: I HAD TO HAVE AT LEAST ONE!!!
So Jess, the awesome that she is, produced this peculiar looking dog statue that ended up gaining a personality of his own... and also a name- which is FUGLY. Poor guy.
BUT WHAT A GUY HE IS!!!!!

Okay dammit, here's the pretty pictures sheesh.....

MODEL: Jessica Hodgkinson
MAKE-UP, HAIR AND STYLING: Sherilyn Curran
ASSISTING: Alexandra Graham
LOCATION: Bel-Aire, Somerset West

THANKS TO:
- Colleen van Wijk for the kind use of her home
- Lauren Overton for lending us her gorgeous Venetian Mask!

GO CHECK OUT THE REST OF THE SHOOT ON MY FACEBOOK PAGE!!!
You can also see the shoot I did the 13th with Natasha and Nick at Kogel Bay- trust me, you want to! I went SWIMMING FOR IT!!!

<33333
GRETHE

2011-02-22T23:43:00.000-08:00

A TRIBUTE TO A BRAVE LITTLE SOLDIER AND OLD FRIEND...

Today, I mourn the loss of my trusty Canon kit-lens.
For some people, this might not be significant but to me, it feels like I've lost a friend.

This little lens is the very first one I had, as it came with my Canon 400D, my very first (and only) D-SLR.
This little beast has seen me go from strength to strength and helped me to get to where I am today. He's been up in the sky in a SAAF C-47 TurboDakota (TWICE!) and has had jet exhausts blown straight into him at AAD 2010.
He's been in treacherous winds and sandstorms at many a beach shoot, up many mountains, and he's been there to take many sunset-, snowy mountains-, party- and cat photos.
He's helped me shoot my first weddings, numerous model shoots (some more serious than others) and through his glass eye, he has made many people squeal with happiness at what they saw.

He valiantly kept fighting until the dreaded Error 99 cost him his life a few weeks ago... :'(

Little guy, you've meant a LOT to me...
When people laughed at you for not having that coveted little red band around your barrel, you went and made them all shut the hell up with the awesome you've helped me produce. How you like dem apples?

You've helped me capture the most important moments in my life- when I turned 21, you were there at the party. When I got my Bachelor's Degree, you were there at the graduation ceremony.

My dear dear, little kit lens- you have made me SO proud. You may not have been the most expensive and state-of-the-art lens on the market, but you are mine and you are more valuable to me than you know.
I've learnt to be who and what I am today as a photographer- as an artist, because of you.

Be proud, little guy. Be very proud.
You've done well.
Rest in Peace- I will never forget you, you are a sign of humility and humble beginnings.
<3
Grethe

A TRIBUTE TO MY FRIEND:

Some very significant shoots at Ysterplaat...

Moira and Constant on New Year's Eve 2010/11.....

A LOT of photos have been shot of the lovely Sheri over the years!

Crazy shoot with JesseBeth...

My 21st- what a crazy fun party that was!

Up in the sky with the Air Force in their TurboDak! :D

The man I love, meeting my heroes, The Silver Falcons, and a fancy fancy party in Langebaan...

Epic braai time at the office!

Cocktails and big boats...

<3333333

2011-02-11T02:41:00.000-08:00

As some of you might know, Lady Gaga is releasing her new single, Born this Way today, and needless to say- I am EXCITED.
Yes, I am a HUGE Gaga fan and there are people out there who hate me for this- I can give you NAMES off the top of my head.

Let's just say, that in times of me feeling a bit left out and over-weird, The Gaga reminds me that it's okay to be a weirdo.
Sure, I don't go walking around with antlers on my head and wearing my breakfast on my shirt, but I do have pink hair, and I love it!

To demonstrate, I give to you the amazing photos taken by my dear friend and talented photographer, Moira West:

So yes, Gaga's new release is making me excited not only because I'm a proud 'little monster', but because I need some new music to listen to.
While I'm on the subject, go ahead and suggest me some new music to listen to in the comments, I'm a bit out of sorts these days- here's a list of what I'm hooked on at the moment, except for Gaga...

CURRENT LIST OF MUSIC GRETHE CANNOT STOP LISTENING TO:

- James Last
- Waldo de los Rios
- Imogen Heap
- Taio Cruz
- Renard
- MIKA (mostly the second album at the moment...)

Littered with my usual Queen and Gaga, that's some pretty diverse shit right there... plz to be suggesting some more awesome for me.

ON ANOTHER NOTE, the awesome TAMRYN drew me THIS of my lovely characters Evangeline and Adelei! :D
Check out her art here!

