FOR ISABELLE

Tomorrow I'm off to Sydney, where I'll see Picasso: masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris at AGNSW. Which makes me think of le signore's Chouette aux plumes (pictured). Which makes me think how much I'll miss seeing my owl-loving pal Isabelle (who now lives in New York) in Syd. Chops!

LINDA JACKSON

Working with Linda Jackson on social media for her upcoming retrospective, Linda Jackson Bush Couture, has been fantastically good fun - I never thought of Tweets as haiku before trying to explain them to her! I'd be happy if my life was half as rich and filled with learning as Linda's. Be sure to see the exhibition, at NGV Australia from Oz Day.     

ALEXANDER GIRARD

I fell in love with Alexander Girard while viewing his extraordinary collection (106,000 objects!) at the Museum of International Folk Art last year. Originally made by the great sir himself for his home in Sante Fe, these wooden dolls are, in a word, perfect and can be purchased from Vitra.

COPPOLA X MAPPLETHORPE

Oh, I would just about die to see Ropert Mapplethorpe curated by Sofia Coppola! Til 7 Jan at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris.

UTA UTA

I smile each time I see Women's Dreaming, painted by Pintupi artist Uta Uta Tjangala in 1972 and lent to Tjukurrtjanu: Origins of Western Desert Art by former Art World publisher Steve Bush. See it at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia before 12 Feb.

TIM MCMONAGLE

I've always enjoyed Tim McMonagle's Beatrix Potter meets Brothers Grimm paintings, and his new show - That's the style, Mary - at KalimanRawlins is just extraord. Combine a visit before 12 Nov with lunch / early dinner at Red Spoon Korea (176 Commercial Road, Prahran; be sure to order the deep fried chicken wings). You can read an interview I did yonks ago with KalimanRawlins co-owner Vasili Kaliman here.

WILD FLOWERS

Fanny Ann Charsley was 28 when she travelled to Australia in 1856. Yet, it was not until after her return to Buckinghamshire that she published The Wild Flowers Around Melbourne, a collection of 13 hand-coloured lithographs and her only book. Above is the beaut Brunonia australis, craspedia richea, dianella revoluta, lobelia pedunculata, convolvulus erubescens, ammobium alatum, helichrysum bracteatum and lobelia simplicicaulis. Keep your eyes peeled for Charsley's illustrations in This Wondrous Land, opening 29 April at the NGV. And next time you see this particular everlasting daisy, think of Charsley as it was named for her - helipterum charsleyae!