Sanae Ishida

A crafty little atelier in a grey city

Pink House

Until this last Los Angeles trip, I never paid much attention to the houses in my parent's neighborhood. It's a rather hip area, very close to Hollywood and dotted with charming Spanish-style bungalows. Near one of my favorite coffee shops is the prettiest pink house. I've been a bit caught up with the color pink lately, if you haven't noticed. I even pulled all manners of pink patterned fabric for K's fall wardrobe, but she just informed me that she is so over the color. Oh dear - I hope ... Read more

Anthropomorphic animals

  As a child, I was obsessed with drawing princesses and playing with fashion plates. I was equally obsessed with drawing animals wearing different outfits and it's still one of the things I love to do. I never consulted any actual references, so my animals always came out looking rather wonky, and to this day, I tend to just draw from imagination and not much else. This pirate above is kind of foxy, yes? One of the things I find frustrating is how hard it is to capture the actual ... Read more

Summer Mementos

Tomorrow, K and I will head out to the land of Disneyland and smog. Our last hurrah for the summer before backpacks and homework and shorter days... It's been a summer full of popsicles, of juicy fruit, of explosive lushness in the community garden (though through no help from me - my neighbors are the expert gardeners. Maybe next year I'll try to actually plant something in our little section). There has been so much swimming and playing with friends and catching up with long-distance family ... Read more

Cheerful Colors

Happy Friday! I've been busily practicing with my gouache paints and love the cheerful colors. We've been enjoying quite a few macarons lately and I declare Fresh Flours to have the best flavors (earl grey, blackberry, a turquoise one that is full of vanilla goodness) after many samplings. And who doesn't dream of a land where a yellow brick path leads you to a pink pirate ship -- though you'd have to pass a field of grazing zebras first!   Have a wonderful weekend! ... Read more