<3 <3 <3

ALSO, remember my last post with all the pictures?
WELL, Tamrynz DEMANDED me to draw something too and here's what I came up with:

I started out in Illustrator, with the full intention of having the whole thing vectored, but I gave up halfway and just textured it... >.>

So, that's for this update... any news from your sides?

Love and hugs
<3

Grethe

PS - Check MEEEEE out on FACEBOOK - did a new shoot with Sheri!

2011-01-26T03:56:00.000-08:00

So.
January is easily the most uncomfortable month to me every year. I don't know if you guys feel the same... it kind of feels like everybody is just.... I don't know, fumbling around in the new year.

Which is EXACTLY what I'm doing at the moment.
I haven't yet done a proper photo shoot for 2011, so I'm going to bore you with old things that all of you probably have seen already, which will be some of my favourite artwork I've done last year (and a bit before that too).

IN OTHER NEWS:
I am taking on a HUGE project for the Friends of the SAAF Museum this year (and for quite a few years to come), which is to get a historic DC-3 Dakota airworthy again. I'm planning some HUGE awesome things in terms of fundraising, so I can't WAIT...

You can follow the progress of the project on Facebook here:

Also, go over to my Facebook Page and go check out my couples shoot special I'm doing with Sheri.

PICTURESPAM TIME
Some pics I drew over the course of, say... mid 2009 to end 2010? I need to get drawing again but my Wacom Tablet is having driver (read: WINDOWS) issues.

This guy is Eli, one of my favourite badass characters...

Some District 9 fan art.

Another Eli... was going to use this for my website, but the design started sickening me. Just like the picture though. :)

Egyptian Princesses with Moses... painting for Church.

Evangeline and Eli - inspired by Lady Gaga's Alejandro.

This girlie here is Adelei... she somehow turned into my alter ego character, even though I designated that to another character who is nothing like me.
I actually tend to distribute qualities of myself amongst all my characters, they each have a little bit of me, if you like.

And here is Adelei's sister, Evangeline. I sometimes can't draw one and NOT draw the other, it's weird.

I'm essentially putting this up for my sister. It's "fan art" of Antoine Dodson from the Bed Intruder Internet Meme... I am addicted to the song and when my little sister discovered it, hoooo boyyy... as far as I know, she's using it as a background on her Twitter page... O_o

Elenya, my Russian character.

Portrait of my friend Tamryn...

Portrait of Laura-Lee with her beloved Atlas Oryx. Essentially a South African rebuild of an Aerospatialé Puma.
NO they were NOT blue, but it fits my pic better.

Birthday pic for my friend Ori from Israel- hence the IAI Kfir in the background.

Aaaaaaand here is Jean-Paul, another one of my beloved characters.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I would say I've had a good year last year when it came to drawings. :)
Now, let's hope I can get my little claws on a shoot soon... I'm positively itching for a shoot!

Time for tea!
<3
The Friendly Neighbourhood Grethe

Happy Belated Holidays...

2011-01-11T02:01:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year agin. The time where everyone look into their bank accounts and weep and make all kinds of promises to never eat as much over the Holidays again...
In most cases, this would be me.

However, I am NOT a 'New Year's Resolution' -kind of girl- but after the horror that was 2010, I won't blame you for thinking I am. Those of you who follow me on deviantART have probably seen the little list I made on my journal there and probably feel tempted to post it here and point and laugh at the "COHERENCY FAIL" in white 30pt IMPACT FONT with a 3px black stroke around it.
But, before you do, let me explain that I didn't put that up there as resolutions of any kind. It's more of a... -oh, for assbutts' sake let me label it for you- BUCKET LIST.

THERE.
HAPPY?

Okay okay, I know, enough with the rambling... I know you're here for the pretty pictures.

Christmas 2010 at home... didn't take too many photos, but here are some decorations on our tree and some booze on our lunch table...

New Year's Eve 2010 with Moira and Constant in Paarl- some GANGSTER BISCUITS, cheap wine and a countdown on Paarl Mountain...

However, on New Year's Eve, I could not CONTAIN myself and I HAD to do a quick shoot with the lovely Constant and Moira, and here be the results!

MODELS: Moira and Constant
MUA: Moira
LOCATION: Paarl

All the best for 2011 guys- let's hope it's a brighter shade of pink for everyone!!!

Love
xoxox
Grethe

All my love to Ysterplaat....

2010-12-06T07:18:00.000-08:00

How many of you have seen my Ysterplaat shoot?
It's a bit old, I've done it a month or so ago- but I still love every shot! :3
I thought I would take a moment, (or blog post) to tell you a bit about my favourite place in the world and one of my favourite places in the world.

