Loudon Sainthill

Loudon Sainthill photographed by Max Dupain, 1946

Loudon Sainthill was an Australian artist and stage and costume designer.

Born in Hobart, Tasmania in 1918, Sainthill grew up in Melbourne. By his early twenties he'd exhibted his paintings in gallery shows and was working professionally in Australia.

Learning and working in Australia in that era made him appear as a bit of an outlier in the art world. His work bore many influences and influenced others in turn. His artistic style continued to blend the fantastic and whimsical with a degree of melancholy and dream-like elements.

Post-WW2, Sainthill worked predominantly in the United Kingdom, designing for numerous stage productions and film. He died in 1969. 

For more info: - A Loudon Sainthill bio, available at The Day Gallery.

Man with Guitar (1958) 

Figure with Guitar, 1950

The Musician

The Woman From a Far Country, 1947

Cover illustration; Ballet Rambert in Australia program

The Dancer, 1950

Costume design for 'The Tempest'

Set design for 'The Tempest'; Prospero's Cell, 1951

Photos below feature Sainthill's set and costume designs for a RSC production of William Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', directed by Michael Benthall at The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, 1951 & 1952

The photos were found at: 'Shakespeare, Decolonisation, and the Cold War', a 2017 PhD thesis by James LeeTaylor, available as a  pdf at The Open University

Sir Ralph Richardson as Prospero, Margaret Leighton as Ariel, in 1952.

Hugh Griffith as Caliban, in 1951.

Hugh Griffith was also a memorable character actor in many films, such as 'Tom Jones' from 1963. (photo at right)

Prospero, Miranda and Caliban in 1952.

Margaret Leighton as Ariel in 1952.

Michael Hordern as Caliban in 1952.

Set design, for The Queen of Shemakhan's Magic Tent from 'Le Coq d'Or'.

Set design: The Ship Pericles

Set design for 'Aladdin', back cloth

The Zebra, costume design, 1958

Costume design from 'Can Heironymus Mirkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppee and Find True Happiness?', 1968

Attendant; Costume design from 'The Man Who Loved Redheads' 1954.

Christmas Card sent to the Misses Wood

Christmas card design 

Acrobat, costume design

Design for Cinderella; Detail drawing of a Tree Candelabra

Loudon Sainthill photographed by John Deakin, early 1950's

Tambourine Player

See also:

- Dozens of Loudon Sainthill works exhibited at The National Gallery of Australia website.

Meanwhile, in just another neighborhood...

From details about the 'Lockdown' in Ahmedabad, in yesterday's Times of India.

Images from Barbara G. Walker's "Knitting From The Top", 1st edition, 1972

The reference guide "Knitting From The Top" instructs knitters to do just that. Somewhat counter to the traditional Western method, constructing garments starting from the top down can allow you to check the fit and length as you go.
Werner P. Brodde's photographs of these stunning and colorful creations were a part of the first edition published in 1972, but are not included in editions still in print. So feast your eyes!

◀ Barbara G. Walker has been an idol and guru to knitter's worldwide for decades, the first of her many comprehensive collections of knitting patterns appearing in 1968. But that's only part of her impressive list of achievements in a variety of fields.

Born in Philadelphia in 1930, she studied journalism at the University of Pennsylvania and later worked for the Washington Star in
Washington, D.C. It was there in the 1970s that she became interested in feminism, while working with a local hotline that helped battered women and pregnant teens.

After relocating to Morristown, New Jersey, she became a teacher of the Martha Graham dance technique.
The first of her many notable and respected books on feminism, spirituality and myth was published in the
mid-1980s, as was the Barbara Walker Tarot Deck, for which she supplied the illustrations.

Other books by Barbara G. Walker include:

-A Treasury of Knitting Patterns

-A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns

-A Third Treasury of Knitting Patterns

-The Book of Sacred Stones: Fact and Fallacy in the Crystal World

-The Secrets of the Tarot: Origins, History, and Symbolism

-Feminist Fairy Tales

-Barbara Walker's Learn-to-Knit Afghan Book

-The Craft of Cable-Stitch Knitting

-The Woman's Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects

-The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets

-The Crone: Woman of Age, Wisdom, and Power

-Restoring the Goddess: Equal Rites for Modern Women


Some further information about Barbara G. Walker can be found online at Wikipedia, Philosopedia.org, and NOW-NJ.

See also:
- The Walker Treasury Project - - A knitter's collaborative photo-blog "...gathering high-quality, color photos of all the patterns in all the Treasury books and putting them on the internet as a visual aide to this wonderful collection".
- "Barbara G. Walker, The Skeptical Feminist" , an interview from 2009 posted at Skepchick.org.

El Bandito Jalapeno con El Accesorio Prominente, and other Taqueria Folk Art in San Francisco

Walking along Mission Street in San Francisco on a recent afternoon, I did a serious double-take while passing by a colorful taqueria.
Visible through the open door of El Gran Taco Loco is this ▼ memorable image, painted on the wall...

Wow. So many questions.
Not just the jalapeno's 'stem', but the taco's eyeglasses, the gun - -
- - What exactly are we witness to in this scene?

Immediately I cursed myself for not having my camera with me.
Thinking about it this morning, I decided that others before me must have documented this fascinating piece of artwork.
- - And sure enough, that's just how amazing the internet is.

- Click here for another view of the above image. Larger, slightly different angle. (Source)

All of the images in this post come from the home page of Burritoeater.com, a site providing a valuable public service, having reviewed (and "mustache-rated") over 725 burritos (so far) all around the City and County of San Francisco, California.











I loves me a good burrito AND being transfixed by art, so clearly, there's much to explore...

(click on images to enlarge in a new window)