Yes people, I'm talking about the South African Air Force, Air Force Ysterplaat and the SAAF Museum Ysterplaat! :D
A LOT of people do not know the work that these guys do on a DAILY basis to keep things running there- and I'm NOT just talking about airshows.

Here is a sneak peak of the Museum:

This is all maintained by Chris Teale and his VERY capable staff and visiting is an absolute honour and pleasure. I remember my first visit to the Museum way back in... 2008, I think?
It was a glorious passing through all my beloved history - except it's the history with wings! :)
Chris then escorted me to the candy box that I fell in love with - which is the gorgeous 4 Hangar with all my beloved aircraft.

They are carefully maintained and watched over by Monique Lyons, Norman Tinkler and all the kids in the volunteer program. Now, let me tell you this: those kids are AWESOME!
When I did my shoot a while back, they were SO helpful and friendly in helping me get everything sorted and put together to make my shoot run smoothly, I needn't worry about a thing! :) <3

Here some pics of my shoot that day:

MODELS: Moira van der Westhuyzen, Constant Meiring and Laura Lee Burford
MUA, HAIR AND STYLING: Sherilyn Curran
LOCATION: 4 HANGAR, AFB YSTERPLAAT

Upon another oppurtunity at Ysterplaat, I was exposed to the very hard work that happens daily in the panel shop to not only help maintain the aircraft, but also some other smaller projetcs.

Guys, the work these people do there is AMAZING- I want to urge EACH AND EVERY ONE of you to go and support the guys at AFB Ysterplaat. You all go to the airshow, but the planes are JUST as spectacular on the ground- but they NEED TO BE MAINTAINED!
Contact the guys at SAAF Museum Ysterplaat and hear how you can help them- all the details are at http://saafmuseum.org.za
They are doing FANTASTIC work and they can do with all the support they can get! Honestly, if you love aviation- give them a call! :)
They are VERY important to me!

IN OTHER NEWS, MY CHRISTMAS SPECIAL IS STILL RUNNING 'TILL SUNDAY!!!! DON'T MISS OUT!!!! :D :D :D
http://ladyfenyx.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-specials-part-i.html

Lots of Christmas-love

Grethe
xoxoxox

Christmas SPECIALS Part I...!!!

2010-12-03T01:14:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! What a few days it's been! O_o
Inbetween finishing up my last day at work and moving back home, things have been QUITE a mission!
HOWEVER, in order to get things moving, I have decided to start up a Christmas Special type of thing for you guys in and around the Cape Town area.
First off, I would like to thank my friend Tamryn from http://tamatto.blogspot.com/ (go check out her and her other half Matt's blog about their adventures in OLD... I mean NEW Zealand!) for helping me out with the heading... since I've NOT been at home and NOT using this pc, it's been formatted in favour of a newer operating system, which means that I am now sans Photoshop. :(

So what does this special entail?
If you are in my area and you follow my blog before the 12th of December and/or spread the word of this special around a bit- you can "win" a free shoot!
Everyone who follows in this time can also get a paid shoot for 20% less than the normal rate- mail me and we can chat, should you be interested! Keep an eye out closer to Christmas for more awesome specials not only on shoots, but also on art! :)

So what have I been busy with?
Last weekend I had the privilege of doing a maternity shoot for Nadia Bothma and her partner, Henry Haynes. They're having a boy and from the looks of it, he's going to be quite a happy little guy :)

Here are some pics!

NADIA BOTHMA & HENRY HAYNES
MUA and Stylist: Sherilyn Curran

Thank you guys for the lovely oppurtunity!

xoxoxox
Grethe

Phoenix time!

2010-11-29T23:05:00.000-08:00

What is it that we have here? It's been a long time, hasn't it?
Yes. Yes it has.

Well, I think this would be a darn tootin' good time to start resurrecting this here blog of mine, complete with glittery-herpes-of-craft-supplies header and things.
(Oh my word, Opera's spell check thinks 'blog' is a misspelling- harharhar! )

Since my last post, which was about a year ago, since I seem to have conveniently forgotten about this here thing, my life has taken a few minimum-radius turns that I would rather not experience again... however, I won't bore you with that, I will just show you pretty pictures, which will give you a pretty darn good idea of what I've been up to lately! :)

MODEL AND MUA: Jesse Beth Pearse
STYLIST: Kyle Richard Solms
LOCATION: Majeka House - Stellenbosch

MODEL AND MUA: Sherilyn Curran
LOCATION: Somerset West and Strand

These were two fun shoots- will put up some more when I can be arsed to do so! :)
Feels good to have a proper blog of some sorts! :D

xoxoxox
Grethe